𝐻𝓊𝓂𝒶𝓃𝑒 - Víctor Criss

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝟣

Della Pov:

It's a brisk Autumn morning, I woke up to the faint sound of my alarm clock stating that it's 7:00 AM. The school year begun a week ago but to me it still feels like summer. Unwillingly i get out of bed and groggily make my way to the bathroom to get a quick shower in and brush my teeth. I always had a hard time choosing what i was gonna wear in the morning but i chose a cute t-shirt with some shorts and my chucks. I wasn't sure how to wear my hair so i brushed it and moved on. Mom was still in bed most likely hungover from the night before so i had swiftly grabbed a snack and exited my house. I usually walk to school but i had snoozed my alarm one too many times... so i reluctantly grabbed my bike and headed to school. It is usually a scenic ride to school but it was fairly foggy this morning and to me it seemed peaceful. Peaceful until a blue Trans Am ,blasting some Anthrax , slowly creeped up on me. I knew already it was the bowers gang. Most days it feels almost impossible to avoid this group of boys so the best plan is just to stay low. I've never had a personal problem with anyone in that "gang" so im not a usual victim of their antics. The anxiety in me fades as they pass without any crude comments so my intuition tells me it's going to be a good day.

School was nothing out of the ordinary, I've been trying to take more advanced classes so i get a good scholarship to leave this town. I never hated Derry as a whole but mainly my own mother, i want to get as far away as possible. During lunch I sat down and conversed with a few friends until we heard the sound of a lunch tray hitting the floor with force. The entire cafeteria went quite, the whole room slowly turned their heads to see Henry Bowers covered in todays pizza. The pizza had belonged to a cowering Max Davis who was sitting in defeat. "what the fuck" was all the muttered from the mullet boy's mouth. Max was shivering in fear and profusely apologizing. Henry was fed up, he grabbed max by the collar and whispered something only he could hear. The next moment Henry slammed the kid down and walked away while max quickly got himself up and tried his best to clean the mess. Everyone was still silent as Henry made his way out of the cafeteria. God how i would hate to be Max right now.

Many people mentioned the Max incident for the rest of the day. I honestly felt bad, Max is a good kid and very kind as well but I guess he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The bell rang signifying that the end of the school day was over. I knew after school I had to go to the salon and help my mom out which is something I always dreaded. That place always got the weirdest people running through there. Derry was a town you would drive through for maybe 30 minutes and eventually leave. Truckers had a very common route through derry and often stopped at the salon for a haircut. They were always the weird ones. They knew they could get away with saying crude things. The salon also had a rising theft problem, it felt like everyday someone was stealing product or trying to get away with a free haircut which was the most irritating thing. Not that it's legal but my mother had taught me how to cut hair from a young age, it feels as though she did that so she could have a free worker. I never enjoyed it. Most days i wished that i could just clean the place and go but more than likely i was cutting hair. My mom notices the creeps and surprisingly she absolutely despises them and does everything she can to get them out as soon as possible.

As I made my way to the salon i was making a list in my head of things i needed to do tonight. Right after work i head the studio to practice a bit and blow off some steam before going home to finish up homework. It sounds like a lot but it's worth it to get out of this place. When i walked in to the salon i saw my mother, she was cutting Butch Bowers hair. It's always weird when he's here because my mom flirts with him like no other, and sadly he flirts back. My mother called me over to introduce myself as if he's never met me before. "Della this is Butch! You go to school with his son, Henry is it?" "Hello Butch" i say coldly "yes i do go to school with Henry" "is he causing any trouble?" Butch asked in a threatening tone. I had a dilemma, should i lie and say no he's wonderful or should i say yes and risk being a victim of Henry. I obviously went with the first option. "No" i awkwardly laughed out. a chuckle came from Butch and I had felt too awkward so i walked away. Luckily my mom had me wipe things down and go.

Finally i'm back in the studio. It's one of my favorite places to be and what i feel is the safest. I may hate ballet but it's something i try my best to excel in. I had changed in to my leotard and tights and grabbed my pointe shoes and got prepared for a miserable hour. Ballet is so physically and mentally painful. I never feel graceful enough or even good enough. My legs and feet ache constantly and i feel like im already 50 when im only 16. Reluctantly i step up to the barre and begin my warm up.

After an excruciating hour i finally remove my pointe shoes as fast as possible and begin to stretch out a bit. Finally i get to rehearse a lyrical routine my amazing teacher had choreographed for me. As im stretching i look in to the mirror to see the big window that looks to the outside. I observe a group of 4 boys frantically riding their bikes and that Trans Am hot on their trail. I knew them to be Stan, Bill , Richie , and Eddie. They were younger than me and they were pretty well known victims to the Bowers gang. I never understood why they pick on them, why they pick on anyone. Why?