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CHAPTER SIXTEEN XVI. the battle of two kings [ season 2, episode 9 ]
The adults left about an hour ago. Hopper, travelling to the lab with Eleven and Veronica in hopes of closing the gate and putting an end to the monsters reign for good. Joyce, with Jonathan and Nancy, working together to burn the Mind Flayer out of Will in some secluded place the shadow monster could not seek out.
That ultimately abandoned Steph and Steve with the responsibility to babysit the children. Although, the band of overly-smart middle schoolers loathed being referred to as children, so Steph settled on nicknaming each and every one of them as dweebs ── which also didn't go down too well in all consideration. That didn't deter her, though.
It was around midnight. Steph was sitting on the sofa, tongue poking between her teeth as she wrapped duct tape around the wooden broom Lucia had accidentally snapped in half whilst launching an attack on a moth clinging to the wall. Much to her surprise, Lucas approached, shuffling through the doorway apprehensively. He looked displeased about something, but also afraid to approach Stephanie, who all the children thought to be particularly frightening. Well . . . apart from Dustin and Lucia.
"Uh," Lucas scratched his forehead. "Dustin said he and Steve require your assistance in the kitchen." the boy muttered.
Steph glanced over at the Sinclair and rolled her cobalt eyes, "Tell them it can wait."
"Steve said it can't."
"Why?"
A shrug, "I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Fine. They're trying to stuff a Demodog into the fridge." Lucas elaborated in one, short breath. He winced, as if this information was supposed to be kept top-secret until Steph witnessed it for herself. Steve said she would get mad before they had a chance to explain themselves ── and her agitated expression was evidence enough to that. "They're doing a really terrible job."
Steph groaned in annoyance and placed the butchered broom on the coffee table. Much to her displeasure, the object flopped over one side of the wooden surface, dismantling the tape she had secured around the centre. Both halves toppled to the floor. Back to square one. She sighed and looked to Lucas, "Can you fix that? I'm going to end up throwing it out the window if it breaks again."
"Uh, sure."
She left Lucas to his own devices. He managed to reseal the broom together in a matter of seconds, and handed it back to Lucia, who began swinging it around in the middle of the hallway as practice for a potential Demodog ambush. When she almost knocked Mike out with the third swing, however, Lucas snatched the 'weapon' back out of her hands and shoved it into the cleaning-equipment cupboard. Taking their safety into consideration, Lucia was given something a little smaller to defend herself with; less dangerous. A wooden spoon.
