The Sun is Shining

004

"What do you mean you gotta leave? Who was that on the phone last night?" Tanner had gone on a rampage after Stanley got off the phone and began packing his suitcase. As if the mere idea of going back to Derry wasn't scary enough, Tanner and Ethan interrogating him make him feel like he was drowning. In this case, he kind of was. None of his friends here in Georgia remotely knew who Stanley was before he came here for college.

"Do you realize how out of the blue this is? I mean, where are you even going?" Ethan seemed to just keep going without taking a breath. Stanley shook his head to try and rid himself of these questions, as he triple-checked his bags. His cell phone buzzed. Now with her name and number in his contacts, Violet's name pulled up alongside a text message.

Violet: I called Mike back and let him know we were both going to be there later on today. Said something about meeting with everyone at the Jade of the Orient restaurant.

Stanley was quick to respond, the voices of his friends now way in the background as he thought of Violet. He hadn't though of her in a long time. Not since high school.

Stanley: Thanks. When will you get here?

Violet: My cousin figured I need my breakfast before we leave. I'll see you in a half hour or so.

Stanley furrowed his eyebrows. Her cousin was coming with? Why was her cousin joining them? Was this the same cousin Violet talked about constantly over the phone with the gang after she left Derry? Stanley tried to not let it bug him that Violet's cousin would be tagging along. At the mention of breakfast, Stanley brought his suitcase out to the living room- Tanner and Ethan following him- and decided on some toast before Violet came to get him.

"Hey Stan?" he turned at his name and saw Malcolm at the table, "I got your ticket printed. One round trip to Portland." Stanley smiled at his friend and took the ticket, placing it by his luggage. Tanner and Ethan stopped asking questions hearing Malcolm.

"Wait a minute! You aren't even remotely curious as to why this is suddenly happening and you've already bought him a ticket?" Ethan asked Malcolm, who smiled and didn't answer. This only infuriated Ethan and Tanner even more. Stanley sat down by Malcolm with his toast and started eating. Tanner closed his eyes and held the bridge of his nose.

"Will you at least tell us where you're going?" he asked calmly. At that Malcolm laughed and Stanley smirked at him.

"If you had paid any attention to what Malcolm had said, you'd already know," Stanley stated. He nudged Malcolm to stop, signaling he had something important to say. He wanted to. He didn't know why, but he wanted to tell them everything. Would they want to believe him? Or would it be easier to state the simple information and leave it at that? He took a breath.

"I used to live in Maine. Well, I grew up in a small town called Derry. My father- he was the Rabbi in town. He expected so much from me when my Bar Mitzvah came around. That summer, my Bar Mitzvah came with a few new friends. I mainly grew up with my three best friends; Richie, Eddie, and Bill. Yet, that summer I made six new friends; Ben, Mike, Beverly, Victor, Margaret, and- and Violet.

"Something happened that summer that brought all of us closer than ever, but the end of the summer came with two of our newest friends leaving. Beverly and Violet had to move away due to parental issues. I don't even remember where they moved to. All I know is, that I miss them. I miss them all and that is my reason for going back."

Tanner and Ethan stood quietly off to the side. They, along with Malcolm, had only known Stanley since college and yet, this was the first mention of Stanley's past. Tanner shook his head at the weirdness of it all.

"So, which friends of your past do we remind you of?" Tanner asked, making the mood lighter. Malcolm shifted in his chair, wondering as well. Stanley chuckled, only now realizing how he had subconsciously chosen his college friends.

"Well, Ethan is definitely a lot like Eddie. Eddie would go on a rampage of nearly everything we happened to say or do. Eddie was a hypochondriac though, so that part isn't you," Tanner nudged Ethan's shoulder, chuckling himself, "Uh, Malcolm would be Bill, a lot more like Switzerland and very self-reserved. He tried keeping the peace between everyone and was a lot like the leader of our group," Malcolm smiled, finally knowing how much they all meant to Stanley. Stanley had unknowingly found his friends at college based on what he already had for friends in his past.

"And Tanner would definitely be like Richie. Richie had no filter and absolutely loved living life on the edge. He didn't really care what life threw at him, he just wanted to enjoy the fun in it all," Stanley saw the look on his friend's faces and a light blush came to his face. Tanner came over to him and threw a hug Stanley's way. Soon, Malcolm and Ethan joined as well.

It would have been a nice time to remain with their bromance hug, but their intercom went off. 

"Stanley? We're here," Violet's voice sounded, releasing the gentlemen from their group hug. Tanner and Ethan looked shock to hear a girl was asking for Stanley. Stanley rolled his eyes at their behavior and went to give her a reply.

"Come on up," he said, unlocking the front door for her. He turned around suddenly and made one last checking of his necessities for the trip. "Would you guys at least look presentable?" He was nervous, extremely nervous. This whole trip was nerve wracking, but just meeting up with Violet again set his nerve level over the top. The second knocking was heard at the door, Stanley shot up and away from his suitcase. He let out a breath and opened the door to reveal a pretty brunette with blonde tips, a boy with his blonde hair in a ponytail, another boy with slicked back brown hair, and a girl with her blonde hair in a fishtail braid, rolling down the side of her shoulder. 

The braid in the blonde's hair reminded Stanley of when Beverly had braided Violet's that summer at Neibolt. He was shaken out of the memory by the brunette woman coming forward and hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her, as she started crying tears of joy. She was seeing her friends again and she didn't want to let them go.

"Hi, Stanley."