We walk back over to our bikes and see Bill and Bev telling Richie what happened. Richie looks disgusted for once.
"I need to clear that from my mind, let's go to the fair," Eddie suggests.
"That's a good idea," I chime in. We all look at Bill. He nods.
We started biking to the fair. Richie keeps going on about having to wait by the door.
"No, really, I love being your personal doorman. Really, could you idiots have taken any longer?" Richie sasses as he bikes around us in a big circle. I refrain from rolling my eyes.
"Oh my god, shut up Richie," Eddie tells him.
"Yeah, shut up Richie," Stan agrees with Eddie.
"Oh, okay, trash the trash mouth. I get it. Hey, I wasn't the one scrubbing the bathroom floor imagining that the sink went all Eddie's mom's vagina on Halloween," Richie states, still biking around us.
"She wasn't imagining it," Bill tells him. We all stop. After a long pause, he continues, "I s-s-saw something too,"
"You saw blood too?" Stan asks. Bill looks over to him and shakes his head.
"Not blood, I saw G-G-Georgie. It seemed so real. I mean it seemed like him but there was this..." He holds back.
"A clown," Eddie finishes for him. My mouth opens slightly in disbelief. I feel my breathing getting heavier.
"Yeah, I saw him too," He looks down. Bill looks over to me and I look down, avoiding eye contact.
"Wait, can only virgins see this stuff? Is that why I'm not seeing this shit?" Richie asks jokingly. I look past Richie and see a car. Richie looks back and sees it too.
"Oh, shit. That's Belch Huggins car," He says.
"We should probably get going," Eddie suggests nervously.
"Wait, isn't that the homeschool kid's bike?" Bill points to it on the floor by the car.
"Yeah, that's Mike's" Eddie confirms.
"We have to help him," Bev quickly states.
"We should?" Eddie asks nervously.
"Yes," Bev states obviously and drops her bike. She and Ben run over, we all follow. I run past everyone so that I'm with Beverly. I get there a few seconds after her. She throws a rock at Bowers, who was about to hit Mike's head with a rock. I look at Bev, shocked.
"Nice throw," Stan tells her.
"Thanks," She says. The boys pick up rocks and Mike sloshes through the water towards us. I jump down and help him up. I walk him over to everyone else.
"You losers are trying too hard," Bowers takes a step forward and looks between me and Bev.
"Anyone can have her, but just for a night," He points at me. "And that one," He motions towards Bev. "She'll do you, you just gotta ask nicely, like I did," He strokes his crotch. Ben screams and throws his rock at Bowers' face.
"What the fuck," One of them yells. Bev throws her rock and they dodge it. They get down to gather their own rocks and the boys start throwing rocks at the bullies.
"Rock war!" Richie yells right before a rock hits him in the face. I help Mike to the side, away from the line of fire and join in. Rocks fly everywhere. I somehow manage not to get hit. Henry's two goons run away, leaving him all alone. Everyone stops throwing rocks. Eddie helps Mike away. I look back at Henry on the floor, bloody and alone. I can almost pity him. Almost. I see Stan got hit in the face. We walk away, with me bothering him about his face.
"Are you sure you're okay? Just let me see," I tell him worriedly.
"I'll be okay. Did you get hit?" He shifts his attention to me. I shake my head.
"I didn't get hit," I say. I move his hand from his face. He reluctantly follows my lead, letting me see his face.
"Surprisingly, you're not bleeding or bruised," I tell him after examining his face.
"How?" He asks, equally as confused. I shrug. We get to the bikes and see Ben, Beverly, Bill, Mike and Eddie. Richie soon comes up from behind me and Stan.
"We should get to the fair asap," Eddie looks around worriedly. "And I know a shortcut." We leave our bikes at Bill's house and head to the fair using Eddie's "shortcut".
"Thanks, guys, but you shouldn't have done that. He'll be after you now," Mike says as we walk.
"Oh, no no no, Bowers, he's always after us," Eddie tells him.
"I guess that's one th-th-thing we all have in common," Bill says over his shoulder.
"Yeah homeschool, welcome to the loser's club," Richie tells him.
YOU ARE READING
All Alone | Stanley Uris
Adventure"That's what adults do. They only think about their problems... And when they don't have any, they make one up. Us kids, we can see the reality of life more than they can, and that's what's truly terrifying. Something they'll never want to come to t...
