It's summer in Hawkins, Indiana. The days are short and bright, Morgan just waiting for it to end before she can leave for college. Steve gets her a job Scoops Ahoy, the ice cream parlor in the new Starcourt Mall that's slowly sucking the life out...
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"You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only you're not. See, in all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable, is each other"-
CONTACT by CARL SAGAN
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PLAY: [TRACK NINE] I'm in Touch with Your World by The Cars
content warning: panic attack
MORGAN releases a heavy breath as she walks out of the crowded Palace Arcade, Saturday usually bringing in all of the local kids. The girl was on her thirty-minute break slotted right in the middle of her twelve-hour shift, the arcade usually needing two or three people to manage all the customers.
It had gotten colder as the days progressed, the leaves turning orange and Halloween decorations beginning to be sold around town. The murmurs about the Starcourt fire were still present but not as much as the first two months afterward; it also seemed that some conspiracy theorists had gotten interested, as every few weeks they would come by and check out the area.
Morgan's hands are shoved in her jacket pockets, the girl moving down the busy road filled with families to get to the local convenience store. She digs out some change before she goes in, grabbing a packet of red vines, paying for them and then walking back down the road.
The girl opens the packet before pulling out a piece of the candy, putting the rest in the pocket of her hoodie. Her eyes flick to her left as she nears the arcade, spotting Robin and Steve in Family Video, the latter sorting out some tapes in one of the aisles. Morgan pauses before walking into the store, smiling as she eats a piece of the red vine before leaning both elbows on the counter, jolting Robin who was reading a book on a small stool behind it.
"Hey," Morgan takes another bite of the candy, holding it in a hand as the other girl walks over, closing her book as she smiles. "What's the book today?" She squints at the cover, struggling to read the words from her position.
"Uh, Skeleton Crew by Stephen King," Robin states with a slight nod to herself. "It's a group of short horror stories, I'm liking it, I think," she casts her gaze back to the book, pausing. "Hits a little close to home though," the girl then shrugs before turning to Morgan.
"I might have to borrow it off you sometime," the girl then smiles at Robin, whos breath catches for a second before she nods. She had gotten good at hiding her reactions for the past few months of their close friendship but some things just catch her off guard. Like when Morgan smiles that way. The way that makes her feel like the world just shifted on its axis.
