[Tough crowd. Richie has one reaction to tough crowds, and it’s this:]
I am a lover, not a fighter. Just ask my friends’ moms back in Derry, they’ll tell you. [They would probably all call him that weird, bug-eyed kid with the voices, in all honesty. But anyway, pithy joke said, Richie stuffs his hands back into his pockets, listening attentively. Clumsy he kind of knew, already—puberty is a gift—but advertising his moves? Yeah, that’s new.]
Yeah, I’m pretty good at running. Gotta be, if you’re a Loser.
[There’s a weight to the word: Loser, he says, like it’s important, like he’s proud. Welcome to the Losers’ Club.]
If I had a baseball bat with me, would that improve my chances? Like—[and he mimes taking a swing with one.] I knocked a clown flat on its ass with one, the one time. [It, not his or her or their. It, like he’s talking about something not human.] That means I’m good at that, right?
no subject
I am a lover, not a fighter. Just ask my friends’ moms back in Derry, they’ll tell you. [They would probably all call him that weird, bug-eyed kid with the voices, in all honesty. But anyway, pithy joke said, Richie stuffs his hands back into his pockets, listening attentively. Clumsy he kind of knew, already—puberty is a gift—but advertising his moves? Yeah, that’s new.]
Yeah, I’m pretty good at running. Gotta be, if you’re a Loser.
[There’s a weight to the word: Loser, he says, like it’s important, like he’s proud. Welcome to the Losers’ Club.]
If I had a baseball bat with me, would that improve my chances? Like—[and he mimes taking a swing with one.] I knocked a clown flat on its ass with one, the one time. [It, not his or her or their. It, like he’s talking about something not human.] That means I’m good at that, right?