Strange as IT Seems

Chapter 52: Interfere

"Thanks, Aunt Sharon," Mia says, getting out of the car in front of Starcourt Mall. "I'll catch the bus back home."

For a moment, the teenager questions why she's doing this again. The gray clouds roll ominously above her, like a pathetic fallacy for how she feels on the inside. After tutoring, she'd asked her aunt if she could drive her to the mall for the rest of the afternoon considering it was going to rain and it was a reason to get out of the house besides school and work. After much contemplation, Mia knew it was time to get out and become more social. Make friends and be a normal kid for a change. Joel Rogers still hadn't shown his face for a while and talking with her mom the other night, he hadn't tried to contact anyone who might know of his daughter's whereabouts. It was a relief. Between mother and daughter, they prayed that he'd finally given up after 5 years... unlikely but they could always hope.

"Are you sure?" Sharon says, still a little concerned about everything. Despite the apparent peace her niece has found in Hawkins, she still worries about what could happen. Zack nor anyone else knew that she was keeping a handgun in the glove compartment of the car just in case Joel ever confronted them. She knew better than anyone how dangerous her sister's ex-husband was and would do anything to protect her family.

Mia swallows and grabs her shoulder bag. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll see you later."

"If you can't make it for dinner, please call," Sharon continues. "And if anything happens..."

"I will. I promise," she reassures her aunt. She then turns to her cousin sitting in the back seat. "See you later Squirt."

"I want to go to the mall!" the kid demands.

Mia takes that as her cue to head inside with the beginnings of a tantrum possibly on the horizon. In the distance, thunder rumbles indicating the coming storm.

The massive wave of sound hits her as she enters, no surprise as many people would be at the mall when the weather was bad. She's tempted to just find a place to sit and watch people like she did with Bill and Georgie, but decides to walk around, maybe go to the book or music store... normal teenager things.

The word still felt unusual in her mouth "normal" ... as she ventured deep into the building.

...

After about an hour of browsing through the stores and buying absolutely nothing, Mia finally gives into her temptation and walks across the mall towards the food court. Deep down, she knew she wanted to come to the mall to see him again. She also knew where he worked now.

There was something about Steve that drew her to him. Or maybe it was because she kept running into him... Maybe someone was telling her something. At this point, she didn't know if the feeling was mutual, but he had flirted with her before. He made her smile and even laugh. It felt good to be with him. Could that mean...?

Then came the doubting thoughts. She didn't really know the guy at all. For all she knew, he could be a huge jerk that just leads girls on to sleep with them. She's questioning why she's even trying to see if Steve was there. Yes, she clearly liked him, but it will all come crashing down, like it always does... A pessimistic way to look at the world, but it has always been her reality.

Her mind flashes back to about a year ago when she was in school in Wisconsin. She felt pretty lonely, especially since she was the "new kid in town" ... again. The town was small, meaning that all the students knew each other to some degree and had grown up together. Being the "new girl" meant that she was to be mistrusted and not talked to. Also, Mia didn't doubt that rumours swirled about why she had transferred there and lived with her grandparents. Most of the students met her with some skepticism, and judgement and anyone who talked to her would just basically say hello or hey and that was about it.