Sunday morning came upon Derry in an all-too-similar way – the sun shone brightly through the town as not a single cloud was nearby.
'A perfect day for a perfect birthday boy!'
Eddie was extremely joyful waking up, as today was his thirteenth birthday.
'Finally, a teenager – now I can experience what all of the other guys have been witnessing.'
As he got dressed, he was hoping his friends had something even small for him.
'It doesn't need to be too fancy, but at least something to show they care.'
When he got downstairs into the kitchen, he was greeted by Sonia with a hug.
"Happy birthday, sweetie!"
Eddie smiled and returned the hug, "Thanks, Mom."
'At least from what we have been through, it's good that she cares.'
"I know it may be too much for you to hear, but I was wondering if my friends did have something for—"
"Don't say any more; you can hang with them."
Eddie gave a small fist pump inside his mind.
"Thanks! Man, what else will go my way?"
"Well…I bought you a few things that you may grow into."
At that, Sonia excused herself into the living room to bring in two medium-sized black bags full of clothes.
"Oh, wow, that's a lot."
"You can spend the majority of this week trying things on and choosing what you want, and then I'll rinse them for you."
Eddie smiled, "That sounds good."
At that, the telephone rang, and Eddie decided to answer.
"Kaspbrak residence, how can I help?"
A small giggle greeted him before Bev saying, "You need to come up with a better answering tone."
Eddie shrugged, "I think it's good; anyway, what's up?"
"Care to meet up at the clubhouse before noontime?"
"You bet – see you then."
After hanging up the phone, Eddie embraced his mom.
"Thanks again for letting me hang with my friends – I know you and I have been through a lot this summer, but it means the world to me."
"Like you said," Sonia stated as she returned the hug, "I can't keep you a baby much longer."
Noontime came upon Eddie, and as he was pedaling towards the clubhouse, his mind was racing with possibilities of what to expect.
'More gifts? A simple cake? Down there, in the clubhouse? How would that work?'
As he parked his bike right near the entrance of the clubhouse, he felt bizarre that he was the only kid there.
'Where are the others?' he pondered, noticing the lack of bikes on the ground.
Shaking his head, he stepped down the ladder leading into the clubhouse; hopping down the last step and onto the ground, he turned around to see…
"Surprise!"
His friends greeting him with balloons, a few gifts, and a cake that was still in the box.
Eddie was taken back, nearly at the point of tears.
"Th…Thank you, guys. This is really touching."
"Hey, it's not every day someone becomes a teenager," Bev said, approaching Eddie and hugging him.
As all his friends greeted him the same way, Richie chose to sit back and watch everything on the hammock.
"Oh, c'mon trash."
Richie gave a coy smile, "You get twenty minutes of uninterrupted time on the hammock."
"Nothing set in stone?"
"Nope…from my mouth to yours."
As Richie exited the hammock to allow Eddie to lie down, the newly teen said, "You know, we fit comfortably in here the last time."
Richie went speechless, not knowing what to say. Sure, after the bickering and kicking died down, they did fit together well.
"Are you saying—"
"After my twenty minutes, if you're up for it."
Richie blushed like mad, turning his head around, not wanting Eddie to see.
Turning his head back around after gaining his composure, Richie ran his hand through his hair and nodded.
"Sweet! So, where are my gifts, please?"
Bill laughed, "He-here you go, buddy!"
Handing him his gifts wrapped in newspaper, Eddie opened them to reveal a leather watch and a table-top pinball machine.
"No way, these must have cost…a good amount?"
"We all splurged a little – we figured there's no such thing as a price tag when it comes to friends."
Eddie smiled, tears forming in his eyes.
"Thank you, all; I do appreciate this."
Richie sat down next to Eddie on the hammock and wrapped an arm around his friend.
"Oh, Eds, you mean so much to all of us; we just wanted to honor your special day."
And honor they did.
After a few minutes, the group gathered together to sing the traditional birthday song as Eddie thought up a wish.
'Gee…I have everything I could have asked for…what else could I need?'
He had one lone thought that counted as his wish.
'I wish I wasn't so germophobic, and more open to new opportunities.'
As he blew out the candles, his friends cheered, and while his friends argued over how to cut the cake officially, Richie walked over.
"So, how do you want to do this whole twenty on the hammock?"
Eddie chuckled, "Though I said after my twenty…you can come on with me."
"Really? You mean it?"
"Dude, don't get so worked up, remember last time?"
As Eddie flexed his foot, Richie nodded solemnly as he adjusted himself on the hammock opposite of his friend, flushing with adrenaline.
How does it feel being this close to your crush?
Richie's conscience came on the moment to ponder, to which the elder teen did answer.
'It feels…rewarding, almost like he cares for me.'
As the two stared at each other, they slowly swung on the hammock, neither one breaking trance of their stare.
Their contest broke as soon as Ben presented cake to the two, each thanking him and delving into the vanilla cake with vanilla frosting goodness.
"Mmm…this is so good," Eddie said through a mouthful of cake.
Richie nodded in agreeance, and as the group enjoyed their day together in peace, one thought that this day couldn't beat out any other days coming ahead.