The Only Exception •Richie Tozier•

V

It happened to be the Fourth of July the next day. Though I wasn't a big fan of it. This day was meant to represent freedom and I couldn't help but feel more and more trapped every day I spent in this town.

The losers and I had thought I'd be beat to head into town and maybe look at the parade that passed by. Although the missing poster of Eddie Corcrain took most of our attention away.

Bill was busy looking at the poster as Ben, Beverly, Mike and Stan stood next to him. Eddie was off getting ice cream for both himself and Richie. And Richie was being Richie.

The trumpet player stared at Richie as he loudly played the instrument to an ear defining extent. I couldn't help but giggle watching him as the man who owned the instrument put up a fight to get it back.

"What the fuck dude?" Richie exclaimed throwing his arms up once the man god his instrument back and ran off to join the parade. He strolled back over to me leaning to put a kiss on my cheek. Eddie soon followed handing Richie the ice cream.

"Do you think this will all end?" Bill finally turns to us after letting the poster cover back up Betty Ripsoms. It's like they just forgot about her once a new kid was pronounced missing.

"I actually think it will, for a good while at least" Ben answers him. Soon followed up with a questioning look from Beverly and I as she leaned her head on my shoulder.

"I was going over my Derry research last night and chatted out all the bus events. The iron works explosion in 1908, the Bradley gang in 1935, the black spot in '62. And now kids being..." Ben trailed off.

If I had correctly done the math in my head, then Ben's previous statement had made a lot of sense. All of the bad things that happened to the town of Derry seemed to be every 27 years. Which was a bit peculiar.

"I realised this stuff seems to happen every.." "27 years" Ben and I say at the exact same time. He looks to me quickly and nods his head.

"Ok this shit is boring as fuck, can we please head somewhere else?" Richie puffed out. The urge to smack him over whelmed me as he wasn't taking the situation seriously.

"C'mon babe" He layed an arm over my shoulder before heading over to the large statue of a wood chuck. Across the field lay a stage where there were kids gathered and a clown preforming on stage. I clutched Richie's hand a little tighter knowing exactly that his fear of clowns was a big thing for him.

What's makes me laugh is how Richie is the only one out of us that has a fear of clowns that seems to be the only one who hasn't encountered this monster yet. If this thing is shaping into things the things we fear the most, then why did he show up as Alice for me?

I lay down on the grass as Richie sat next to me and the losers took over the benches and the other part of the grass. This shit was all getting too much, what's a group of seven 13 year old gonna accomplish?

"So what, it comes out every 27 years to eat kids or whatever and then what? It just goes into hibernation?" Eddie asks.

"Maybe it's like, what do you call them, scados, those bugs that come out once every 17 years" Stan points out. The reference was a good one.

"My grandfather thinks this town is cursed. He says all the bad things that happen in this town is over one thing. That something evil feeds off the people of Derry." Mike says.

"But IT can't be one thing, we all saw something different" Stan buts back in.

"Maybe. Or maybe it knows what scares us most and that's what we see" I say. My theory might be good and if I'm correct, I'm a fucking genius.