Strange as IT Seems

Chapter 63: Confirmation

"Hey, Mom," Mia says over the phone.

Due to long-distance charges, Mia was only allowed to call her mother occasionally to talk and catch up with one another.

"Hi Honey, how is it going? How's school?" Caroline asks, so happy to hear from her daughter.

"Pretty quiet. We're almost done with King Lear, thank God. I'm hoping that we can then learn something that I can't recite from memory. All that's left is an essay, and I already know what I'm going to write about."

"Your grandparents certainly knew how to ensure you aced English," Caroline smiles. "And how about your tutoring job? How is that going?"

"Really well. Jane picks up on things fast, and it's great to see her confidence grow."

"I'm sure that you are a wonderful teacher, honey," Caroline says, beaming proudly.

The mother was so relieved that her daughter was thriving in Hawkins and adjusting to a normal life. She wasn't constantly on edge and living in fear of her father. There hadn't been anything about Joel in quite some time, and while the woman hoped that it meant that he'd given up, she knew better. Both Rogers women knew better. It was always calm before the storm. There were often large gaps in time where the drunken monster would vanish off the face of the earth, but would resurface and be able to track them down. No one knew why he was able to... nobody liked him, but the assumption was that, due to his frequenting of bars all over the place, he could pick up information and use that to track down where his daughter might be living. While Joel was drunk, he was very crafty, two things that did not mix.

"Thanks, Mom," Mia says.

"Anything else to report?"

"Not really," Mia lies. She tucks the phone under her chin. She could talk about Georgie's fear of whatever was living in the walls or the fact that Bill and his friends are camped out in the basement for hours at a time, fiddling with an old radio. Or that there was something wrong with the town of Hawkins. What that was, is still a mystery... one that she hoped to solve. "I wish you could come and visit."

"I know," Caroline sighs. She finally managed to get a job in a small office as an assistant bookkeeper on the campus of Berkley in California, but the hours were long, and the pay was not enough to sustain both mother and daughter. "It's just with this new job and everything, I don't have the time. I'm hoping to get Thanksgiving off, and then I can come see you. We can even talk about you moving back to the city."

Mia swallows hard at her mother's statement. Talking about another move already. She was just getting comfortable in Hawkins, and now her mother is talking about moving again. It was like a punch in the gut. While she wanted to live with her mother, she also wanted to stay in one place. Plus, the small town had grown on her significantly. She liked the quiet more than the rush of the big city, despite the risk it posed of being discovered by her father in smaller areas.

"S-Sure..." Mia replies. "I'm really glad you're doing well, Mom."

"So am I, Honey. So am I."

"Have you thought about where you want to go after graduation?" Caroline asks, changing the subject. "If you maintain those grades, you can get scholarships to different colleges."

The two chat for a little longer before they hang up. Mia sits by the phone for a few minutes before she notices Bill enter through the front door.

"I-Is Mom here?" Bill asks.

"She's out grocery shopping," Mia replies.

Sighing in relief, the new group of friends that Bill has made all trek into the house and head towards the basement.