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"I can't even believe this." Nancy says, sitting down next to me in the school bleachers. "This shouldn't have happened so fast, right? This is insane." She's talking about senior graduation. It's been two months since Billy's birthday party and things have been good between Billy and I. But now he's graduating, so are Steve and Jonathan, and I don't know how to deal. Billy and I have talked about he's going to get a summer job, but what happens after Summer's over? Will he stay in Hawkins? Probably not. He won't willingly stay in the same house with his father. Will he go to community college? "Yeah," I reply to Nancy. "This doesn't feel real." "I know right?" Dustin says. "I mean, in three months, I'm going to be in high school. That's crazy." I glance at Dustin. "Oh god. I forgot I'm gonna have to deal with you next year." He frowns. "What's that supposed to mean? I thought we were friends!" I laugh at his response. "Chillax, Dusty, I was just kidding." I ruffle his curls. "You're going to be Jonathan's replacement for next year." "Can I be replacement for Billy instead?" He grins at me. This time I frown at him. "You're weird." "No I'm–" "Greetings seniors and family of the class of '85." The principal says on the graduation stage. "I want to congratulate all of the hardworking seniors..." His speech goes on for a few more minutes until he starts reading the first few graduate names. The gang and I cheer loudly when Jonathan's name is called. Everyone's here except for Eleven. Even Hopper decided to come. Billy walks up on the stage and his name is called. Max and I cheer louder than anyone else. I see him smile at us from the stage. We all go crazy when Steve's name is called. The graduation ceremony is over before we know it. I jump into Billy's arms immediately when I see him. "You did it," I sadly smile. He pulls away to look at me. He chuckles. "I did it." "Billy," I hear from behind me. We both turn around to see Neil and Susan standing there. "Hey, dad." Billy says, not moving an inch. "Congratulations." Neil says. "You've made it very far, son." Billy nods. "Thank you." "What are you guys going to do to celebrate?" Susan asks, releasing some of the awkwardness. "We're going to dinner at Enzo's," I smile. "Would you guys like to come?" "If that's alright with you guys, I'm sure we'd love to, right Neil?" Susan questions. He nods. "I don't see why not."
Dinner went smoothly that night. Afterwards Billy and I drive to our spot by the quarry. We sit on a bench wrapped in each other's arms. "I wish you weren't older than me," I mutter. Billy frowns down at me. "Why?" "Because, we would be graduating together, and we wouldn't have to worry about what our future's going to look like." I explain with a sigh at the end. "Yeah." I look up at him. "What does our future look like?" He shakes his head. "I don't know, baby. I don't know." "Are you... going to go to community college?" I ask. He shrugs. "I just want to be as close as possible to you." "I do, too." I giggle. "But there's not many options for you if you stay in Hawkins. That is, unless you work somewhere for minimum wage. So... I think we should talk about what's realistically going to happen, y'know?" "I don't know what's going to happen. I don't particularly see myself going to any kind of college." He looks up at the stars. "When we first moved here, I hated every bit of Hawkins. I couldn't stand being away from California, because that's where my heart was. But now..." he looks back down at me. "I can't imagine leaving. Not without you." "So... stay." I say. "Maybe I could hide you in my room for the rest of the year. I'll be super careful about it, and Collin will never know." "That would be nice." He chuckles. "If only. I think I'm just going to have to find a place to stay and a job to work until you graduate. Then we can get out of this shithole and move somewhere else. Maybe Chicago." I smile up at him. "You're really going to stay?" "Of course I am, baby. For you."
One Week Later
"Will you hurry up? We're going to be late, Whitley!" Steve yells from his car as I rush to slip on my shoes. "I'm coming!" I yell back. I make sure to grab the house keys before leaving and climbing into Steve's car. As soon as I'm in, he speeds down the road. "Are you nervous?" Steve asks me as he drives. "No, I can kind of use mind control to make the interviewer hire me. But that's not important, are you nervous?" Steve's eyes widen. "What? You can do that?" "Yup." I grin. "Can you do that? For my interview?" He asks, hopeful. "I'd have to be at your interview to do that, and I kind of have my own at the same time." I chuckle. "So no. But you'll do great, Steve. Even if you don't, I'll bet that they'll hire you anyways because of your hair." He frowns and looks at his reflection in the review mirror. He brushes a hand through his hair. "Yeah, maybe." He says. I shake my head and laugh. We reach the still unopened mall a few minutes later. The mall is supposed to open next Monday, so in a few days I'll officially have a job. Steve is interviewing for Scoops Ahoy while I'm interviewing for The Gap. He wanted me to work with him at Scoops, but I decided clothing discounts are better than free ice cream in the long run. We'll be able to hang out at breaks anyways.
The mall is huge. Way bigger than I even expected. There's finally something good in Hawkins for once. "Good luck," I say to Steve before we head our opposite ways to our interviews. "You t– wait, never mind, I forgot, you don't really need it." He chuckles. "I'll take it anyways." I smile. "See you in thirty." Thirty minutes later I get the job, thanks to my charisma and my super powers. My first shift is officially on Monday. Steve finds me right after the interview. "I got the job!" He throws his hands up in excitement. "Me too!" I laugh. "Big surprise, right?" "Huge surprise." He playfully rolls his eyes. "Let's get the hell out of here and celebrate."
