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HAWKINS, INDIANA — 1985.
AFTER GRADUATION, THERESA KNEW her parents were going to make her get a job.
Even if it was just for the summer, since she would be going off for college in the fall, Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair were pressuring her to start working 'for the experience'. That sounded like a load of bullshit to her.
However, Tess decided to do it. She knew her parents were not going to fund her shopping sprees much longer, so she might as well start getting used to financial independence.
Plus, the Starcourt Mall had just opened up in Hawkins. It quickly became Theresa's favorite place; her siblings could barely drag her out of there. There were many options to choose from for employment, so Tess chose the most obvious one: a department store. The employee discount was her new favorite thing.
It was six o'clock, which was the end of Theresa's shift. She knew Jonathan and Nancy had been wanting to drag her to some new movie, but Tess did not know how to tell them that she was tired of being their third wheel. She liked hanging out with them, sure, but sometimes it got so tiring watching the two be in a happy relationship.
If only Tess could have said the same.
She and Steve were... still complicated. After that one night a few months prior, Theresa knew it was going to be painfully awkward seeing him around. But he still smiled at her when he saw her, giving a wave. Yet, it could not change the fact that they felt like strangers again.
Theresa began to realize how much she missed him, and how much she really regretted not being able to confess her feelings the way she wanted to. It had taken her a lot of self-acceptance to get to where she was now, but Tess could genuinely say she was not the same person she had been a year ago.
She had changed, for the better.
And sometimes, on a lonely Saturday night at home rewatching Sixteen Candles, Theresa considered calling Steve. Just to hear his voice again, before she had made the biggest mistake of her life.
Theresa really just wanted him back.
Grabbing her purse, Tess told her coworkers goodnight and left the department store. She knew where Steve worked, due to having seen him around in his funny little sailor uniform, so she figured that now might have been a good time to stop for a visit. Plus, she wouldn't mind getting some ice cream.
She arrived in front of the Scoops Ahoy ice cream parlor, inhaling sharply. Theresa walked inside, stepping up to the counter where a teenage girl stood. Tess was slightly disappointed, as she had been hoping to see Steve.
