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chapter five; hey bowers
BLOOD DRIPPED FROM HER clothes and her face is covered in a layer of dirt as well as her neck and arms. She's wearing all black like she wore the day she disappeared.
"Mel?" I whisper, my voice barely audible. The instant the word leaves my lips, I lose my footing on the pedals and suddenly, I'm falling off my bike, hitting the asphalt head first.
"Shit.." I say to myself. I press my palms against the ground and force myself to get off my ass and on my feet. I look back to the place in which my sister stood to make sure it wasn't just an illusion but, when I look back, she is no where to be found. She's gone. Again.
I convince myself it was all my imagination and grab my bike. I mean, I didn't have any breakfast this morning and I'm not used to it so, maybe that's it. Like, isn't there some sort of study that if you don't eat you can have hallucinations? I begin walking up the street when I feel a slight pain in my knee. I look down and sure enough, there's a large scrape on my right knee. Good thing I left early, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to stop at the pharmacy to get this patched up.
Once I reach the pharmacy, I park my bike in the alleyway right next to the building. I walk in and the bell rings, notifying Mr. Keene that someone is here.
"Oh, hey Cassie! I haven't seen you since last week. How's it going?" He asks, walking up to me. The only reason he hasn't seen me is that Greta decided I'm too 'lonely' and 'depressing' to be her friend. So much for 'real friends'.
"You know, the usual. Well, except for the fact my sister went missing and everyone is acting like it never happened." I say calmly as I look around for a bandage. I know he's not going to listen to a word I say.
"Good..Good...Oh! And I see that you're pretty bloody there. Need a bandage? I've got one just behind the counter." He offers.
"Um, I think I've got it. I can just use these." I tell him, picking up a box of bandages.
"Oh, okay. Well, let me just ring those up for ya." He says and snatches the box from my hands. We make our way to the counter and he scans the box while I search through my bag for some money.
"Shoot, uh, is there any way I can get a discount or pay you back later or something because I don't have any money on me at the moment," I tell him and he shakes his head.
"I don't run that kind of business, maybe next time, sweetie, but, you can use the bathroom to clean yourself up if you'd like. You have a big gash on your forehead."
"That's okay and thanks." I walk over to the far right corner where the bathroom is and walk right in. The whole place looks absolutely disgusting: dirt filled in spaces between the tiles on the wall and the floor had various types of stains that have been there since....well, forever.
"Gross..." I think aloud and set my bookbag on the ground before walking up to the sink and turning it on, placing my hands under the faucet. My hands begin to fill with water as I examine the extent of my injuries. My face held a small cut just under my eye and a huge one on my forehead. I put my head back down and bring my hands to my face, splashing it with water. I look back into the mirror to see someone behind me. Not just any someone either....Mel. Again. A gasp leaves my lips and she just laughs. I turn around to get a closer look at her but, she's gone. Again.
"Hey, sweetie, you alright in there? You've been in there a while." Mr. Keene pounds at the door.
"Y-yeah. Be out there in a minute!" I yell and quickly turn off the faucet before grabbing my backpack and leaving the store.
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The bell rings signaling that school is out. I pick up my bag and practically run out the door. The halls are filled with hundreds and hundreds of students frantically leaving like they have nothing better to do than leave school(which they really don't). I catch a glimpse of the Losers and make my way towards them. Passing the girl's bathroom, I hear Greta laughing. This catches my attention and I stop in my tracks to listen more but begin to be pushed out of the way by Greta's new best friend, Sally Mueller.
"Out of my way, Loser." She hisses and I just smirk.
"The real loser is the one who has to hang out with Greta all day." I tell her before walking into the bathroom to see Beverly Marsh.
"Hey, you okay?" I ask and she just glares at me.
"Fantastic now that your friends have quite literally made me trash." She says sarcastically and tries to walk past me but, I stop her.
"She's not my friend, okay? Now, are you okay?" I ask again.
"Fine." She walks past me. Does everyone hate me or is it just me? I groan and turn around to walk to where the Losers are but, they left. I guess I just have to figure out where they went now.
I step outside to see Henry Bowers harassing the group and, suddenly, it's like I have a newfound confidence. I angrily stalk toward the boy.
"Hey, Bowers!" I yell to him and he immediately turns around, confused. I guess I'll just fix your face for ya.
"Maybe you should pick on someone your own size." I tell him before punching him in the face.
"Holy shit!" I hear Richie yell and I smirk.
"You little bi-" Henry starts before turning to see his dad.
"You'll pay for this." He tells me and I gulp. He walks away toward his car and I walk up to the Losers.
"You guys okay?" I ask them.
"Why'd you help us, anyway?" Richie asks me.
"We have a deal, remember? Anyway, where are we going to start, exactly?" I ask them and they all turn to Bill who is just staring at me.
"W-what happened to y-you?" He asks me and I look at him in confusion. Looking around, I see a girl holding a mirror in her hand, trying to put on make up.
"Can I see that? Thanks." I grab the mirror from the girl and look at my face to see yellow, purple, and blue bruises as well as the fresh cuts from earlier.
"Shit." I curse to myself and hand the mirror back to the girl.
"Quick, where are we going?" I ask Bill.
"W-wait. What h-happened to your f-face and why are y-y-you in a r-rush all of a sudden?" He questions me.
"None of your business, okay? Now, where are we going?" I ask him and he hesitates.
"Today? The B-barrens. At f-four. Don't b-b-be late."
"Got it, Billy boy." I smile at him before heading towards the bike rack.
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how'd you like it? i think it turned out pretty good...
