In 1980s Indiana, Judy Hopper and her group of young friends witness supernatural forces and secret government exploits. As they search for answers, they unravel a series of extraordinary mysteries. In the midst, love and friendship are put to the u...
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THREE MONTHS LATER
Things had changed pretty fast over 90 days. Joyce found a job in California and Will and Jonathan would be going with her.
And so would El.
It had been decided about a month ago when the job offer first came in, but Judy wasn't going.
She wasn't quite eighteen yet, she would be a month before high school graduation, so for the time being she was a ward of the state. Between her fathers passing and now, Joyce had taken her in as a foster child, as well as El. But when Joyce told them about California, Judy had cemented in her mind that she wasn't leaving Hawkins. Dustin's mom, Claudia, was surprisingly ready to step up to the plate.
It was another gloomy afternoon when Judy sat patiently in the county courthouse, Dustin holding her hand tightly. She sat between him and his mother while the Judge read the guardianship papers, claiming Claudia Henderson as Judy's adoptive mother.
And she was more than ready to sign Judy under her wing, saying "the house could use another kind soul" and "now you can always watch out for my Dusty Bun." As endearing as she meant for those words to be, it didn't exactly help the dread Judy felt.
She felt guilty that she could move on to another house so quickly after Hopper's death and she felt guilty about not wanting to leave Hawkins with El. But she had her reason and everyone knew it too.
Now a month later, the Byers and their latest addition, were packing up to move to California. Judy had stayed at their house with El until they were leaving and she helped pack the few things they were able to salvage from the remainder of the cabin. It was a sad thing to do, but the girls tried to stay optimistic about their new beginnings.
Judy had one more thing she needed to do before sending her sister off across the country.
"Wait, you put your mom as a reference?" She asked Steve as she looked at his resume. He parked his BMW in front of the video store and looked at her like she was dumb.
"Yeah. Why not? She's, like, super well-respected."
"You can't really just do that..." She said, walking through the door he held open for her.
Standing at the counter, she rang the metal bell twice before Keith, the manager, walked out of what seemed to be the break room. He wiped orange cheeto dust on his vest, before sitting down on a stool and leaning his elbow on the counter.
"What can I do you, ma' lady?" He raised right eyebrow at Judy and smirked. She could only chuckle nervously, not wanting to make him upset before she even had the chance to ask for a job.
"Your sign says you're hiring," she looked back at the paper in the window, then back to Keith, smiling brightly. "And we're ready to work."
"Didn't you two work at the mall? What happened there? You get fired?"
