TIME AFTER TIME - STRANGER THINGS SEASON 3

SUMMARY

If you had told Mary Hopper before Will Byers went missing that one day, when she graduated high school that her life would consist of cleaning bowling balls and filling out noise compliant forms at the police station as an underpaid intern, she would have laughed and told you to go screw yourself. But apparently, she was the one being screwed over because that's exactly how her life was six months after graduating high school.

Living with her mom had been alright and she supposed their relationship was fixed — but having a younger baby sister screaming all through the night and having your roommate whisper that she could 'put her out of her misery' was beginning to get on Mary's nerves. And so, she decided she needed her own place — somewhere away from her mom, the screaming baby. She could have just gone back to live with her father that had moved into the Hoppers Cabin full time, but then Mary would only be swapping a baby sister for one just hitting her broody teenage years; and Mary knew those years well and wanted nothing to do with them. Although, she had found a large amount of love in her heart for El—but fuck living with a teenager with superpowers.

So that left her with one option — finding her own place. She wasn't earning enough money from interning at the station and had to find a 'real job'. And luckily for her, a mall was opening up in the centre of Hawkins that had many job opportunities. But of course, she had to be accepted for the most ridiculous of all—the bowling alley on the top floor. In truth, it wasn't that bad but it only meant Mary spent her days around annoying whining kids who left crumbs and ketchup everywhere that she would have to clean down and not to mention constantly having to wipe the bowling balls after every shift. It was annoying. And all whilst being in the preppiest uniform — a blue button up dress with a hat in the same colour. But at least with that job and Corina's shares from her own job at Macy's, she could afford her own place. And Steve worked only across the hall from her in Scoops Ahoy. His uniform was way more ridiculous.

Mary and Corina moved into their own tiny apartment above Melvald's General Store where Joyce worked. It was a decent place to live and the pair were happy with it and for the most part, their life. Mary would receive cards every now and again from Charlie with a note in them and the picture of whatever exotic place he was in on the front. Mary was glad he was enjoying himself—and missing her as he often told her. Corina said it was ridiculously cheesy how Mary had all of the cards plastered to a wall in her bedroom but the girl didn't care, it was her way of keeping Charlie with her.

And so, Mary was living in a decent apartment with two jobs, a good relationship with her family members and even better ones with her friends. And for the most part, she had almost forgotten all of the horrible things that had happened over the past two years. At least, until she was somehow pulled back into the world where monsters existed and Russian's tried to destroy everything—something that instead of happening in comic books, seemed to only happen in Hawkins, Indiana.

And now, instead of slaving away in her job, she had to survive interrogations and encampment from evil Russians whilst in her ridiculous work uniform. The only way Mary could possibly survive is with her level of sass, determination and will power to beat the shit out of the people that keep on screwing up her life. Oh, and with her best friend who works in an ice cream store, his workmate—who literally can't shut up, Lucas' snarky little sister and Dustin who's still waiting for his teeth to grow in. What could possibly go wrong?