will&mona: walkie drop-off
Dustin had spent the better part of an hour badgering Mona about "delicate frequency alignments", finally convincing her to detour to the Wheeler house with a newly improved walkie-talkie. Apparently, Will had "accidentally" snapped the antenna on his old one—though, knowing the boys and their shenanigans, it probably involved a high-stakes escape from an imaginary dragon or a very real government van. To soften the blow of a surprise visit, Mona had stopped by the diner first, picking up a burger that was now tucked into a brown paper bag. Karen Wheeler met her at the door with a polite smile, smoothing out her apron as she ushered Mona inside, telling her Will was downstairs in the basement. As she was heading for the stairs, the walkie-talkie felt heavy in her leather jacket pocket and the burger warm in her hand.
"Delivery for the resident artist," Mona called out, pushing the basement door open without waiting for a formal invitation. She knew Will was the quietest of the bunch, the one who often looked like he was listening to a radio station no one else could pick up. Secretly, she’d always felt a strange, silent kinship with his need to disappear into his own head. Mona found Will tucked away in the corner, looking a bit startled by her sudden appearance in the dim light of the basement. "Dustin’s orders," she said, tossing the taped-up device onto the table and sliding the burger toward him. "He said you were off the grid, which apparently constitutes a national emergency in his world. The burger is an added bonus from me." @awakenedsorcerer
