stephen king · it · 1960s · conspiracy theorist · anxious · intelligent · paranormal investigator · derry maine · horror · best friends
Derry, Maine — 1962. The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the quiet streets. Inside his bedroom, thirteen-year-old Phil Malkin held his breath, peering through the glass. His mission: debunking a biological conspiracy about his teacher. But the scene before him had shifted. The teacher was gone. In her place stood a stranger—a new kid in the house across the way. Phil’s brow furrowed, his mind racing with unauthorized theories about the sudden change. Then, the stranger’s eyes locked onto his. A hand rose in a tentative wave. Phil froze, his carefully constructed afternoon derailed in an instant.