WHEEZY // an IT story

f i v e

JUNE 5th, 1989
eddie rolled his eyes, knowing that he would have to sneak past his mother in order to get to the quarry. he quietly tiptoed down the stairs, making sure to be extra careful on the creaky ones.
"eddie bear? is that you?" sonja kaspbrak called. eddie shivered. he hated that name more than anything, and the sinister-sweet tone in which his mother said it in made his hair stand on end.
"yeah, mommy. i'm going to stan's house," eddie lied. he did it all the time, and as long as he didn't come back hurt or sick, his mother let him go out.
"okay, but make sure to take your pills," sonja told him. eddie nodded.
"okay, momma. bye!" he said, kissing her on the cheek before shutting the front door.

as soon as eddie was outside of his house, he sighed in relief. the lies he told his mother worked all the time, but to him, it still was nerve wracking. he mounted his bike and pedaled towards the quarry.

richie rolled over in his bed, not wanting to get up. he knew he was going to the quarry with the losers today, but he really didn't want to. he groaned and sat up.
the house was completely silent as richie walked out of his bedroom, grabbing an eggo waffle on the way into the kitchen. he popped it in the toaster and waited until it was done. then, he ate it while he got dressed. before he left, he looked around his house once. no sign of any parents, but he knew that they wouldn't be home at this time anyway. richie sighed.
he was fine. things were fine. everything is fine.

the boys watched as richie's loogie hit the water.
"oh my god. that was terrible! i win!" eddie shouted.
"you win?" richie asked.
"yeah! mine was the biggest!" eddie replied.
"did you see my loogie? it went the farthest! it's about distance!" richie argued, throwing his arms in the air.
"it's about mass!" eddie argued back.
"what is mass?" richie asked.
"it doesn't mater how far it goes, it's how cool it looks, like if it's green or white," eddie explained.
"who's first?" bill asked, cutting the boys off.
"i'll go!" a voice called from behind them. suddenly, a beaming, short-haired, beverly came sprinting at the boys. they moved out of the way so beverly could jump off of the high cliff they were perched on.
"sissies," she teased, before soaring off the cliff.
"what the fuck!" richie exclaimed, while beverly was in midair.
"ah, holy shit! we just got shown up by a girl!" eddie whined, crossing his arms.
"we have to do that now?" stan asked.
"yes," bill answered.

after a long day of swimming in the quarry, the losers, ben, and beverly decided to go to ben's house. he had done extensive research on derry, and he seemed to know some quite harrowing facts. children were always missing in derry, but according to ben, people disappeared six times the national average. but, that was adults. children were much worse.

ben sprinted up the stairs of his house, making sure to clear out any new kids on the block merchandise, which was his favorite band. it was how he met beverly, as she had caught him listening to the boy band after school. he didn't want the other boys to see the merchandise, though, as they were a bit of a girly band. the losers slowly filed into the room.
"woah!" richie exclaimed. maps, photos, and newspaper articles littered the walls and ben's desk.
"cool, right?" ben asked.
"no, nothing cool," richie replied, pushing his large glasses up the bridge of his nose. he continued to examine the walls.
"wait, this is cool! wait, no, it's not," richie teased, laughing at his own joke.
after exploring the history for a few more minutes, each of the boys and beverly left, horrified.