A year later, I'm coming home from school and I walk in the front door to see balloons of almost every color and, wait, do I smell...Chocolate? I drop my back pack on the floor and go to the kitchen. Once in the kitchen I find my dad leaning against the counter.
"Hi, daddy."
"Hi, Bevvy. Happy 17th birthday, sweetie."
"But, you--" I hug him after so many years. "Thank you." I back away and watch as he grabs a cupcake with a candle and lights the candle. Without thinking, I blow the candle out. I set the cupcake on the counter and look around. "Why are there boxes for here and there?"
"We're moving soon. I got a transfer somewhere."
"Where are we moving to?"
"It's a surprise."
"What about Stephen King?"
"You can visit him everyday until we move."
"Dad, you can't be serious. You've never been like this."
"I am absolutely serious. You're lucky my boss let me have today off to celebrate our moving, your birthday, and start packing. We have to move by the 10th of November. I start work on the 11th."
"Oh, okay." I grab my back pack and go to my room to find boxes already made up for me to start packing. I throw my back pack on my bed and start pulling things out, trying to decide what to take and what to leave or get rid of. I'm definitely taking every last bit of my IT stuff. I grab a box and start putting stuff in it when my dad calls me to come eat dinner. I check the time. It's only 3:15 and we're eating dinner. Nice, okay. I go to the dining room and sit down at the table. He smiles at me and sits down.
"So," he says, "have you started packing yet?"
"Yes. I was just starting when you called me in." I clear my throat. "Anyway, we've never eaten dinner this early. What for?"
"Well, I just figured to go ahead and get it out of the way. So then we'll have time to get packing and cleaning the house, you know. Someone's already got the money to pay for the house. They said they'd give us until the 8th of next month to move out. They'll be coming tomorrow to give me the money in cash. It's the money I'm going to use to pay for our new house that we'll be moving into."
"Oh, okay."
*****
We are finished packing in a week and we exchange looks with the people that are moving into our house on our way out. I get in the backseat of the car and wait for dad to get in. He does and we start on the road immediately.
After two hours, I find out where we're moving to. As soon as I look up, I look at a sign as we enter the city.
"Derry, Maine welcomes you." I snicker to myself and look back at my phone and that's when my brain processes what I just read. "Wait! What? Derry, Maine? Dad, we have to turn around, we can't--"
"Shut up!!"
I just lean back, shocked. "So you being all nice was just a fricking play?! Are you insane?! Never again, Jacob! NEVER AGAIN!!!!"
Just as I stop yelling at him, we pull into a parking lot across from a very big and beautiful house. I get out of the car as soon as we stop and walk across the road without thinking. I walk through the opening in the gate and am met with a hysterical giggle. I look all around me and see nothing.
"Wait a minute," I mutter.
"Wait a minute," someone mimics me and giggles.
I glance around and gasp. "The well house?! Dad! You're the best!"
"Oh, so she likes my well house," says the strange voice. "Yes, yes. She likes the well house." Whoever it is giggles really loudly.
I just ignore that person and bound inside. I look around as I walk through the house. "Wow, it's so much neater than before." I go down a hallway from the kitchen and find a door with yellow do-not-cross tape in front of it. "Ooh, that must be the basement. But why can't I go down there? I want to see Pennywise." I stomp my foot and go to the stairs leading upstairs.
I go up the stairs and look around. I spot the second flight of stairs and walk over to it. I stomp my foot in frustration. That same yellow tape is across the stairs too. I turn away and go to find my bedroom. I find it and throw my bag down on the bed. I sit on the bed and swear I feel someone staring lasers at me. I glance towards the door just in time to see a gloved hand disappear from the doorway. I get up and go to the door, putting my phone away.
"Oh, so you want to play hide and seek, huh? Oh, okay." I sneak down the hallway and catch a glimpse of a gloved hand reaching for a little doll on the floor. I gasp. "My Pennywise doll!"
The hand snatches the doll and disappears into a doorway. I race into that room and look around. The door slams shut and the curtains fall. I notice the clown dolls. The room Richie first met Pennywise in. I look around and as I walk forward, I notice the doll that looks like the Tim Curry Pennywise. I giggle to myself and stop. I turn to my right and look straight at a doll.
"You like watching me? Do you?" I put my hand up and gently stroke the doll's face. Then, I grab the doll and throw it across the floor. I turn to the trunk on top of the table. I knock on it once and it pops open. I look in it and see my Pennywise doll. I grab it and turn to leave, bumping straight into someone.
"Would you like a balloon, Bevvy?"
I look up straight into the face of Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
"You know," I say, "I'd love to take a balloon, but I'm not sure if it's safe. Also, I'm a really big fan." I grin. "And you touch any of my belongings again, I will make sure you starve until I leave this house, got it?" I giggle and walk around him as he growls. "Get the joke? Got IT?" I chuckle to myself. " It was nice meeting you. I hope we can see each other more often. Bye," I add, waving at him.
I go back to my room and lie down on my bed with my Pennywise doll, a big grin on my face at the fact of meeting Pennywise so soon after moving here.
But, little did I know, after that encounter, he was going to do his best to see me more often in person and alone.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
