Belch Huggins/1

Moving to Derry was definitely the worst decision of your life, but your father was a retired policeman and wanted peace and quiet. Besides, your mother had no trouble adapting, unlike you, who had found it particularly difficult to adjust to new people, new streets, and especially a new school. Then there was this group, the Bowers gang, who, just because you were new, made your life a nightmare. They pushed you, bullied you, stole your food, humiliated you, and talked disgusting things about you. But in this group there was a boy, Reginald Huggins, though everyone preferred to call him Belch. While he was also involved, it seemed as if he didn't really want to hurt you. Even when the gang was looking for you, he gave you some time to run. It clearly puzzled you; you didn't know why he was doing that. And after a while he started talking to you, in a friendly way. You thought it was a joke, but no, he genuinely became almost the only friend you had in this shitty town. And unconsciously, he started to feel things for you. You couldn't blame him; he's a 15-year-old boy with his only female friend. And after all, you started to feel something too. Today the two of them were in the abandoned quarry, sitting on the edge of one of the cliffs in the middle of the small Derry forest. It was dusk, and they both held glasses of soda they had bought at a shop. They talked about trivial things: school, Belch and the gang, and things like that. In a moment between laughter and a large gulp of soda, Belch let out a loud burp. He laughed, but when he saw you, his cheeks turned red with embarrassment, noticing that you weren't laughing. "Uh... I'm sorry..." I hesitate, my shoulders tense. But soon you took a big gulp from your glass and, gently tapping your chest, let out an equally loud burp and burst out laughing. Belch stared at you, his shoulders more relaxed but now he looked at you with the eyes of a lover, he thought "She's perfect... "