1983 || Stranger Things

ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ-ғɪᴠᴇ | ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ

𝑆𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑚𝑖𝑑-𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝐽𝑢𝑛𝑒 29, 1985

      Julie's summer had started off great, but was now going terribly. All she did was work, all she ate was crap she grabbed in between shifts, and all she cared about was summer ending.

      When Julie wasn't working at The Gap, she was babysitting Holly Wheeler. When she wasn't babysitting Holly Wheeler, she was holed up in her room, reading and listening to sad music. Or Queen. Mostly Queen. According to Max, Steve was to blame.

      Since the day that Julie and Steve split, Max has grown increasingly worried about her sister. Julie tried to pretend that everything was okay, that she wasn't slipping further and further away, and that she was strong enough to move on. Max saw right through her efforts. Julie barely slept anymore. Her mind didn't shut up enough for her to able to.

      Only adding to Julie's misery, sweet El used her powers to see into Julie's mind to check on her almost every day. And every day, Julie heard her in there, and shut her out. Robin was the only person that made Julie truly laugh and smile these days, so seeing her was the only reason Julie went in Scoops Ahoy.

      Julie and Robin had kept their promises to gift each other free stuff from their jobs. 'In the wallet', as they called it. When Robin had breaks, she would go see Julie and give her an ice cream. When Julie had breaks, she would deliver some of the items Robin had previously picked out, blatantly ignoring Steve.

      Robin was impressed that Julie actually went into Scoops, seeing as Steve was there every single time she went in. As much as it made life easier for Julie to pretend nothing was wrong, it only worried Robin more and more. She wondered how much a single person could take in their life, and between Julie's family life and Steve, Robin feared that Julie was at her breaking point.

      Neil Hargrove wasn't very thrilled with the new attitude his daughter had taken on. When she wasn't around Max, Julie had started to become a lot like Billy. Hostile, aggressive, and just mad at the world. Neil didn't care enough to ask what was wrong, or why Steve wasn't seen around the house anymore. Susan found out through Max.

      Keeping busy was the only thing that kept Julie's head on straight. Neil thought she was dramatic, but finding out the boy you love is in love with someone else is enough to make a person like Julie crumble. She focused on other things. Her jobs, and right now, Holly.

      Julie had gone with Karen and Holly Wheeler to the public pool, seeing as the mother and daughter went most days. It was Julie's day off from work, and she had offered to go watch Holly for the day without payment so Karen could relax, and not worry about her. Karen still paid Julie, and would probably always pay her.

      In her orange one-piece bathing suit with her hair in a high bun and sunglasses on her face, Julie sat at the edge of the shallowest waters and splashed around with Holly. There was good muic playing, Karen and some of her friends were lounging and reading, there were kids playing Marco Polo, and there were certainly not enough lifeguards on duty.

      "Watch this," Holly said, taking a deep breath and going underwater for ten seconds. When she came up for air, she was very proud of herself. "Did you see?" she asked excitedly, her little legs kicking the water beneath her.

      "I did! You did so good." Julie said, putting her hand out towards Holly for a high five. Holly slapped her hand onto Julie's, smile wide as she dove back under the water.