Surfer boy

Two

Almost immediately, Joyce's face lit up at Louise's arrival. It did not take long for Louise's second mother to be embraced in a warm hug. Joyce let out small several happy squeals, it had been nearly a year since she had seen Louise and Mike, which was far too long in her opinion.

"Louise! It has been far too long. Oh my, you look so much more grown up since I've last seen you! How are things back in Hawkins?"

"Hello, Joyce. Uh, things are good in Hawkins, yeah. Not much has happened but... y'know." 

"Good, good. Come in, come in! Get settled."

The small group followed Joyce into the house, which looked very nice, Louise thought, and the visiting siblings set down their bags in the two spare rooms. Louise went back downstairs to mingle with her long-time friend, Jonathon, though her little brother decided to spend a little time with his girlfriend.

"Hey, Jonny."

"Ugh, do not call me that, Louise."

"Fine, fine. Wait... are you high?!"

"Uh-.. maybe. But mom doesn't know and I think it should stay that way."

Louise giggled and went to go and get a glass of water from the kitchen. Luckily, she found the cup cupboard rather quickly. Obviously thirsty, Louise gulped the water and it was gone in seconds. She looked around the kitchen a little, just to get the idea of the layout, before going to join Jonathon and Argyle back at the table.

"So, any cool places in the ol' Cali?"

"Umm.. there's the skate rink, but Mike is going there today with Will and El so it's best to avoid that place. What about the ice cream parlor?"

"Sounds good, Jonny!"

Jonathon groaned, annoyed at Louise's teasing. He quickly recovered and led Louise and Argyle out the front to Argyle's pizza van. Louise climbed in the back, shocked by the strong, unfamiliar smell that stuffed her nose. Jon climbed in the passenger seat, next to his friend. Argyle turned around to Louise, almost as if he knew something was wrong.

"Don't worry about the smell, you'll get used to it. Besides, we drive with the windows down. Now, buckle up!"

The acceleration picked up immediately, sending Louise back in her seat. God, it's definitely not safe for a high person to drive. Nonetheless, they arrived at the ice cream parlour in only a few minutes, so Louise's fear for her life was short lived. In all honesty, she had forgotten about the putrid smell, Argyle was right.

They all stepped out of the van and walked in a somewhat single-file order into the parlor. It was nothing like the comforts of Scoops Ahoy back in Hawkins, but it'd do. Jonathon was he one to spot the empty booth for them all to sit. Argyle plopped into the corner, Jon on his side. Louise sat across them. She didn't mind being alone, it gave her more room.

"Oh, Louise, I really recommend the Oreo Swirl, it's delicious."

Jonathon seemed a little too excited and swiftly began giving very detailed critiques of all of his previously tested flavours, it covered most of the menu. Despite Jonathon's strongly negative opinion, Louise settled for a Strawberry Sundae, Argyle also ordered that. Jonny got his usual, an Oreo Swirl. Argyle finished gnawing on a strawberry before clearing his throat to gain their attention.

"Y'know, I am so glad that someone else appreciates strawberry ice cream. My dude Jonathon has never liked it, I think it's the bomb."

"His hatred for it definitely annoyed me back in Hawkins, but now I'm glad I don't have to deal with it."

"You guys are talking about me as if I'm not here. Not cool."

"It's cooler than the cream, my dude."

Louise chuckled quietly before tucking back into her sundae, which she could admit was simply divine, but still never as good as the classic Scoops Ahoy goods. Being carried away by the flavour, Louise rapidly finished her dish, much faster than the other two, so instead of waiting around for them she decided to go to the bathroom.

Luckily, it was relatively empty, only a blonde girl with a bright blue shirt. She seemed to be startled when the door quickly opened.

"Oh, I am so sorry."

"No worries, it's okay. Wait, you're not form here, are you? Your accent.."

"Oh yes, I'm from Indiana."

"East... cool. I'm Angela."

"El- Jane's friend? She mentions you a lot in her letters."

"She does, does she?"

"Yeah, she says you're a great friend to her. I'm happy she has such nice friends."

"Yes, yes. We're best friends. Anyways, I need to go and meet my friend Jane at the skate rink, ciao!"

Once Louise had waved the girl goodbye, she turned and walked over to the sink before taking out her mascara and doing a little touch up. She finished by washing her hands, more so warming them up from the coldness of the ice cream before exiting and marching her way back over to Jonathon and Argyle, who had finished by now.

"Ready to leave, Lou?"

"Yeah, one sec, I'll just go pay quickly Jon."

"No need, we've got it covered."

"Jonathon.. are you sure?"

"My dude, you are a guest, let us be your gentlemen and pay for you, my dude."

"I'm not sure that calling me 'my dude' is very gentlemanly, Argyle."

The group collectively shared a few laughs before making a haste departure back to the van. Louise assumed that they'd just head back home, but Argyle surprisingly headed off in the opposite direction to which they came meanwhile Jonathon was fiddling with the radio.

"This generation!.."

"Jesus, I thought it was lower than that. Sorry, Louise."

"No worries, Jon. Wait- I know this song: Pass the Dutchie. It's a banger!"

"My dude, you have just gotten a bajillion times cooler!"

They all burst out into song, singing... or shouting the lyrics at the top of their lungs. So lost in song, Louise hadn't even noticed the extent of their speeding, which she would definitely not like otherwise.

Perhaps she suited the California life, for a while at least.