The Quiet

Part 18

June 28th, 1985- One week till 4th July.

Summer had rolled around in Hawkins pretty quickly; the past few months had been pretty strange for Josie. She had grown closer to Nancy and Heather, as well as Steve who was back hanging around the gang again much to Josie's relief she was happy to have her friends together. The rumours surrounding Josie had died down, although people still whispered sometimes and Carol still glared at her like she was a piece of trash. Still, it didn't matter anymore Josie had graduated, and overall things had improved just like the weather.

Josie was enjoying the sun; she wasn't used to the heat usually accustomed to the colder climate of Chicago even in the summertime it wasn't too hot up there. She was surprised at how much she had tanned, clearly following in her father's footsteps. Summer meant a break, and she was looking forward to moving to Standford in the fall, her mother nearly screamed when she found out her daughter had been accepted into such a prestigious place. Summer also meant that she had rarely seen her friends; Nancy and Jonathan had been busy with their summer job at Hawkins Post, Steve had been busy with his job at the brand new mall, and Heather had been busy with her new lifeguarding job at the local pool.

Josie had come to see her when she was on her break one day, moaning about how bored she was and how she couldn't get a job anywhere. She had been so focused on her college application that she had missed the boat when it came to applying for a job, and she had regretted it needing the money for college. Heather being the good friend she was, had put in a good word for Josie after one of the lifeguards, had unexpectantly quit the week before meaning they were a lifeguard short. Josie had been prepared for a full-on interview when Heather's boss had called her into his pokey office located behind the entrance, but when she proposed that she could swim and knew how to talk to kids, he grunted that she had got the job and just like that it was fone.

Josie had been working there for a week now, and she was enjoying the job the only downside being the awkwardness of having to see Billy regularly. She was unsure of the nature of their relationship; after the snowball, they hadn't spoken although when they did see each other, he had acknowledged her with a nod to which she nodded back. Sam had reported to her that according to Max, Billy had slowly started to redeem himself. He had stuck to his word and left her and her friends alone, but he still took her to places whenever she needed him to, and he hadn't moaned about it.

Josie had arrived at the pool for her afternoon shift, and Heather had been on the morning shift much to Josie's disappointment, meaning they wouldn't be working together today. Heather usually stuck around to hang out with Josie on her break when they weren't working, but today she had to run home for some family dinner, so Josie was on her own. The only person she knew on shift was Billy, and they weren't exactly on speaking terms.

The moment she started working here, things had been strange between the pair. The nods of acknowledgement had turned into flirty gestures mainly coming from Billy. Josie noticed how he would brush against her when he walked past as he shined his pearly whites, the same smile he reserved for the flocks of housewives who adorned Hawkins pool to stare at the young man. The thought was a little strange and repulsive to Josie. She wouldn't know how to feel if her Mom had been behaving that way. Luckily, her Mom had a new boyfriend, and things had been going well between the pair since they worked together.

Josie rolled her eyes as she spotted Billy perched on the chair, acting like he was the king of the pool. She would have to take over from him in a bit, and she wasn't looking forward to it, no doubt the housewives would be annoyed too. She scurried to the changing rooms to put on her swimsuit. A pair of red shorts over the top, she didn't like to be overexposed as she settled her whistle around her neck and tied her long brown hair up in a loose ponytail, before putting on her flip flops to avoid the ground burning her feet and pushed her way out of the locker room.