Shadows of the Night •a Stranger Things story•

I Love a Woman in Uniform

October 29th, 1984
Hawkins, Indiana

Dirty, white high-top converse stomp up the two-by-four wooden steps, passing two carved pumpkins on the way up the pitiful porch. Keys jingle in hands as the person struggles to get the locked door open. Finally, the lock clicks and the door is pushed open. The inside of the small trailer-home is clean and neat; this kind of thing is new. The clean tables and moderately clean rugs covering the old stained carpet is a fresh look to the place. There's hardly anything in the trailer-home. Only one person lives here now.

"Honey, you're home."

Christine Hopper shrieks, picking up the rifle propped by the front door. She aims at the person standing in the kitchen.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa. Easy. Relax. It's me. It's just me."

"Jesus Christ," Chris sighs, dropping the rifle back in its place.

Steve Harrington drops his hands to his sides, baffled. "Are all my girlfriends going to point guns in my face?"

Chris points a finger at Steve. "You shouldn't have snuck in here like this!"

"You shouldn't have given me a key," he counters, placing his hands on his hips.

"I can take it back." Chris raises an eyebrow at him. "In fact, I'll take it back right now. Where is it?" Chris corners him in the kitchen, holding her palm open. "Hand it over, Harrington."

Steve groans, tilting his head back. "Still on a last name basis with the girlfriend. That's a stinger."

Chris grabs Steve's wrist. "Where's the key, Steve?"

Steve shakes his head, pulling Chris closer. Chris stares up at him, struggling to hide the blush rising on her cheeks. Steve's minty breath fills her senses and his hands trace her palm gently. Goosebumps rise on her skin, and she's thankful she's wearing a jacket. Steve puts his lips to her ear. "I think you'll just have to find it."

Chris slips her hands in the pockets of his jacket, but she has no success in finding the spare key. Chris huffs, shooting him an annoyed look. Steve plays with the red tie wrapped loosely around the collar of Chris's movie theater uniform. "Did I ever tell you I love a woman in uniform?"

Chris laughs a little at Steve's cheesiness. She backs away from the boy with sparkling brown eyes. Steve frowns. "H-hey, what...what about the key?"

"I have to change." Chris moves toward her bedroom, leaning on the door.

"I can help with that," Steve offers, sending her a wink.

Chris bites her lip, brushing her blood-red hair away from her face. She hums softly, eyeing Steve carefully. He leans against the counter, eyeing her up as well. Chris catches him staring and blushes again, ducking into her room.

Steve smirks to himself. "It's not like the Chief's gonna be home anyway."

Chris peeks out of her room. She's still wearing her uniform. "I think...I think the key might be in here. Will you help me look?"

A grin spreads across his face quickly. "Oh, absolutely." Steve strides into the bedroom, closing the door behind him with his foot.

Four thirteen year-old boys are surrounded by an arcade game at the local Palace Arcade. The Dragon's Lair is the game of the night as they've already topped almost every other game in the arcade. Dustin is having his go at the game, while Lucas, Mike, and Will are telling him what to do.

Dustin moans, "Oh, Jesus! I'm in uncharted territory here, guys."

"Down! Down! Down!" demands Will.

"I'm going! I'm going!" Dustin's voice rises in panic. "I'm going! I'm going! I'm going!"

The boys shout as Dustin moves the joystick and taps the red bottom, trying to slay the magic dragon. "Okay. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!" While it looks like they might win, suddenly Dustin's character dies. "No. No. No! No! No! No! I hate this overpriced bullshit!" Dustin kicks the side of the machine. "Son of a bitch! Piece of shit!"

"You're not nimble enough." Lucas puts a hand on Dustin mockingly. "But you'll get there one day. But until then, Princess Daphne is still mine."

"Whatever. I'm still tops on Centipede and Dig Dug," brags Dustin.

"You sure about that?" Keith, the arcade worker, sings behind them. He's eating a bag of cheese puffs. His fingers are coated in orange dust.

Dustin narrows his eyes, facing him. "Sure about what?" Dustin hurries over to Dig Dug, where his name is no longer on the top spot of the scoreboard. "You're kidding me. No, no, no. Move! Move! No, no, no, no, no. Hey, no! No! No!"

"751,300 points!" gasps Will.

"That's impossible," mumbles Mike.

Dustin rounds on Keith, who smirks. "Who is Mad Max?"

"Better than you," teases Keith. Dustin flicks him off.

"Is it you?" wonders Will.

Keith scoffs, crunching down on a cheese puff. "You know I despise Dig Dug."

"Then who is it?" inquires Lucas.

"Yeah, spill it, Keith," Dustin snaps, angry.

"You want information, then I need something in return."

The four boys all give Mike pointed looks. Mike stares at them in disgust. "No, no, no. No way. You're not getting a date with her."

"Mike, come on. Just get him the date," says Lucas.

Mike shakes his head. "I'm not prostituting my sister!"

"But it's for a good cause."

Keith nods to Lucas's words in agreement. Dustin cuts in, shaking his head. "No, don't get him the date. Know what? He's gonna spread his nasty-ass rash to your whole family."

"Acne isn't a rash and it isn't contagious, you prepubescent wastoid," Keith grumbles.

"Oh, I'm a wastoid?" As Dustin rants to Keith, Will turns his attention outside, where a light flickers. "She wouldn't go on a date with you. You make, like, what? $2.50 an hour?"

"Nice perm," mocks Keith.

"Gonna make fun of my hair?"

Dust floats outside and thunder rolls across the sky. Red light flashes. Will frowns, "Hey. Hey, guys, do you see the—" Will turns, finding the arcade empty. The lights flicker again, sending Will spiraling into the spitting image of the arcade. This time, though, it's covered in large black veins and dust. The air is cold and everything has lost its color. The front door slams open from the wind.

Will gasps, stepping outside slowly. The electricity crackles from the street lamps and thunder rumbles. Will can feel the vibrations roll through his body. Red lightning flashes across the sky and Will stares at it in horror.

"Will! Are you okay?" calls Mike.

Will spins around, startling. "Yeah. I just...I needed some air."

Mike nods. "Come on. You're up on Dig Dug. Let's take that top score back, huh?"

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