adjectives | reddie

twenty&one - **

bill relaxed on the chair in my room, playing with a silver band that was wrapped around his finger. his foot tapped the ground rhythmically as the rest of his body lounged.

"you're gonna have back problems in twenty years because of the way you're sitting," i suggested, looking up from my notebook and placing my pen on top. he hummed in response, closing his eyes and facing the ceiling.

"this is boring," beverly sighed, placing the book that she tried to read on top of her face. in the time i had known beverly, i had never seen her read a book and enjoy it. she would read books for school, but that was as far as it would go.

"i don't know what to tell you," mike chimed in, "maybe we could go to the quarry and run around on the ice! my dad and i used to go when i was younger."

"muh-maybe a different deh-d-day," bill shook his head, "th-the s-suh-s-sun is ow-out, ss-so i-eh-it muh-might be too thin to-today."

it was true. the sun was out and shining brightly for the first time since november. the white snow reflected the bright rays, almost stabbing your eyes from the brightness.

"we could go to my farm?" mike suggested again.

beverly repositioned herself to sit straight up, "bingo."

—

as we continued along the path to mike's farm, more clouds started to cover the sky. the once shining snow on the path became grey and brown slush on the ground, and the new, darker lighting did not make the scenery any more beautiful. i felt my heels start to ache from the walking. winter was always my least favorite season; the absence of anything to do always bothered me, and the fact that i could barely use my bicycle did not help.

"so," beverly walked beside me, not seeming to mind the long walk, "you excited for new years?"

"it's not that special," i explained, "i'll probably just sit at home and turn my radio up a little too loud to ignore the fireworks." my memory didn't have any special moments from a new years party. sitting at home comfortably sounded better than being around bill or stanley's family in front of a television. plus, fireworks at about two in the morning made me want to scream out my window. their loud explosions and blinding lights never allowed me to sleep (not that it would disrupt the sleep schedule i currently had).

"oh come on," beverly swung an arm around my shoulder, "i bet richie wouldn't mind you and the rest of the lucky seven joining in on our little tradition!" she spoke mindlessly as she focused on the yo-yo that was attached to her free hand.

"which is?" i inquired. raising my left brow.

"nothing special," beverly explained, "just sitting in his basement, playing games and then crashing at midnight."

"we're here," mike called out from ahead of us, bill by his side. his pant leg was soaked from the snow, since he didn't have any boots. "i hope you don't mind if i go inside and quickly change," he said shyly, but we all shrugged in response. once mike left, bill, beverly, and i walked over to the barn to look at the animals. i picked up the familiar sheep with the green ribbon around its neck.

"hi lucky," i whispered, "looks like you've grown a little bit."

"it's suh-so c-c-cute," bill whispered, petting its head with a soft smile.

bill, similar to mike, always naturally loved animals; only difference was, bill was never allowed to have any pets. bill's parents never believed that he was responsible enough for anything more than a fish, and that might have been true. bill was very disoriented at times, as if his mind was a sweatshop. he often couldn't take care of himself for the majority of his life, let alone another helpless, living creature. bill was his own golden retriever, and he was a damn good one.

"that name seems like an oxymoron," beverly said nonchalantly, pointing to the bandage around its leg. bill covered lucky's ears and pretended to be offended by the statement, making us all laugh afterwards. afterwards, bill continued to play with the small ouessant sheep.

"you're juh-just the cutest," bill whispered to the tiny animal, taking it out of my arms and holding it closely.

"i'm telling stanley," i joked, watching him nurture lucky with a small smile. bill didn't respond, however; he just watched the sheep lovingly. our attention was snatched away from the adorable scene when we heard the door to the barn creak open. a crack of light flowed into the room suddenly.

"i'm back," mike announced, walking in, "and i see you've found lucky." he laughed quietly, exposing a small grin.

"i think bill has found his thing," beverly announced, "let's continue on with our newest companion."

so, we continued to walk until we arrived at the shooting range. new bottles were arranged along the tree trunks. "sweet," beverly smiled, "give me a gun, michael."

"not so fast little red," he laughed, "we're not allowed to use guns currently, but i can offer this slingshot!" mike held up the sling shot he picked up and the few rocks he managed to collect for it. beverly grabbed the slingshot and began to aim. "it's fine if you miss the first couple of times," mike reassured, "i wasn't good at it my first time, either."

beverly didn't hear him, however; she was in her own little world for the moment, focusing on the bottles that stood in front of her. she closed one eye and pulled back the rock that was in the sling. a split second after she released her fingers from the slingshot, a sharp crack filled the silent air. glass shards flew off the bottle, leaving mike's mouth hung open.

"how did you do that?" he asked with wide eyes.

"i'm always accurate."