𝑴𝒀 𝑩𝑶𝒀 , reddie

5

richie moved his piece on the checker board then turned his attention back to maggie.

"maggie," he started. "where can i get 35 dollars?"

maggie laughed a bit before she realized richie was serious.

"what does a kid like you need all that money for?" she asked, chewing on a bit of her chocolate bar.

"i want to attend the summer writing class!" richie smiled and winked to eddie, who scowled.

"he's crazy! he only wants to go cause he's obsessed with the teacher." eddie stated, moving his piece across to take one of richies.

richie pouted and moved another piece forward to take eddies, an illegal move, but eddie didn't bother. "i am not obsessed with the teacher, shut your sick old mouth."

maggie smiled, amused by the both of them. "you'd have to ask your dad for that kind of money richie."

richie sighed, wiping his players off the checker board. "he wouldn't give it to me."

"well you dont know that," maggie pats richies head. "ask him."

"dad?"

richie slips into the living room where his grandma and dad were sitting in front of the television watching some sort of "comedy" show. it wasn't really comedy, it was just fools slipping around and a laughter track playing. richie hated comedy, but he goes and sits on his knees beside his fathers lazy boy recliner.

"dad can i have 35 dollars?" richie looked up at his father, but all of wentworth's focus was on their television set.

"that's a lot of money for a kid isn't it, rich?"

richie adjusts his glasses. "its for a summer writing class."

wentworths eyes were still glued to the screen. "any more soda left?"

richie sighed and poured some of the soda from table into his fathers empty cup.

"i think i'd be a very good writer, so does maggie." richie said after he topped off his dads drink.

"last month you wanted to learn the harmonica, and before that you wanted to be a ventriloquist." 

richie observed his dad, he wasn't paying attention at all, he looked all too amused by the show and it's stupid laughter track.

"dad?"

"hm?"

"the money?" richie held out his hand impatiently.

"maybe next summer?" his dad took a sip of his soda and then laughed at the tv.

'so thats a no.' richie thought.

'he forgot about the time i wanted to be a magician. i was really good at making myself disappear.'

richie was still feeling pretty off about the whole thing, he really wanted to go to that writing class.

the next morning he still felt off about it too. so he thought he ought to fire his dad up a bit, bouncing the ball around the front room could be enough to do that.

his father was talking to mr. hanlon in the other room, still obviously not paying attention to richie.

sometimes richie wondered if he should call cps or something cause his dad was so neglectful.

william hanlon passed though the hallway, richie stared down at the ball, making sure it met his hand.

"you wanna play?" he asked, glancing up quick.

"I gotta go to the cemetery. keep your head up. don't look at the ball, look at me." mr. hanlon takes the ball from richies small lanky hands and dribbles it properly as a demonstration.

"see? you were looking at the ball. all right? keep your head up."

richie nods, watching william dribble the ball, keeping eye contact with richie.

he stops bouncing and hands the ball over with a smile.

"now gimme some skin."

they both give each other five then william slips out the front door with a goodbye. richie continues bouncing the ball, which accidentally veers off and goes down the stairs into the basement.

richie watches the ball disappear around the corner, biting his nails nervously

richie swallows his fear and goes very slowly down the stairs, and peeks round the corner. richie is clearly very scared of the basement and the corpses contained in it, he always has been.

he rushes down and grabs the ball as fast as he can, his heart racing in his chest, but as soon as he turns around, maggie, who is upstairs walking through the house and sees the door ajar, slams it shut unaware that richie is down there.