Hopper is only vaguely aware of who Max is, remembering her from the house, the little red-haired girl with the skateboard. He likes the idea that she and Eleven had become friends. The boys were fine, but they were boys.

Boys are usually a pain in the ass.

"He lied about his... grandmother being sick?" he asks. "I... I dunno, kid. That's messed up." And something Hopper would have done back when he was a teenager to get rid of a girl. It pisses him off that Mike might have done that to his girl.