mom of ages.

El didn’t take the seat behind the booth. Instead, she just stood beside Joyce, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched as she turned the green and gold pencil over in her hands. It was cheap. Plastic that would probably snap if she pressed too hard, but it felt like something. A little token of belonging.

joyce didn't deny her that it was loud; it was all a bit much, she knew. the sounds, sights, and smells could be overwhelming to even the locals, so she couldn't imagine how strange it was for someone like el, who wasn't used to the annual event. not only was she not used to that, but she wasn't used to being around so many people in general. she could sympathize with her there, but not by much. all she could really do was listen and, if she could, be an encouraging figure in her life. of course, that all went out the window when el asked her that question. would people think she was strange? well, probably. she was a new girl whose first year at hawkins high would be the twelfth grade. it was always strange when someone started school in the very last year. there would be less chance to get to know her over the years, and more chance that she likely wouldn't make any lifelong friends past the ones that she already had. but was it up to joyce to be honest, really? did she need to bombard her with the emotions that came with the the unbridled truth? perhaps not. "yes," she answered, however. she didn't want to give her false hope, especially when she couldn't count on hawkins to be charming enough to not call her bluff. she didn't take well to the other parents and, similarly, didn't care too much for the town's kids. she didn't believe for a second that there wasn't going to be some idiot in the high school who would make it their mission to bother el in her day to day classes, studies, and extracurriculars. that was just part of being a teenager - dealing with bullshit from other teenagers. she reached out to place a comforting hand on el's shoulder, giving her her brightest and best mom smile. "there are going to be people who think you're strange regardless of your age, or where you are in life. even if you had the same upbringing as everyone else around here, there would still be people who think you're weird and different and other. your only goal should be to ignore them; you were put on this earth for a reason and, more importantly, you're ten times cooler than any bully. trust me on that."

El didn’t mean to sneak up, but it just kind of happened. She wasn’t exactly a booth person. Too many people. Too many questions. Even now, years after the mall and the monsters and the whole town almost falling into the Upside Down, she still felt like people looked at her a little too long. Whispered a little too often. It's not like anyone really knew anything, but even people who didn't know, could sense something was weird about her. And there would probably always be something weird about her.

joyce startled, not expecting to hear el's voice behind her. she didn't mind that she was there, of course, just the contrary in fact. she was so happy to see her out and about in the town, here at the block party, being relatively normal. she was sure that she didn't feel all that normal, but that would hopefully come in time. "you can absolutely have a pencil, honey. you can have anything on this table, actually," she said, though she figured she had already heard her little spiel. if she only wanted a pencil, so be it. she didn't know if she cared too much about having fans, however. she was trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible for her children's sake, but it was nice to know that people were finally looking up to her for a change. she had always wanted to be that kind of suburban mom who had her life put together, and finally, finally that might be coming true for her. "i don't think i can have interns, no," she said with a small sigh, if only for the sophomore's sake. "but i do think i can have unpaid assistants? maybe they will give them credits for helping out in the head office," she said, a small shrug following her statements. "oh, el, perhaps you would like to do that? get some extra credit in while taking a bit of the load off of me." sure, she might have only been saying that in order to offer el a way to stay close to her, and sure, that might have been more for her peace of mind than for el's...but maybe she would still take her up on the offer? she knew will wouldn't dream of helping her in the office, and he had his own extracurriculars to worry about anyway. "if i am a big deal, it's only to the people who matter most to me. you, will, jonathan. you're the only ones i feel like i need to impress," she said, smiling up at el. "how are you enjoying the block party so far? i've seen you walking around a bit, and i'm very proud of how brave you're being by attending!"

Will watched as the stranger walked off. He didn't think his question was so strange, but he supposed some people just didn't like to talk. When she gripped his shoulder, Will turned to Mom with a weary smile. If this was going to be one of her big Joyce Byers pep talks about people rejecting themselves when they reject you or something, he was primed to promise her it wasn't that big of a deal.

although joyce was quick to fix him with a look, one that said he knew better than to be self deprecating around her, she didn't go into the spiel that she always had prepared and at the ready. he didn't need to hear that he was popular in her heart, or that she thought he was cool. if her own mom had said that to her at eighteen, she would have had a coronary. she felt lucky that he would even be seen with her at the booth at all. "i know every parent says that, every good one anyway, but we say that because it's the truth. i also know that you've got a freshman you feel like you'll have to give advice to, and the desire to be popular is inherent in most people. kids especially," she said instead. her love for him ran deep, deeper than any ocean on earth, and he could likely feel that love in her gaze. she didn't need to bore him to tears by saying it for the tenth time that day. "besides. being popular in this town takes some sacrifices, believe me." hawkins wasn't a town that anyone should strive for popularity in. it was rife with bullies, know-it-alls, and bigots. such was the life in a small midwestern town, she supposed, but she was glad that neither of her boys (nor her girl) had ever given in to such awful peer pressure. they were wonderfully weird and she was endlessly proud of all of them. she released him from her careful grip and stepped away, hands up as if to say 'hey, i know i'm being uncool myself, right now'. she had never thought she would turn out to be such a mom, but there were a lot of things that had happened in the last few years that she had never thought would happen either. "on the other hand, you could tell them all what's hip right now. what it takes to be totally rad at hawkins high. that's still a thing you all say, right?"

who: will byers & open! where: back to school block party!

it had been years since joyce had properly worked at melvald's. if she hadn't quit, she likely would have been fired when she became branded as the town's resident loon (although those accusations had finally mostly died down). if that hadn't been enough to seal her fate, then the advances she had asked for and her constant missed-shifts near the end of her tenure there would've done it. all that to say that she was still hanging around the booth as if she had any reason to be. she didn't, and there was a whole block party to go off and enjoy, but frankly she was using it as a thinly veiled excuse to be near her youngest son. whoever the customer was, if they had even planned on buying anything to begin with, scurried off at the question. they must have deemed it too weird to answer, and she knew good and well that hawkins was a town full of people too afraid to confront their own feelings and emotions. so be it, she thought. if they wouldn't answer, she would butt in and answer it herself. "i know you weren't talking to me, but listen to your ol' mom for a second," she said, gripping him loosely by the shoulder as she sidled up next to him. he was getting so tall now and he was certainly taller than she was, but she wished he was smaller still. he'd always be little in her mind, but those were words he'd heard a hundred times already. she instead focused on answering the question. "if there was anything i wish i knew starting out in high school, it would be to not worry about cliques. don't focus on popularity, just do your schoolwork, get good grades, and get out when the time comes," she said. she knew that was likely rich, coming from her. she herself had been rather popular in high school, but she felt that that popularity had come at a cost. who would she have been if she'd remained true to herself instead of pushing down her weirdness? she might not have ever become a cheerleader, but she would've been joyce either way. that was something she wished she could have gone back and told herself. hindsight was twenty/twenty. "too lame?" she asked, glancing over at will when she was done reminiscing.