Training Wheels

2

Richie.
July 7, 1988.

He was standing outside, legs straddling his bicycle seat, waiting for Eddie to appear from inside his house.

Richie allowed his eyes to sweep across the neatly manicured lawn, a stark contrast to his own scraggly, overgrown lawn back at his poor excuse for a home.

It was night, but it was still rather humid in Richie's opinion, the warm air pressing down on him, stifling his breathing.

Either that, or it was the growing sense of discomfort he was feeling as he waited outside Eddie's house. He'd been waiting for a good five minutes, and the other boy had yet to show.

It was 11:05 pm exactly.

Perhaps Eddie had forgotten, or fallen asleep, or it was also entirely possible that his mother had caught him attempting to sneak out.

The last explanation rubbed Richie the wrong way, and it bothered him somewhat knowing the kind of woman that Eddie lived with and called his mother.

Sonia Kaspbrak was a monster. She was absolutely dreadful.

Just as Richie began to turn his bike to ride to the Barrens alone, he heard a soft crash and swiveled around quickly to see none other than Eddie sitting outside his window, looking absolutely petrified.

His face was white as a sheet and he was stiff as a board, unmoving.

Richie quickly assessed the situation and decided that Eddie had tried to sneak out the window, but didn't know how to shut it so he just let it slam down.

This had happened before. Richie really had to show Eddie how to properly sneak out.

He sighed, not particularly worried about Sonia waking up.

He knew that, under the impression that her son was practically an angel, she took strong sleeping pills. She wasn't worried about Eddie Kaspbrak- of all people- sneaking out.

"Would you hurry up?" Richie whisper-shouted, feigning annoyance, but unable to keep the amused grin off his face.

Eddie flushed with embarrassment and slid off his roof, landing easily on the pavement just a few feet below.

"Sorry, I just... I... uh... fell asleep. Forgot. Yeah." He stammered, running his impossibly clean fingers through his chocolatey brown hair, still tousled from sleep.

Richie shook his head, smiling. "Whatever. Just get your ass over here, we're already gonna be ten minutes late."

"Sorry." Eddie looked sheepish.

"Dude, it's okay. C'mon."

The two boys started riding in pleasant silence, directing their bikes into the woods.

It was dark, so Eddie flicked on a flashlight that Richie hadn't noticed before.

Once the pair got to the edge of the woods, they slid off their bikes and put them against a large tree.

They stood, staring into the dark forest, with nothing but the dappled moonlight and a flashlight to guide them.

The flashlight cast a gloomy, washed out yellow illumination on the leaves and undergrowth.