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JACKIE SPENT HER Saturday morning applying to jobs. She'd been to every imaginable store in the entire town of Hawkins. The pizza place, Family Video, the radio station, Sid's Skate Shop, even the damn arcade. One of them had to get back to her, she hoped. She couldn't stand to keep riding with Billy to school, listening to his shitty music and dealing with his even worse attitude.
She didn't care if she worked one day a week, as long as she got gas money, she'd be happy.
Her resume wasn't much, she'd worked at a surf job when she'd first turned sixteen back in California, saved up for her half of the car that her dad helped buy, and quit once Susan announced they were going to be moving.
Her tank was practically on empty by the time she returned home. The only time she'd be able to move her car again was if she was going to the gas station. But then Max was barreling out of her room, looking at her eagerly and asking if they could go pumpkin picking, and how could Jackie say no to that?
She didn't—her car stuttered with the little gas she did have, but Max turned the cassette up and Jackie pretended like she didn't feel it as they sang.
She'd gotten adjusted to the small town quickly, the shopping center by the police station, she'd applied to the small hardware store there, too, a nice woman behind the counter had taken the paper and wished her luck. Amongst her travels, she had passed a farm, and she hoped memory would serve her right as she drove the winding roads.
The car pulled to a stop before the gravel road, a large CLOSED sign on the welcome archway that led to the pumpkin patch. Dejected, Jackie glanced to her sister, but her gaze was focused on something on the ground.
"Ew, look at the pumpkins."
Jackie followed her gaze, in the jumble of garbage bags by the curb, a rotten pumpkin rolled out. It was sunken, completely black and more rotten than Jackie had ever seen.
"Is that... normal?"
"I don't know," Max admitted.
"Guess we're a little late to pumpkin season, huh?"
Max huffed. "Can we go to the arcade?"
Jackie shrugged. "Yeah. Why not?"
Her Sunday passed uneventfully, lounging in her bed, waiting for the phone to ring, hopeful that she'd receive a call back from any of the businesses she'd applied to.
