Chapter 33: Proper Introductions

Mia can barely contain her excitement as she heads back to the house in Hawkins. It takes all her self-control not to speed back and break as many traffic laws to do so. She had to call her grandparents and her mom to tell her that she got her first "official" job and she would rather do the celebrating in the privacy of a house than pull over to a payphone and practically shout to the heavens about this good news. Of course, she would tell the family she was living with now, but this is something that her mother and grandparents had wanted for a long time. Her head was in the clouds, the smile had not left her face.

Pulling into the driveway, Mia cannot get into the house fast enough.

Georgie, who had been watching cartoons, heard the car and hops on the couch to get to the window, gazing out and watching as his cousin pumps her fist in the air.

"Mia's back," the kid announces.

Bill comes over and peers through, seeing the spring in his cousin's step and the smile.

"Looks like she got the j-job," Bill says.

…

"Honey, that's so great. I'm so proud of you," Caroline says. The woman had barely managed to answer the phone in her hotel room in time. She had just come back from another difficult interview and heard the ringing. She dropped her purse and other bags to get there, hoping it might be a call from one of the interviews. Even though it was Mia, the sound of her daughter's voice was enough to make her day and made the mother feel better. The delight and joy the teenager expressed over the phone made her feel so proud. Tears are welling up in her eyes… her baby girl was growing up so fast. It was a bittersweet moment, Caroline wishing she could be there to celebrate with her.

"Mom, I know what you're going to say about being seen and putting my name out there, but this is tutoring. I'm meeting with one girl who is being homeschooled, and her father is the chief of police… he also already knows about Joel."

Caroline can breathe a small sigh of relief with this news. It could not be a safer job and it was in an area that Mia took a lot of interest in. The times that mother and daughter were together, Mia had loved helping with children and teaching them new things. This was also evident with what Sharon had told her as well that her daughter enjoyed helping Georgie with his reading. It was the best job for their situation.

"I'm so happy for you," the woman continues, leaning back.

"It's so great mom, I'm hoping to meet the student tonight and get everything else ironed out, including my pay. I can finally save money for college."

"I know baby, I know. This is something you deserve."

Mia swallows and wipes a few tears.

"Finally…" is all she can say.

The two Rogers women go on to talk but Caroline avoids the subject of her job, not wanting to ruin her daughter's moment. For now, Mia is happy and safe; that's all that's important right now. She wants to be with her little girl as soon as possible and give her the best life, but that time seemed still a way away. It made the mother feel guilty and worried, a burden she bore alone from the choice that she'd made. If she could go back, she would have left Joel when she was pregnant and disappeared; this way she could still have the beautiful child that she loved and he would have never laid a hand on her.

When the two hang up, Caroline gazes out her hotel window. How is it her daughter can become employed but not her? She'll just have to keep looking.

…

By late afternoon, Mia is getting ready to head back out to the cabin. Aunt Sharon and Uncle Zack had congratulated their niece and told her to be proud of herself. Georgie seemed happy too, even if he didn't understand what a job was.

"Can I get a job Mommy?" he had asked at lunch.

"Not like the one Mia has Honey, but you can do jobs for me by cleaning your room and making your bed."

"Can I get money?" he asked.

"Your father and I will discuss giving you an allowance."

This made the kid extremely happy. Bill had only smiled and told his cousin congratulations. He didn't have much else to say and retreated to his room for most of the day.

After dinner, Mia borrows the car again and drives to the location, still using the map as a guide. She also brought pencils and a notepad to get an idea of what Chief Hopper wanted her to teach his daughter.

She knocks on the door and a tired-looking Hopper answers the door.

"Right on time," he grunts.

He looks over his shoulder and shoots Eleven a look, telling her to go to her room for a little while before they can all be introduced.

"Come in," he says.

"Thank you."

The football game is on and there's an open beer on the coffee table. The chief works to tidy up a little bit and turn off the TV, while Mia sits in the same spot she sat earlier in the day.

"I…I want to thank you again Mr. Hopper for giving me this opportunity."

"Think nothing of it, Kid, but you've thanked me more than enough. Save them for your birthday."

"And when receiving the Oscar?" the girl asks, raising her eyebrow.

Hopper is forced to smile at the girl's quick comeback and sits in his chair again.

Once they are both settled, she asks:

"What are you looking for? For Jane, I mean. Am I teaching all the subjects or just a few?"

Hopper swallows, he hadn't thought too much about it. Jane/Eleven was pretty good at reading, something he prided himself with teaching her. Although he wished she would read something other than the fashion and teen magazines that Max brought over. As for Math, he had a solid D+ average and knew he couldn't teach this to Eleven to save her life.

"I think mainly Math and a little Science. You can probably throw some English in there. Jane is a pretty good reader, but she needs to get into the more advanced stuff. She's a smart girl and picks things up quickly."

"So like classic literature or even like Shakespeare?" Mia asks, scribbling away to take notes.

"If you're like. I don't know how much she'll like it, but you can try."

…

Meanwhile, Eleven is in her room listening to their conversation. She's a little skeptical about this new person that's going to be her teacher. She seems nice enough, but she wasn't sure. Maybe she was a bad person pretending to be nice.

…

Hopper knows he needs to inform the girl of Eleven's lack of few words and her skittish nature and to give a reason as to why she's not going to school like a regular child. He had concocted a story to tell people who asked about his adoption of the girl whenever they were seen together.

"I just want you to understand, my daughter Jane… I'm not her father. I adopted her a while back. Her situation is and has been… complicated. She was taken away from her mother when she was very young and the man who called himself her father…" the mention of the bastard from Hawkins Lab leaves him with a bitter taste in his mouth. "He abused her very badly. She was locked in small spaces, isolated from the rest of the world, and was just mistreated."

A thump is heard from the other room and Hopper knows that Eleven is trying to control herself and fight any flashbacks.

"I want to be able to send her to school but she's not at the level that she should be. I don't want her to be ridiculed by other people for being so behind. She does have a few friends and can hang out… I just don't think she's ready for school yet."

"I understand," Mia nods. "Her situation sounds a lot like Genie?"

"Sorry what?"

"Genie, I studied it in psychology before. She was a child who was so badly abused that she missed important milestones like learning to talk and walk. They tried to help her catch up, but she never fully was able to develop to what she could have been."

"Well, Jane isn't that extreme. She's a girl of few words, but she's so smart. I think with a little help, she'll be able to do it, and I can enroll her soon."

Behind the door, Eleven smiles, happy that Papa has such faith in her. While she is mad that she's not in school with Mike and the others, she knew she couldn't keep up with anything yet. This… tutor or teacher was a good idea, and she was going to prove to everyone that she can be normal.

The girl then decides to meet her teacher and not wait for Papa's signal.

Both Mia and Hopper look over when the door squeaks open and Jane stands shyly in the doorway, dressed in jeans and a floral print top.

Mia takes in the girl's appearance. She had brown hair pulled back into a small ponytail and brown eyes that looked at the floor rather than at the guest in the house. She looked rather tall and to be about Bill's age. If she was in school, no doubt she'd be in Bill's classes. Despite her demure face, the older girl could see the trauma behind Jane's eyes. She had seen some things and didn't trust people easily. This is probably why she wasn't approaching them to be properly introduced.

"Hi Jane," Mia says with a friendly smile and wave.

Jane looks up and gives a quick wave back.

"Hi."

"It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Eleven says.

"I'm looking forward to working with you."

"Thanks, me too," the younger girl mutters.

She then retreats into her room.

The cabin is silent for a while before Hopper turns back to the new tutor.

"She'll warm up to you," he says to reassure the young woman.

"I hope so. Now I want to know what days you want me to come here."

The two spend the rest of the time negotiating hours and pay. Higher than the regular minimum wage but still decent enough so that Hopper won't be going broke over this.

"I'll see you on Monday after school then," Mia says, standing up to shake her employer's hand.

"Yes, and thank you, Ms. Rogers."

"You can call me Mia," the girl says casually. She tries to get a glimpse into Eleven's room to say goodbye, but the girl is staying out of sight.

"Bye Jane. See you soon."

After a moment.

"Bye."

"Drive safely," Hopper says, walking Mia to the door.

"I'll give you one more thank you… for the driving safely warning, not the job," Mia clarifies to joke around.

"I'll let that one slide," he smirks.

He watches from the doorway as the car pulls back onto the dirt road that had been formed from his police wagon driving back and forth. He then goes to the kitchen to crack open another beer.

Eleven stands in the living room, waiting for him to come back to his chair.

"I'm smart?" she asks.

"The smartest," he chuckles. "But you still have a lot to learn"

A/N: Please follow and review

Response to Reviews:

Glaring Eyes: Yes, eventually everyone is going to meet. LOL, it's so much like a spider web right now, trying to keep track of who knows who so far. Thank you for all the great reviews.