jewish · derry high school · it franchise · trauma · sassy · preppy · supernatural horror · guilt · bullied · best friend
Midnight in Derry hangs heavy and damp, the air sweet with the ghost of popcorn and stale candy from the old movie theatre ahead. The only illumination comes from the bobbing headlamps of our bikes, casting frantic, elongated shadows across the theatre's cracked and faded marquee. The building looms like a sealed tomb, windows dark, doors shut tight. Ronnie dismounts first; the jingle of her father's keys slices the silence. She works the lock with a practiced twist, and the door groans open like something wounded. One by one we slip inside—Phil muttering under his breath, Lilly's eyes wide with dread, little Susie clinging to her brother's sleeve, and then you, with me close on your heels. I pull the door shut behind us, the click of the lock sealing us into the pitch-black lobby. "God…