Holding on to when everything seemed to matter more:

[becomeimpossible]

Jane Feynman had actually been in Hawkins, Indiana for over a year. One year, six months, six days, to be exact. She's counting, because of course she is. And it's been seven months, two weeks, four days since Harry decided it was okay for her to go out of their cabin. With him, obviously, and with her school work to work on while he did his thing at the diner. So most of her days outside the cabin were spent either doing whatever her assignments were for the day at the counter while Harry cooked the many orders that came in or, sometimes, she'd get quarters from her brother and his boss and go to the Arcade Palace across the street.

She was damn good at Dungeon Quest and Dig Dug, leaving an 011 next to her reigning high score.

And as of today, it was officially three days since she started her year at Hawkins Middle. At her insistence, she and Harry actually sat and weighed the pros and cons of her attending with other kids, and set aside their own rules for when she was at school.


For now, there were just two of them.

1: Don't use her powers. That's for practice at home.
2: Don't go anywhere without telling Harry first, or at least running it past him so he could meet who she wanted to spend time with.

Easy, right?

And within those three days, she's been introduced as Jane Feynman, previous resident of Tampa, Florida (which technically wasn't a lie), and she's been dubbed a 'weird' by one Lucas, much to the annoyance of his friends (whose names she didn't catch) simply because she just didn't do much talking to anyone. She's discovered a shortcut between school and the diner, and she's figured out that she just wasn't meant to make friends easily. She had no clue what to do when people talked to her to try to get to know her, so her answers were quiet and short.

Which is probably why Lucas called her a weirdo.

So now, after her third day of school, she's at the diner doing homework and waiting for her brother to finish his last two hours of work so they could go home.

It's the door of the diner opening, and Dustin's annoyed shouts coming through, shouts about an unbelievable high score on Dig Dug while his three friends shout their agreement that there's just NO WAY someone can score that high that has Jane smiling, shooting her brother a small smirk before going back to her book.

She could get used to being a normal kid, if that's what part of it entailed.

Comments

[sinnesloschen]

Harry Feynman, former 'department of energy' scientist and current diner dishwasher, was no stranger to being called a weirdo. Even in this town, especially in this town. After all, he was the guy who lived in a house in the middle of the woods with his little sister. That was bound to attract a few raised eyebrows.

But that was at least part of the point of it. People paid attention to things out of the ordinary, and it was better they pay attention to that part of his and Jane's extra-ordinary. Rather than anything else.

And then if something happened to them, well. It wouldn't be hidden. At least not really.

He didn't regret any of this, even if it meant losing his career and ability to do science that wasn't in the workshop of his cabin. How could he have gone on with anything knowing what he'd known? Besides, it wasn't as if that place the place they'd run from had had any actual use for him and his science.

That was hardly the reason why they'd hired him, and both he and Jane knew that well enough by now.

He glanced up from collecting dishes to be taken back and washed when the boys entered, smirking right back at his sister. If she was going to make friends with anyone, he figured it was probably going to be that group.

[becomeimpossible]

He was hired to be a 'friend' to Eleven, but he was quick to think everything they were doing was wrong and they needed to get out of there. So, they did and the breakout left bodies. But not theirs, and that was the important part. Later, in the news, it was written off as a terrorist attack. And while Jane and Harry knew it wasn't the end of it, it meant the scientists were busy scrambling to cover their asses.

Too busy, for the moment, to look for the runaways.

So when Dustin and crew sit nearby, arguing about D&D and everything else, Jane tilted her head some to listen in. They were arguing about stats, rolls, abilities. She understood none of it and turn to speak to Harry.

In Welsh. Just for practice.

"Do you understand any of this?"

[sinnesloschen]

Teaching her a language other than English was one of the first things he did, and he knew plenty of them. Russian, obviously, was off the table. Considering the current climate towards anything "soviet". So Welsh it had been.

The question got a nod and a half-shrug. "It's a kind of game, using paper, dice and figures instead of electronics." Probably the easiest way to explain it, really. "Maybe they'll let you play."

[becomeimpossible]

"Teach me, first."


Somewhere in there is a please. She's still shoddy at best with manners and is learning.

"Please."

See? At this point, Harry's boss drops off a burger and fries for Jane. And a strawberry shake. This gets a smile and a small 'thank you'.

"For game night. Teach me what they are playing."

[sinnesloschen]

"Yeah? We'll have to stop at the bookstore tomorrow, then." Pick up some of the supplies. Since he didn't exactly pack DND things with him when they left Boston. Or really anything beyond the essentials and a lot of cash.