Complicated • Stranger Things

20 - The Case of the Missing Lifeguard

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight?" Steve asked as we walked into the parking lot.

"I would, but I need to bring Dustin home and check on El," I told him and he nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. "But I should be free tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." He agreed. We said our goodbyes and I went over to my car where Dustin was already waiting for me.

After I dropped him off, I drove home as fast as I could. When I walked inside, I heard loud music playing and the sound of laughter. It was coming from El's room. I knocked on the door and it opened a few seconds later. Max and El were standing there and there were magazines spread all over the bed.

"Is Dad home?" I asked after they turned down the music. El shook her head and I nodded before closing the door. I didn't want to bother her and Max, I just wanted to know she was okay.

I headed to my room, ready to go to sleep. I changed into my pajamas and just as I laid down, I heard a car door slam and the front door soon after.

Then, I heard my dad shouting. I got up and pressed my ear against my door. He was slurring and stumbling over his words. He was definitely drunk. I was too tired to deal with him now, so I decided to talk to him in the morning and collapsed onto my bed.

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I was woken up by the sound of the front door slamming. I groaned as I rolled over to check the time. I quickly got up once I realized that I was an hour late for work.

As I got ready, I listened to my dad's not-so-quiet conversation with who I thought was Joyce, but I couldn't be sure. As I listened, I realized why my dad had come home drunk. He asked Joyce out, and she stood him up. Ouch.

Once I finished getting ready, I quickly rushed out the door, giving an awkward wave to Joyce and my dad.

I ran to my car and sped to the mall. The weather was already bad, but by the time I got there, it was pouring. When I finally got to work, I saw Robin, but Steve was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, where's Steve?" I asked Robin.

"Oh, he and Dustin went to look for evil Russians." She told me and I just nodded, not fully understanding what that meant.

"Did you get any more of the code?" I asked.

"Yeah." She showed me her notepad as she read the next sentence. "'A trip to China sounds nice if you tread lightly.'"

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"No clue." She said. Just then, there was a knock at the back door. "I got it." She slid open the window and climbed through.

"You're not gonna believe who Dustin thought was a Russian," Steve said as he and Dustin returned.

"You did too," Dustin said.

"No, I did not." Steve denied. As the two continued to argue, Robin ran past them. The three of us exchanged confused glances before we followed her.

We found her standing in the middle of the mall as she looked around at all the stores.

"Robin." Steve got her attention. "What're you doing?"

"I cracked it." She stated.

"Cracked what?" Steve asked.

"I cracked the code."

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We waited until it was dark to go onto the roof of the mall where we could see the shipments being brought in. It was still pouring out, so we were instantly drenched. The four of us kneeled down and Dustin used his binoculars to look at the packages.

"Look for Imperial Panda and Kaufman Shoes," Robin told him.

"They're with that whistling guy, ten o'clock," Dustin said. My eyes shifted to a guy in a yellow raining coat, who had three boxes.

"What do you think's in there?" Steve asked.

"Guns?" Dustin suggested.

"Bombs?" I added.

"Chemical weapons?" Robin said.

"Whatever it is, they're armed to the teeth," Dustin said, referring to all the guards standing there with guns.

"Great. That's great." Steve stated. Then, a door was opened for the man with the packages.

"Hey, what's in there?" Robin asked.

"It's just more boxes," Dustin stated.

"Let me check it out." Steve tried to grab the binoculars from Dustin, which resulted in the two of them fighting over it. The binoculars ended up hitting something, making a lound banging noise and the four of us quickly dropped out of sight.

"Way to go, dumbass," I whispered loudly to Steve.

We waited a few seconds before we got up and ran back inside in case anyone came up here to check.

"Well, I think we found your Russians," Robin stated.