Lifeline ⋆ Stranger Things

I. Living Vivaciously

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ONE. OCTOBER 31ST, 1984
⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

Before now, Jude Monroe has never really mourned her childhood. After all, how can she mourn something she never had to begin with?

Lillian used to joke that she gave birth to an old lady trapped in a baby girl's body—and that her daughter never had any interest in being a normal kid. And although it was just a little joke, the comment always made Jude feel a little bit uneasy in her gut.

Devoting a majority of her time to studies and ballet, and barely making time for her own interests isn't a choice Jude ever made for herself; the fact her mother always acts like it was has always bothered her. What child would choose to miss out on her childhood? What child would choose to be the only kid in class missing from her friend's birthday party; choosing instead to tear up her feet learning to use pointe shoes? What child would choose to read up on Shakespeare instead of reading the newest X-Men comic like all her friends?

Definitely not Jude Monroe.

Despite how detached she was from her own youth, though, there were a few times she did truly feel like a kid. And today, in a sudden turn of events, she finds herself mourning one of those rarities.

"Check it out, Jude!"

The knife Jude uses to spread a thin layer of butter over her piece of toast clatters against the countertop. She's relieved when she realizes it's just Quinton next to her—though she's not sure what else she was expecting. Maybe it's just the Halloween air getting to me, she wonders.

She turns to look at her little brother, and immediately feels the corners of her lips curling upwards at the sight. For Halloween this year, he and his friends decided to dress up as the Ghostbusters. There's only four of them in the movie and there's five boys, so Quinton opted to wear his own name on his name tag.

Monroe.

The costume paired with his wide, proud smile is enough for Jude's heart to swell. "Oh my god, Quinnie! You look amazing!" She exclaims. "Oh! I gotta get a picture of you for my scrapbook!"

As she darts out of the kitchen to fetch her Polaroid camera from the living room, she hears Quinton grown. Scrapbooking is something Ms. Kelley recommended she get into—a way to relieve stress, and also compile memories she might want to look back on to cheer herself up later.