Summer of '93 - Stozier

5

Stanley Uris walked to school with a spring in his step this particular Monday morning, replaying the events of yesterday evening in his head, a smile on his face.

"Hey! um.. I wanted to ask you something- i-its cool if you say no, by the way, but uhh.. do you wanna.. maybe.. go on a date.. tomorrow..?"

"Oh! Yeah! Sure, Stanley, i'd love to!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, really!"

"I can pick you up at five and we can.. do whatever? I don't know.."

"Sounds great! Pick me up at my house, tomorrow at five."

"Kay! Cool!" Stan had turned on his heals and muttered a quiet 'Yes!' before walking back home.

Stan got to school ten minutes early, later than he usually did but he was lost in his thoughts.

His first period of the day was music. Stan didn't have music class with any of the losers so he decided he'd wait until Lunch and tell them all his news when they were together.

Stan had French class next. Eddie and Richie were in that class.

He was buzzing to tell them his news but he kept it in.

Just one more class until Lunch, and then he can tell them.

Stan sat through English, his third class of the day, With Ben, Bev and Richie, dying to just tell them what he had been holding in.

But he didn't. He kept his head down, did his work as usual, and checked his watch every once in a while.

1:30pm, Stan had mumbled to himself as he checked his watch again.

"Okay, okay, students! Remember! The book we voted on last week was The Body by Stephen King! The copies are up on my desk, Pack up and grab one as you leave." Mrs Swan, the english teacher announced, stacking the papers on her desk into a neat pile and clipping them together with a blue paperclip.

Stan scrambled to pack up his papers, placing them- not as neatly as he had hoped- into his binder. Stan's perfectionist brain screamed at him to organise it, but, no matter, he'd fix it later.

Stan packed away his binder into his backpack along with his pencils and took his copy of The Body, dashing out of the door as the bell rung.

He met Bill, Eddie and Mike in the cafeteria. Mikes grandma had let him attend his junior year at a public school, but with a lot of persuasion.

Stan sat down beside Mike, placing his backpack on the other side of him, reserving the seat for Richie (It was a habit).

Bev, Ben and Richie had soon burst into the cafeteria, making their way over to the table.

Richie lifted Stan's backpack and popped it down on the floor, and sitting down in the seat it had previously been on.

Stan opened his mouth to speak, a purple grape on the end of his plastic fork sticking up ('Who eats grapes with a fork?!' 'Me, Richard.' 'Thats strange, Staniel, real strange.'), But before he could, Richie began speaking to him.

"Staniella! Stan! The man with a plan, what is your plan for us today-"

"Richard." Stan said plainly, feigning annoyance.

Richie stole the grape from the end of Stans fork and popped it into his mouth. "I-" He began, poking Stanleys side. "Have two tickets for a movie tonight and You," Richie poked again to punctuate his word. "are gonna go with me." He swallowed the grape he had been chewing and stole another.

"Sure-" Stan cut himself off. "Wait.."

"What?" Richie perked an eyebrow. "Got something better to do?" He chuckled.

"Actually.." Stan cleared his throat, gaining the attention from the rest of the losers. "Im.. kinda.. going on a date??" He said, more like it was a question.

Richies face dropped. He tried not to show it, and instead pulled a shocked expression. "You are?!"

"S-since when?" Bill asked.

"Well-"

"With who?" Eddie interrupted, a bit more aggressively than he would have liked.

"Well.. this girl.." Stan started.

"She jewish?" Bev asked with a mouthful of her turkey sandwich.

"Well.. yes. And uh, I guess I kinda liked her for a while? Her name's Patricia- or Patty-"

"Does she go to school here?" Ben asked, smiling.

"No, actually. not yet," Stan replied. "She was homeschooled."

"Oh." Most of the losers nodded for him to continue.

"And her Father is a friend of my Father and we became friends like a month ago and shes smart and funny and-"

Eddie looked at Richie. He had a faint fake smile on his face. He was sort of zoned out with a layer of sadness in his eyes.

Eddie could see that Richie was upset, so naturally- "So let me get this fucking straight," Eddie started, throwing his carrot stick back into his lunch bag a little aggressively. "You've known this girl for like, what, a few weeks? A month? And you're already gonna go out with her?"

"Well, yeah thats the general gist of-"

"No, Stan, thats Bullshit is what it is! How do you know shes not using you?-"

"Woah there, F-firecracker-" Bill grabbed Eddies shoulder to calm him but Eddie just shoved him off.

"How do you know shes not gonna- I don't know? Humiliate you? Or-or just hand you over to bowers? How-"

"What?!" Stan furrowed his brows, raising his voice a little. "What the fuck are you talking about? Y'know, maybe she just likes me? Ever thought of that? I know i'm not the best guy out there or anything but maybe, just fucking maybe, She likes me? And maybe you need to just try and be happy for me for once?"

"For once?! For fucking once!?" Eddie yelled a bit louder.

"Eh-Eddie-"

"Shut up Bill!" Eddie snapped, turning his attention back to Stan. "Okay, asshole! Name one time I haven't been happy for you in a situation."

"Thats not the fucking point! The point is-" Stan was cut off.

"The point is, you don't fucking know her, Stan!" Eddie stood up, swinging his backpack over his shoulder. "I mean, c'mon! Lets face facts! We're all a bunch of fucking losers and you're probably the biggest one of all of us! So maybe you should open your fucking eyes and see that you might just need to get to know Polly or whatever the fuck her name was, a little better!" Eddie shook Richies arm. "C'mon! We're leaving!"

Richie looked up at Eddie, still in a daze and shrugged.

His fake smile had faded but the sadness in his eyes had not.

Eddie had dragged Richie out of the school. "We're going to the club house, That asshole can fuck off."