Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
*Okay, so you guys were pumped to see the sauna test, but...you'll need to wait a bit.*
Larry, who had tissues up his bloody nostrils now, had led Jim and Joyce to his home through his car leading Jim's. Once they were inside, they saw how fancy it was inside. A fancy chandelier and floor and ceiling and zebra rug...
They got into his room, the mayor going to a secret safe and opening it up with a key. He then grabbed a binded folder and handed it to Jim. "Here ya go," he said.
The police chief took it as Larry took a seat near the safe and he leaned against a table, unbinding the folder and looking at the papers. "What's all this?" he asked.
"Land deeds, transfers of property."
He nodded. "So, your buddies at Starcourt SUDDENLY started buying up all this property."
Larry nodded back. "Yeah."
He looked up at him. "You sure you don't know why?"
He nodded again. "They don't tell me anything, Jim."
He scoffed. "So they're just using you, gotcha." The mayor scoffed back and crossed his arms. "But why do you have these in a SAFE in your ROOM?" He handed the folder to Joyce, who started looking through them as well. He started stretching out the rubber band that binded the folder.
Larry looked serious. "These people are bad news, Jim."
"So, what? This is blackmail?"
"Protection."
He looked puzzled. "Protection?"
Joyce looked shocked to see something, her muttering, "Hold on..." She then left the room, puzzling both men before Jim followed her.
...
After the two have figured out what was really going on and what they should do, Larry got out of his room and appeared before them, clearing his throat. The two looked back at him, seeing his smile. "Well, if that's everything you need, then it's time to fill your end of the bargain, Jim." He looked at the police chief, who sighed.
"Right," he said plainly. "Let's go, Joyce." She nodded and the two eventually got out of the house.
Larry watched them leave and took a deep breath, shaking his head and muttering, "Hope I don't get to assign a new chief."
Kali had finally arrived home, storming in. Becky and Carl were just finished with lunch and got out of the kitchen, the man holding his baby daughter in his arms before they saw her go in. The woman's hair was all down and she wore a yellow collared shirt with blue strips on it, a pair of pink shorts, and white slippers. The man wore a plain teal collared shirt, white shorts, and black kung-fu slippers. The sleepy baby girl wore a white bow on the top of her head and a pink-dotted dress with white socks.
"Kali?" Becky asked.
"You're here early," Carl added. However, both of them saw that she was in a huff and she stormed right up the stairs, not bothering to answer them. They both looked worried about her.
"Kali?" the dark-haired man called out. Still no answer as they got close to the stairwell and got up it, Tina sucking her hand as she was slowly going to sleep.
As the man went to their room to lay Tina down in her crib, Becky got to the door of Kali's room, knocking on it. "Kali, what happened, sweetie?" she asked. There was still no answer. "You can talk to me about anything. You know that." There was still silence on the other side of the door. Sad, Becky looked down and walked away from the door.
Carl got out of the room and faced his wife, asking, "What happened?"
She just shrugged and sighed. "Let's get her some space." He nodded in understanding as they went towards the stairs. But then they heard a door open, making them stop and look back. They felt awful to see the distressed look on their niece's face.
...
They all sat on the couch in the living room as Kali told them everything that's happened. Becky and Carl looked sorry and a bit understanding of her, sitting at the opposites of her. She slumped back, sinking down a little. "I just wished that I was right. Now..." She shrugged. "I don't know if I am."
Frowning, the married couple exchanged glances before the woman rubbed her shoulder. "I'm sorry about that, Kali."
"Me too," Carl said. "Losing your job, and then your friend..."
"All because of a dumb story I wanted to pursue..." Kali muttered, taking a deep breath and holding back her tears. "I just wanted to make it big and...prove myself, but...I wasn't thinking about what Jonathan felt...or what those..." She held back from calling her former fellow employees a crude name. "...men thought, especially my former boss." The two adults nodded. "I just...I guess..." She rubbed her temple. "I didn't want to...ADMIT that I'm wrong and selfish because if I did, then..."
"You're what everyone else thinks of you," Becky finished for her.
She looked at her aunt and nodded. "Yes."
She exhaled heavily before getting a little closer to her older niece. "Listen, Kali...it's not easy out there in the real world."
The Indian girl closed her eyes and bowed her head. "I know, especially..."
"Especially for a woman like you," Carl added, surprising the teen. He nodded at her.
"People are always sayin' you can't, you shouldn't..." Becky looked away...remembering things from her former jobs. "That you're not...good enough, or smart enough."
"The harsh reality of this world is that it can keep beating you down and down...until you decide to stop trying." Becky nodded at him.
"I know how that feels." Kali looked at her aunt. "Like nothing will go right, that you're a...complete failure, so why try anymore?" The teen felt like that after the argument and the firing...she really did. The woman then smiled. "But, the thing about us Ives women is that we're fighters." Kali's sad expression softened a little. "Yes, I have gotten through that, but I'm too damn stubborn to let it truly get to me." Kali chuckled a little, Becky looking at her husband for approval of speaking freely. He nodded and she smiled at him before looking back at her niece. "No matter what, I kept trying, I keep fighting, even if I feel like shit about it. Even though I didn't think far into the future when I was your age, I wanted to try until I make it."
"And that was how she got a position at my family's company," Carl added, smiling with her.
Kali smiled a little before dropping it. "But I'm not even related to you guys."
"Not by blood, no, but you're still family." Becky then grabbed her hand and squeezed it, the two looking straight at each other. "You're still my precious niece. You're an Ives woman...you're a fighter." Kali smiled at her again, feeling much better than before. "And we're both proud of you." Carl nodded.
Kali chuckled again. "Proud of me for getting fired?"
"For standing up for yourself."
"And braving through a tough workplace for as long as you could," the dark-haired man added. "Even if I'm not impressed by the way you handled your firing, I have a lot of respect for those getting through tough times in tough places."
She kept her smile, but looked a little surprised to hear Carl tell her all of this. This was really unexpected of him. "What do you mean?"
He cleared his throat, his body leaning forward, but his eyes still kept on his niece. "There is an African-American woman in the Business Development sector of my family's company named Sallie-Mae Ferguson. When I interviewed her, she was very intelligent, passionate, and willing to take risks. I was also very impressed by her knowledge of business in real estate development, so I hired her on the spot." Kali looked surprised to hear that. She left her interview after it was done and then got a phone call from Tom a couple days later.
"But I had no clue that she would face the amount of problems she had in the workplace, being an African-American woman."
"And it wasn't until he hired me that it was brought to his attention," Becky added, her husband nodding.
"That's right. Your aunt told me about how much she was going through: name-calling, snide remarks about her race and gender, and even making fun of her when she messes up. I was appalled, as a matter of fact. I guessed..." He sighed, looking away from his niece for a brief time. "I never thought this would still happen after the Civil Rights Movement." He shook his head. "But I couldn't let behavior like that go by like it never happens."
The Indian girl looked curious. "So, what did you do?"
Carl laced his hands together and looked back at her. "I convinced my parents to have me hold a workshop on employee behavior and acceptance. I planted it into every employee's heads that we were all to work in a professional environment and treat each other with respect, no matter our race, gender, and background." He smiled a little. "Not only was Sallie-Mae grateful, but also others like her that worked for us. In fact, she thanked me...and said no other man like me would ever do something like this for her." Kali smiled as well, feeling more better. "A few employees got into disagreements with me and decided to quit afterwards, but in my eyes, that was a good thing. It meant I weeded out the worst the company has to offer."
She nodded before her smile dropped. "Even so, that is just you and your company."
He nodded back at her, his smile dropping as well. "Yes. But I'm telling you this because now, I know what women like you go through in the real world and how tough it is to go through."
"But long ago, him having that workshop would have never happened," Becky stated.
"My parents would be less convinced if I was trying to have this during the 50s and 60s because they wouldn't see this as a problem." The teen knew that was true. "The real world is cruel, but it can change overtime. Sometimes, you just need to be in the right place with the right people." The right place with the right people, huh...
"There's no definite way to know if you're at the right place at the right time," her aunt added, her hand now on the teen girl's shoulder. "But no matter what, you stay strong and look out for changes."
"And you can even make them yourself, if you could." If she could...
No, WHEN she could.
Feeling much better than before, she looked gratefully at the two of them. "Thanks, Aunt Becky and Uncle Carl."
They both gave her warm smiles. "Anything for our precious niece," Becky said.
"You seemed to need it," Carl added.
The Indian girl then hugged them both, surprising the dark-haired man before he saw his wife return it. After thinking why not, he did the same. Hugs were comforting, even if he wasn't a hugger himself.
Kali thought Carl was right. She needed this. She really did. And now, she felt a lot less shitty than before.
They broke the hug, her uncle stating, "I will be honest with you." Kali and Becky looked at him. "There are times when a company is given an opportunity and doesn't take it, suffering for it in the long run." Kali's eyes lit up. "If you believe this story you're working on is worth investigating, then by all means, investigate. Sell the story to a bigger paper to see that they've made a big mistake." She smiled at that suggestion. "Just don't break any laws doing it." His niece laughed at that, his wife grinning.
"Yeah, don't want the police coming here and scaring your mom," Becky added playfully. Sure, they were joking, but if she was going to re-investigate this case...she'll have to take risks.
While Will and Lucas were getting supplies for the pool's maintenance shed they snuck into, the black-haired boy wondered if he should talk about what happened yesterday at the house with his auburn-haired friend. After a sigh, he asked, "Hey, Will?" He opened up a toolbox.
"Yeah?" he replied without looking away from the supplies, crouching down to see if there were any good ones.
He grabbed some tape and shut the box. "If you don't mind me asking..." He pulled out a metal pipe from behind the table the toolbox was on. "What happened between you and Jane yesterday, before we found you?"
He went stiff and didn't answer for ten seconds, worrying him. He felt...what he did yesterday, coming back. He pushed it off with a heavy sigh and admitted, "After getting out of the bathroom, she appeared out of the porch, then I dragged her back to it so that she wouldn't interfere with the campaign." Lucas raised his eyebrows in concern as Will looked up at the top shelf. "We argued, and then I..." He gulped, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"What?" Lucas paused. "What did you do?"
"I...confessed to her."
His dark-haired friend looked like he got struck by lightning. "You CONFESSED to her?!"
"Yes." He grabbed a box of something metallic of the second-highest shelf. "And she didn't take it well either."
Lucas suppressed a scoff. "I'll bet. But why did you confess-"
Will finally turned to him, looking dead serious. "Listen, Lucas, we have bigger things to worry about than my feelings." He frowned. He only wanted to show concern to one of his best friends, that was all. Will then held up a fat link of chains and added, "Like if these will hold Billy or not."
...
With his power, Mike unlocked the lock to the door of the lifeguards' room and went in, looking for something that should look like a person. A "dummy", his friends told him. Funny name. It didn't take him long to find on with clothes on, laying across a long shelf. He grabbed it, carrying it to his chest and shoulder blade. Suddenly, Jane appeared in the room and said, "Hey, Andrew and I found the breakers." He took a sharp inhale of breath, looking annoyed to hear her voice before turning to her. She looked at the dummy with raised eyebrows, then a smile. "Oh, I just thought of something." She then snatched it from him, much to his disapproval and annoyance.
She positioned the dummy to her side like a ventriloquist with a large puppet and looked at him, smiling. "I think this'll work. Right, buddy?" She then used her hand to move up the dummy's jaw. She deepened her voice to mimic the dummy saying, "'Well, this is a lot shorter than I'm used to, Jane.'" She giggled, looking at Mike for his reaction. He did not look impressed, or amused, or happy, really. So much for trying to make him smile.
Her smile dropped as he got that dummy back from her and proceeded to leave. She felt awful, but she needed him to stay for a little longer...so that they could talk. She felt it, like Steve said. "Mike, wait a minute." He stopped and turned to her, still having the same expression.
"What?" he replied bitterly.
She thought she deserved that, but she couldn't back down now. Her face was that of solemness. "I just wanted to say that...I'm sorry...for how I acted a couple days ago." He now looked surprised, seeming to relax a little.
"You're...sorry?"
She nodded. "Yes. I acted like a...a total bitch to you over the phone and at the mall." He knew what that word meant and...well, he didn't WANT to think Jane as such...but she was. "And it was totally uncalled for. I treated you like garbage and...you're not, Mike." She looked up at him, her eyes getting glassy as she shook her head. "You are never garbage to me, Mike, and I'll never treat you that way again. I promise." She promised...she promised...like she did three years ago.
Mike was feeling quite a wave of emotions, wondering if he should forgive her or not. After all, he still feels...what he feels with just her, even after dumping her ass.
She sighed deeply. "Besides, our parents talked and...well, I thought Hopper talked to you about us not hanging out for one day. They said we hang out with each other too much." Now he looked thoughtful, dropping the dummy and looking away from her. THAT was why he was acting weird the night before the phone call. But...he couldn't tell him? Why? She chuckled sadly. "I wasn't right calling him those things to you either. I know how much you two care for each other."
He just nodded, looking straight into her eyes. "Yeah."
"I...just wanted to tell you all of that." She took one step towards him. "You're the most important person in the world for me, Mike." He blushed a little as she took another step towards him. "I wouldn't want what we have to suffer because I went off the deep end." She chuckled again, taking yet another step and getting close to him. "I hope you'll forgive me." One more step, then she held the side of his arms gently. She was being sincere, very real with him. Of course he'll forgive her. However...
As she leaned in for a kiss, he dodged it by ducking down and grabbing the dummy again, leaving her a bit shocked. "Listen, Jane." He flung it over his shoulder and looked at her sincerely. "I forgive you, but...maybe our parents are right." She was surprised to hear that. "If I'm spending a lot of time with you..." He then quirked his mouth to the side. "...and I'm a different SPECIES..." That now garnered a puzzled reaction from his ex-girlfriend. "Then I should spend more time with my species." She got even more puzzled.
"'Species?' What are you-" Then she remembered her conversation with Max that night...that conversation between JUST THE TWO OF THEM. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "You were spying on us?!" He didn't reply, though the face he made told her the answer. "What the hell?! That's against the rules!"
He shrugged. "I make my own rules now." He then left, leaving her dumbfounded. How dare...but...he...and then...
As he was walking out though, he had a solemn look on his face. Yes, he did want to hang out with the boys more and she and Max haven't yet apologized for calling him and his friends a "different species". And yes, he was starting to make his own rules now, thanks to the boys. Even so...she apologized to him for her behavior before and he forgave her in that regard. His feelings for her were still there and she was being sincere. Perhaps, after they go through with this plan...he'll talk to her again.
When Terry came back from the bathroom earlier, she decided to lie to Stacey about Andrew being at the pool before planning to go back home at six. Due to the plan she was told about, that was not likely to happen. But she was acting REALLY strange.
She was sweating bullets despite the A.C, she was talking to the younger co-workers more, and she kept going in and out of the store. The latter, she could chalk up to a way for her to deal with...Dave's death. But the former two...she thought of the worst. She saw how sweaty Will was last year and she knows Stacey doesn't just have a chat with the younger employees. She could be...possessed. But she couldn't just think that because everyone is different.
"Terry?" the curly-haired woman asked, making the dirty-blonde-haired one tense up before looking to her right. She fully faced her.
"Oh, Stacey," she replied, clearing her throat and trying to relax. She placed her hands on her hips. "What's wro-I mean, what's up?"
"Can we speak...privately?" Terry went stiff. Maybe this was just an innocent suggestion...maybe it wasn't. Either way, she had gotta be prepared.
She nodded. "Uh, sure. In the secret hallway?"
"Yes." And with that, the women went in there together, Terry feeling a knot in her stomach and an uneasy pressure in the air. Maybe she was just overreacting. Again, everybody was different in their coping.
"So, Stacey, what did you want to-" she began asking before she spotted her friend pulling out a rag and shoving it to her face. She had stopped breathing, knowing that she was using a chloroform rag. She had struggled against Stacey's push, trying to move her hand away from her face. She didn't know if it was her own strength...or "his". The curly-haired woman then used her free hand to cuff her wrists, her blank yet cold stare boring into her eyes. Terry felt herself getting out of breath, her face turning slightly blue. She struggled more, panicking before thinking of something. Stacey had cuffed her hands...but not her legs.
She kneed her stomach, making her bellow and cough as well as stepping back and letting the rag go off her face. Terry took the biggest deep breath, smelling only a bit of the chloroform, but she knew she wouldn't be knocked out instantly from it. She then ran out and into the employee's room, not caring if her co-workers were looking at her weird. She grabbed her purse and burst back out, running away from the Gap. She bumped into people along the way, but kept going.
"Terry?!" one of the coworkers exclaimed. She and the rest of them then saw Stacey come out of the secret hallway, holding her stomach.
"Stacey, what happened to you?!" another co-worker asked, worried like the rest as they got to her.
Out of the coldness "he" brought to her, she lied, "Terry just...assaulted me."
The kids were separated and doing their own thing while waiting for the night to come. The boys were dallying around like they do, Max kept lookout, and Jane and Andrew were just near the woods together. The sun was setting, so the wait wasn't for much longer. The long-haired man saw that Jane was looking at Mike longingly, making him curious. "You care about Mike, don't you?"
She looked up suddenly, eyes widened. "Huh?"
He smiled. "You do."
She began blushing. "That's none of your business." She looked away from him, crossing her arms.
He chuckled. "What happened when you came to get him anyway?"
"None. Of. Your. Business."
He held his hands up. "Okay, okay. I just know that Ter-I mean, your mom told me you protected him back in '83."
She looked surprised to hear that. "Why did she tell you that?"
He looked down at her. "She told me and my friends for context about the Mind Flayer and how he shut the 'gate'."
She looked up at him. "And you didn't freak out when she told you about his...?"
"Powers?" He shook his head. "I think it's pretty cool that he has them."
She smiled a little. "Yeah, but he's much more." She then realized what she said, looking shocked. "I mean-"
He laughed. "Your secret's safe with me, Jane."
She sighed and looked back at Mike, still playing around with the boys. "I mean..." She paused for a bit. "It's not a secret that I...really like him."
He looked a bit surprised. "Really?"
"We've...dated."
He raised an eyebrow. "'Dated?'"
"We...broke up a couple days ago."
He frowned and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry to hear that."
"Thanks. But...I still really care for him. I apologized to him about treating him bad and want to be back together with him, but I guess he'd rather hang out with the boys than me." Mike had looked at her for a few seconds, frowning before getting back to playing.
He looked at the boys, then back down at her. "I don't want to say your feelings are invalid, far from it actually. But..." She looked up at him. "It's not like he should dedicate his entire life to you."
She frowned. "I know, but-"
"Do you think he still cares for you too? Or do you think that's history?"
She sighed and looked at him once more. He seemed to really get her apology and even though he dodged her kiss and mentioned the "species" thing, he forgave her. She gulped back a lump in her throat and answered, "Maybe."
He nodded. "I'm no mind-reader, but maybe he wants more time to process your apology. Or maybe he wants to learn more about how to have friends like him before getting back together with you. Either way, things like this takes time. If he does still care about you too, he might come back to you again."
She smiled at the thought. Despite the revelation that he peeped onto her conversation with Max...she'd still love to talk to him again. Maybe he'll be the one to talk to her, like Andrew said. That would be great. She knew Mike still had the same feelings for her, he had to. But again, he was right. Kali and Steve were right. Just give him more space and see what happens.
Still smiling, she looked up at the former hippy. "No wonder you're friends with my mom."
He smiled back, but looked a bit puzzled. "What does that mean?"
"You're really kind and wise, just like her."
He laughed, blushing a little from the comparison. "Wow, thanks, Jane the Hobbit." He reminded her of Terry, a woman he came to care a lot about? He had never heard a better compliment.
She now looked surprised at him again. "'Jane the Hobbit'?" Her eyes widened more as a grin came across her face. "You read Lord of the Rings?"
"Yeah, ever since the 60's! Have you seen the animated film?"
She nodded. "Yeah!" And then they delved into a conversation strictly about their shared interest in Lord of the Rings, now happy and enjoying each other's company.
Max looked back, being puzzled to see the two interact like this. What exactly were they talking about?
The boys also took note at this, which made them stop playing around. "They're getting along well," Lucas stated.
"But what are they talking about?" Will asked, getting shrugs from his friends. However, Mike really liked to see Jane smile again, even if he wanted to be with the boys more.
Stopping here! What do you guys think of this chapter? Any typos or mistakes I might've missed?
Nancy and Karen having a heart-to-heart is honestly one of the best scenes in Season 3, so I hope I captured the feeling of that well with Becky and Carl's talk with Kali. Plus, I wanted a way to make Carl's character shine a little more. :)
So, Jane and Mike made up! ...sorta. I mean, they're not getting back together right away because Mike wants to hang out with the boys a little more. Oh yeah, and she and Max haven't apologized for calling him and the rest of the boys "species". Even so, I thought this is better than in canon, where I THOUGHT that maybe they would make up and understand each other. Apparently, I was expecting too much from a couple that could understand each other 98% of the time.
I read somewhere that despite what the media shows, chloroform isn't an instant knockout formula. A sniff of it wouldn't do the trick, so Terry was safe...and used her intelligence to know what Stacey was doing. Poor woman...
I couldn't let the opportunity of having Jane and Andrew bond over Mike and Lord of the Rings slip past me! Hope I wrote that well!
Believe it or not, I wrote this and the sauna test in one sitting, but of course, I had to separate them due to the word limit. So yes, that means the entire sauna test is written out already! I've finished my last classes and I'll be graduating college this August, so I'll have plenty of time to write! I'll wait a few days to publish it though.
Keep supporting this fanfic as you guys do and I'll see you in the sauna test! :D