Alice the Amazing ⇒ STRANGER THINGS

[19] Hawkins Lab

{MADMAX, Part II}

Alice sat on a hospital bed in Hawkins Lab, waiting for Dr. Owens to be done checking on Will and to return with her lab results from last week. She tapped her foot impatiently, checking the clock on the wall and biting her nails.

"Stop that," her mother said tiredly, looking up from her women's magazine.

"Stop what?"

"Stop biting your nails. It's a gross habit."

"So is berating your daughter."

"Alice!" Mrs. Henderson hissed. "Not now, not here."

Alice rolled her eyes, but crossed her arms to avoid biting her nails anymore.

She didn't know why she and her mom hadn't been getting along well lately. Maybe it was because Mrs. Henderson didn't understand her daughters abilities and didn't know how to help or comfort her, or maybe it was because Alice felt like her mom saw her as a burden. Either way, neither was going to say anything about how they were feeling. Hendersons weren't known for being straightforward. They liked to keep everything bottled up until it was time for an explosive, dramatic argument that ended with lots of hugs and making up.

It seemed like Alice and Mrs. Henderson were about 5 seconds from the big fight but a long way away from making up.

A small knock on the door alerted them to Dr. Owens' presence.

"Hey, kiddo!" he said cheerily, not sensing the tension in the air.

"Hi, Doc," Alice said, returning his smile with a lukewarm one of her own. "So, am I normal yet?"

"Ha," Dr. Owens said, taking out a stethoscope and checking her heartbeat. "Very funny. Any big Halloween plans?"

"Alice and her friends always watch movies together," Mrs. Henderson cut in. "I do wish she'd take Dusty trick or treating..."

"Mom, Dustin doesn't need me to chaperone," Alice said as Dr. Owens called a nurse in to bring lab results back.

"I'm sure he'd love if you went along."

Alice gave her mom an annoyed look.

"Well," Alice said through clenched teeth, "considering the fact he's not a kid anymore, I'm sure if I went along it'd cramp his style."

"So, the results!" Dr. Owens said, cutting off what was bound to be a long, awkward conversation. "The blood work from last week shows a slightly elevated white blood cell count from last month's tests."

"Is that bad?" Alice asked, starting to bite her nails again but quitting when she saw her mom's dirty look.

"For anyone but you, it could be," Dr. Owens said, flipping through the file folder. "However, I'm not worried about it yet. We can continue to monitor the levels and if they keep increasing, we can do something about it. My scientists have been manufacturing a medicine that would help keep the levels down so you don't overheat if you use your powers. That reminds me, how has training been going?"

Not only did Alice go to the lab for doctor's appointments, she also went to practice using her healing and heat-generative powers. It was kind of a drag, but it got her out of statistics twice a month, so she was okay with it.

"Pretty good," Alice said. She smirked. "Last week, the test room got so hot, I melted Dr. Kapowski's clipboard."

"Yes, Gene told me about that," Dr. Owens said, lips curling up into a small smile. "He wasn't too pleased, but I think it shows progress."

Mrs. Henderson folded her magazine and leaned forward in her chair.

"Progress toward what, exactly?" she asked. "What exactly are you training Alice for?"

Dr. Owens turned to Mrs. Henderson.

"Well," he said, "we're not entirely sure, but—"

"Is it for some kind of evil experiment?" Mrs. Henderson pressed, "or covert operation?"

"Mom," Alice hissed. "Stop!"

"No, Alley Cat," Mrs. Henderson said sharply. "I want to know!"

Dr. Owens closed Alice's folder and tucked it under his arm.

"Look, Claudia," he said. "Can I call you Claudia?"

He didn't wait for an answer before he continued.

"I know all this is hard to understand. It's difficult now that Hawkins Lab is under new management, but I can promise you we are doing everything we can to help Alice get back on track."

Before Mrs. Henderson could respond, Dr. Owens strode toward the door.

"Come back again in two weeks for another blood test and training session, all right?" he said, ducking into the hallway. "Study hard kiddo!"

With that, Dr. Owens left.

After Alice changed out of her hospital gown into regular clothes, she and her mom were whisked down a hallway and out the front doors.

"He didn't answer my question," Mrs. Henderson said, face red as she clutched her purse.

"What do you mean?" Alice asked, squinting as they stepped into the bright afternoon sun.

"I asked what all the training was for," Mrs. Henderson continued, "and he dodged the question! I'm telling you, he's hiding something."

"Of course he is, Mom," Alice deadpanned. "He works for the government."

She started to walk across the parking lot, but her mother stopped her.

"I want to sit it on your next training session," Mrs. Henderson said. "I want to see what goes on with them and ask some more questions, because frankly I don't like the way they treat you like an experiment—"

"I don't like it either!" Alice said, voice rising in pitch. "But if I don't come to them, who else will help me train and understand my powers?"

"You don't need to train," Mrs. Henderson retorted. "You should just be a normal teenager!"

"Well, I'm not!" Alice shouted. "And I never will be! Sorry that the kid you adopted is a freak!"

Mrs. Henderson's brow creased with worry.

"Alice, you aren't a freak—"

Before she could continue, Hopper, Joyce, and Will exited the lab, stopping short when they saw the Henderson woman smack-down about to happen in the parking lot.

"Everything all right?" Hopper asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just fine, thanks," Mrs. Henderson said, smoothing out her sweater. "Alley Cat and I were just having a small disagreement."

"Understatement of the century," Alice grumbled.

"Will, why don't you and Alice go wait by the cars?" Joyce said kindly. "You can talk about your Halloween costume."

"Okay," Will said, looking as dejected as Alice felt. 

The two kids walked in silence, kicking at gravel.

"Do you actually want to talk about your costume?" Alice asked, turning to the younger boy.

Will shook his head.

"I'm not in the mood," he said. 

"Neither am I."

They stood a few yards away from their parents, watching them whisper and glance back toward the lab.

{Edited July 10, 2020}

A/N Another chapter will be posted tonight! Thanks for reading!