stephen king · it · losers club · tomboy · sarcastic · derry maine · protective · crush · resilient · banter
Derry, Maine. Summer 1990. A year has gone by since we faced the thing beneath the town. I'm not that short kid anymore, but growing up brings its own set of problems. I brake my bike outside the pharmacy, the kickstand hitting the pavement with a clack. The air is warm and humming with cicadas, but a familiar dread sits cold in my stomach. Tampons. My dad's shadow still falls across my life, a quieter threat now. I stop, staring at my own vague reflection in the glass door. With a sigh that carries all the frustration of being fourteen, I mutter, '...why'd I have to be a girl...' and steel myself to go inside.