After we all went upstairs and got changed, *I was in the bathroom with the door locked.* We got ready to ride our bikes. I was wearing my black worn-out converse, my sage green Flowing dress, a black and white patterned bandana, a couple of bracelets and the brown oversized flannel Bill had given me earlier.
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(Inspo picture)
The boys and I all headed downstairs and got onto our bikes which were parked in the Denbrough garage. "L-let me h-help you, Steven," Bill said grabbing my hand a small smile trickling his face. but before heading to the sewer we were off to Eddie's house to get supplies.
"Take everything but the delicious deals, guys." Eddie whisper-yelled as Richie and Bill looked through his pantry for useful items. Stan and I hung back leaning our heads against the walls catching the cool air that was coming from the aircon. "My mom loves them." Eddie smacked Richie's hand away from the delicious deals. "Hey, first you said the barrens and now you're saying the sewer. I mean what if we get caught?" Eddie spoke softly to the group so his mum couldn't hear what he was talking about. "We won't Ed's." I rolled my eyes at him and the anxious look on his face. "The sewers are public works. We are the public, aren't we?" Bill rhetorically answered. "Eddie, are these your birth control pills?" Richie snickered going to pull the pills down out of the cupboard. "Yes, I'm saving it for your sister. This is private stuff." Eddie walked over to Richie and shut the cupboard almost on his hand. "Let's go guys," Stanley said obviously sick of their bickering. Eddie picked everything up and led us towards the door but was stopped by the unsettling voice of his mother. "Eddie, dear, where you kids off to in such a rush?" Eddie's mum was laying on the couch in front of the TV watching Derry Children's Hour.
I always thought she was a strange woman and so did my mother. My mom said that "Mrs Kaspbrak, has something called Münchausen syndrome. I have had a patient whose mother had it, Mrs Kaspbrak has all the right symptoms to have it, she makes Eddie take pills that don't help him if anything they decline his health and she makes him fear the world. Poor boy." "What happens when your parent has Münchausen syndrome?" I asked intrigued that my mother would make such a big claim. "It's a mental illness and a form of child abuse. The caretaker of a child, most often a mother, either makes up fake symptoms or causes real symptoms to make it look like the child is sick." That sounded about right.
"Uhm, just m-m-my backyard, Mrs K. I got a new..." Bill was stuttering like crazy giving me slight second-hand embarrassment. "A new croquet set. Jeez, spit it out blubber Bill." Richie spoke in annoyance trying to make the lie of where we were going to sound real. "Okay." Mrs Kaspbrak narrowed her eyes and nodded slowly. "Oh and sweetie, don't go rolling around in the grass, especially if it's just been cut. You know how bad your allergies can get." "Yes, mom," Eddie spoke humiliated at how weak he is. "Come on." Eddie rushed everyone out of the door hurriedly. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Everyone froze at Mrs Kaspbrak words. We all turned around as Eddie pecked his mom on the cheek. Stan snickered on my shoulder, causing a weird, jealous type look from Bill. "Do you want one from me too, Mrs K?" Richie chuckled as Eddie pushed everyone out the door. A faint "No." was the last thing we heard as we all hopped back onto our bikes and rode off to the sewers.
We rode past the small park on Westwood Lane. Then the grand Derry library. "Hi-yo Silver away!" Bill yelled earning a small laugh from me as leant into his back. I locked eye contact with the new kid who was sitting in the library. I gave him a small smile which he returned before Bill sped around the corner. "Your old lady bike's too fast for us," Richie said as he tried to catch up with Bill and i. I poked my tongue out at him as he winked at the sight of me leaning nice and close up to Bill. Which caught the attention of Bill. "Somebody's blushing," Richie said as he pointed to Bill, everyone now staring at us. "Young love." Stanley sighed. "So innocent, so misleading." Richie shook his head making Eddie and Stanley snicker, on the other hand making the rest of the ride to the sewers extremely awkward for Bill and i.
"That's poison ivy," Stanley said pointing to a random bush that was near where we all parked our bikes. "And that's poison ivy." He said pointing to another one. "And that's poison ivy." Again point to a bush that didn't even look remotely similar to poison ivy. "Where!?" Eddie jumped back from the green land. "Where's the poison ivy?" Eddie grabbed onto the sleeve of the oversized flannel of Bill's that I was wearing. "Nowhere, not every fucking plant is poison ivy, Stanley." I hit Stanley on the back of the head for making Eddie anxious and walked over to Bill and Richie who were standing next to the sewers.
"Ok well I'm starting to get itchy now and I'm pretty sure this is not good for me." Eddie stood behind me making me his human shield to whatever could be lurking in the sewers. "Do you use the same bathroom as your mother?" Richie asked totally out of context. "Sometimes, yeah," Eddie replied as I stepped into the sewers. "Then you probably have crabs," Richie said just to set off Eddie. "That's so NOT funny." Eddie rolled his eyes at Richie's childish remark and the way I found it amusing.
"Aren't you guys coming in?" Bill said turning around suddenly raising his eyebrows at me, obviously surprised that I was already in. "What? you surprised that I am braver than you Billy boy?" I mouthed to him earning a rewarding smile. I walked over to Bill and stood right next to him. "Uhuh, that's greywater." I turned to see Eddie's looking at the water in a grossed out manner. "What the hell is greywater?" Richie was obviously amused at the word 'greywater.' "It's basically piss and shit. So I'm just telling you... You guys are splashing around in." Eddie put his arms up and stepped back from the mouth of the sewer drain. "Millions of gallons of Derry pee," Stanley said copying Eddie's actions. "Are, are you serious?" Bill anxiously asked causing me to rub his hand gently. "Well of course it is dumbass it the sewers." I flipped Eddie off. "Doesn't smell like caca to me, Senor." Richie lifted up a stick and smelt the rubbish that was on it. "O-o-okay I can smell it from here." Eddie snapped. "It's probably just your breath, wafting back into your face." Richie snapped back. "Have you ever heard of a staph infection? Steven your mom wouldn't like you doing this." Eddie pursed his lips together thinking that would scare me out of the sewers. "I'll show you a "staff" infection," Richie muttered under his voice. "That's so unsanitary. you guys are like swimming in a toilet bowl right now. Have you ever heard of listeria?" I blocked Richie and Eddie's bickering out and turned to Bill who was now leading me further down the sewer.
"What's that?" I asked as bill picked something up with a stick. "These..." he said. "Guys!" I called the boys over but only Richie came. "Shit.." Richie said as he saw the shoe that Bill was holding up with the stick. "Don't tell me that's..." Stanley spoke from afar. "No," I said knowing what he was about to say. "Georgie was wearing galoshes." Bill finished my sentence. "Who's sneaker is it?" Richie peered into the inside of the shoe as did I. "It's Betty Ripsoms," Bill said slowly. "Shit! Shit, oh god, oh fuck I don't like this." Eddie was practically jumping up and down from terror. "How do you think Betty feels...Going around these tunnels with only one fucking shoe." Richies laugh echoed silently around the sewers. "What if she's still here?" Bill asked looking at me. "Eddie, come on!" Stan hurriedly spoke trying to calm Eddie down. "My mom will have an aneurysm if she finds out we were playing down here. I'm serious." Eddie grabbed his asthma pump out of his fanny-pack and took a pump of air. "Bill?" I pulled his face up to mine gently making sure he knows that I was listening. "If I were Betty Ripsom, I would want us to find me. Georgie too." Bill spoke looking into my golden eyes. "What if I don't want to find them?" Stanley captured everyone's attention. "I mean, no offence, Bill but I do not want to end up like..." a small gasp escaped my mouth knowing what Stan was about to say. "I don't want to go missing either." "He has a point," Richie said retreating out from the sewers. "You too?" I crossed my arms and stood next to Bill in defence. "It's summer...We're supposed to be having fun. This isn't funny." Eddie spoke looking at the floor. "This is scary and disgusting." Stanley agreed and as if on cue, like the subject needed to be changed a big splash came from outside.
