𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐋𝐄 *.☽ .* 𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐀𝐔

4

The classroom door swung open and a small boy with shaggy dark-brown-almost-black curls, a yellow Hawaiian shirt on and large round goggle-like glasses came plodding in timidly. Wonder, innocence and worry was plastered on his face.

Richie held tightly onto his light blue lunchbox, a green dinosaur painted on the front, as he stared, eyes wide at the large group of new people in front of him, surveying each and every one.

Most of the kids looked at him and looked away almost immediately, dissatisfied and disinterested with the 'new kid'.

The girls wanted someone cute and the boys wanted someone tough. Richie, to most, possessed neither at first glance.

But one very small boy continued to stare at him. He sat there in a daze wearing a salmon pink ringer top and long grey shorts and had a large black fanny pack neatly clasped around his podgy waist.

***

Richie awoke with a sudden jolt. A loud bang from downstairs had disturbed his sweet slumber. He peered at his alarm clock and was greeted with 3:21 am glowing bright red, burning into his heavy eyes.

Richie's head flopped down onto his pillow in frustration. He knew what the noise would be. His parents, deeming it an appropriate time to finally return home, drunk.

He turned over to try and go back to sleep, but he couldn't. His mind was now awake, and there was no shutting it off now. So he did the only logical thing to do. Called Eddie Kaspbrak.

He knew Eddie wouldn't answer; Eddie had told him on countless occasions that he unplugged his phone at night time out of fear of it exploding or overheating.

Richie didn't completely understand this, but he didn't question it.

When he called and there was no answer, he smiled, listening to the white noise of the dead line. It was one of Richie's favourite sounds, third to the sound of vinyl and Eddie's laugh.

He lay there for what felt like hours listening to the white noise, snuggling into his duvet that was pulled up to his face, the phone placed on his pillow next to his right ear. Until he finally drifted off peacefully once again into his slumber.

He wanted to go back to the dream he was having before being stirred, but his brain wouldn't allow it. Instead he got stuck with some crappy nightmare about a clown in the sewers of Derry.

***

The Quarry, Derry, Maine
Saturday 16th July, First Day of Summer Break
3:11 pm

————————————————

"This is so easy, you guys all suck." Richie jeered as him and his fellow male losers began spitting balls of phlegm into the quarry beneath them.

"Shut up Richie, I'm trying to concentrate," Eddie snapped at him, his mind trying to focus on the task at hand. He always lost this game and he was determined to, just once, not come last.

Eddie spat with as much force as an asthmatic could muster, which proved to be not enough, as he came last yet again.

"Concentrate on what? Losing?" Richie laughed with the boy, not at him, "Eds, I'm starting to think that your aim is to lose."