" LIPSTICK " + STENBROUGH

[2]

bill denbrough walks into kindergarten that day with a frown on his face, but his hopes are still high.

still, he knows no one in his class. come to think of it, he knows no one in town, except his mom and dad, because they've just moved to derry.

the hallways are already filled with kids and their parents, saying goodbye. bill has already seen three kids crying, and even more parents. one mother is talking to the teacher, her lips moving faster than what should be humanly possible. one hand rests on the shoulder of a boy just shorter than bill. he is dark haired, his freckled cheeks tinted pink with embarrassment as his mother shoves a bag labeled "edward kaspbrak's medicine" into the teacher's hands. bill immediately feels bad.

his mother stops outside of the classroom door, crouching in front of him and taking both of his hands.

"alright, billy, are you ready?" she asks, exciting bubbling in voice.

"i-i duh-don't nuh-know," he stutters. bill finds he stutters most when he's anxious or angry. he figures right now he is the former. his mom gives him a reassuring smile, rubbing his hand with her thumb softly.

"you are going to do wonderfully. you're going to go in there, and make so many new friends that you're going to need a whole other hand to count them all!"

bill giggles at his mother's excitement. his nerves are going away.

"don't let your jitters get in the way. you are going to have an awesome first day, okay?" she reaches into the purse hanging off her shoulder and pulls out bill's lunchbox. "here you go. now go in there are have a great day. i love you."

bill hugs his mother, before walking into the classroom. just as he reaches the doorway, he glances back.

his mother is already walking towards the exit.

—

seats are assigned. a few kids are already sitting down. each desk has a little card with a name on it, telling each student which seat they are assigned to.

bill walks around, both hands gripping his lunchbox tightly. he finds his name card at a table made up of four desks. the card on the desk reads 'richard'. the desk across from him reads 'stanley', and beside him reads 'edward'. bill frowns that his says william, because no one calls him william. well, only his parents, when they're really mad.

he takes off his backpack, placing it on the ground beside his desk before taking a seat. he places his lunch box beside his backpack. bill bends down and opens his backpack, taking out his new pencil case and his new notebooks. he places them in his desk and smiles.

a moment later, the same boy bill saw earlier with the medicine-mother walks in, gaze directed at the ground. he glances around, trying to find his name, before taking a seat at the desk diagonal from bill.

just like you practiced, bill, he tells himself.

he sends the boy, edward, a smile.

"huh-hi, i'm buh-buh-bill den-denbrough. it's n-n-nice to me-meet you," he says. he blinks in frustration, hoping edward can overlook his stutter. in preschool last year kids didn't particularly like it, because they didn't have attention spans long enough to stick around and hear the rest of his sentence.

"hi, i'm eddie. it's nice to meet you, too!" eddie gives bill a warm smile, and bill feels much more at ease.

it's about five minutes later, after bill and eddie have both told each other a bit about themselves, when two boys enter the room. one is much louder than the other, as he tells the boy he is with a joke the other obviously does not find funny.

the loud one has dark, curly hair. he talks a mile a minute, and because of this bill notices he has buck teeth. thick, magnifying glasses sit on a nose decorated with freckles.

the other boy is tall—taller than most five-year-olds. he wears a crisp polo shirt, tucked into clean khaki shorts. he has curly hair too, only it's lighter than the boy beside him's. when he turns his head to speak to the shorter boy, bill notices a flat circular hat on the top of his head, and bill wonders what it is.

they come to sit at bill and eddie's table. the tall one sits across from bill, the loud one to bill's left.

"the party can now start, gents. richie tozier has arrived!" the loud one announces, dropping his backpack rather carelessly on the floor beside him before taking a seat. the other boy rolls his eyes.

"richie, lower your voice. we are inside." the boy looks at eddie and then bill. "sorry about him, he's sort of a nuisance."

bill has no idea what the word means, or why a kindergartner knows it.

"i'm stanley uris, but feel free to call me stan. and this is richie. what are your names?" stan asks politely, folding his on the desk in front of him.

"i'm eddie," the tiny boy beside stan introduces. "eddie kaspbrak."

"i-i'm buh-buh-buh-bill denbrough," bill says. "i'm nuh-new this year."

"where did you move from?" stan asks.

"bangor," he states. he is glad he doesn't stutter.

"well, it's nice to meet you, bill from bangor," stan says.

bill isn't sure why his cheeks proceed to heat up.

——

chapter 2!! enjoy :)

- m