On Long Island's North Fork, the small village of Greenport had become home to some of the biggest luxury vacation homes and resorts on the east coast. The diamond among the rubies and emeralds of North Fork was the Harborfront Inn, vacation resort and summer home to some of the wealthiest individuals in the state of New York. It was unlike anything any greaser from Oklahoma had ever laid their eyes upon. Towering white structures were topped with burnt red roofs that appeared orange in the summer sun. Every room had a balcony and every tower had a suite fit for a king. Even the employee cabins mimicked the grande resort with miniature towers and burnt red roofs, however there were not suites and certainly no kings amongst the young men and women who resided there, only waitresses and bus boys, porters and activity counsellors. They were hidden away in the miniature mimics of the larger resort, kept separated from those who fancied themselves as the lords and ladies of the age. In comparison to the guests, the staff were nothing more than lowly peasants. They were a long way from Tulsa, Oklahoma but nothing had really changed.
It had been Steve's uncle who had managed to get the lot of them a job up in Long Island; he send nine of them (the seven boys and two of the girls) up to the Harborfront to make some cash for the summer. It paid a lot better than that job at the gas station Soda was still working at and although Ponyboy had gotten into college he needed some summer cash to pay for next year's tuition. Even Darry had decided to join his brothers, knowing that jobs at resorts would be few and far between for them so this was probably his only chance to do anything other than construction for the rest of his life.
The first week at the Harborfront had been filled with hour upon hour of classes on etiquette and how to treat the guests. Evelyn Matthews, the middle child in Two-Bit's family usually spent these classes napping in the back corner, only to be hissed at by her younger sister Bonnie who was trying her best to learn the rules of the society she had never been apart of. For Bonnie, this trip was about saving enough money so that she could finally go to college. She was only twenty one and she was already sick of waiting tables back in Tulsa. If Ponyboy could change his story, so could she.
That first week flew by, filled with uniform fittings, etiquette classes and extensive job training that needed to be completed before the guests filed in. The manager expressed that it needed to look as if they practically lived and breathed the very essence of the resort. They were simply an extension of the accommodations provided for the valued guests of the Harborfront. They were taught how to act like ghosts, to be in a room without having a presence there. It was quite a miraculous feat to try and accomplish in seven days when you were dealing with a group of twenty somethings who had spent their whole lives making a racket.
Dally didn't like the idea behind this job, the thought of serving Socs for the summer was already grinding him and not a single Soc had shown up yet. His temper had become apparent to the managers throughout the classes which was why he ended up stuck in the back of the kitchen with the rest of the employees who couldn't be trusted to keep their cool around their upperclass patrons. Dally wasn't the only one.
Evelyn Matthews had always considered herself on the boys, a rough and tough greaser to the core. If at least one of her close friends had been staying in Tulsa she might have done so herself but when eve Johnny Cade signed up for this paid servantry, Evie had decided to be dragged along as well. It was after getting caught sleeping for a third time in etiquette class that the resort director decided that Evie would be best suited for a backstage job; which is how she ended up in the kitchen with Dally.
The rest of the group was split up, most of the boys being trusted to act as waiters or bellhops. Bonnie was picked out as a keen student and a quick learner so she managed to get a job working with the activities director. She was joined by Sodapop, who had managed to charm every manager and higher up that he had come into contact with by pretending like he was one of their kind. It was a little sickening to see Soda acting like a Soc but it got him the job he wanted, working in activities where he wouldn't have to wait tables or carry baggage.
Two-Bitt swore up and down that the resort must have some sort of weather machine that made it beautiful just in time for the guests' arrival. It had rained for three days straight while they had been training and yet somehow the clouds parted and the sun brought back the summer heat the moment the town cars and convertibles began to pull up into the resort's drive. Two heavy Cadillac convertibles were the first to pull into the drive, one red and one black, each of them carrying New York royalty. The crowned prince and princess came in the form of twins: Vivian and Victor Buchanan. Mr. Buchanan owned a stock company and Time magazine had named him the third wealthiest man in the world last year, making the twins practically capitalist royalty. The black Cadillac wasn't lacking wealth or fame either; Edward and Daphne Harding were the children of a ex-Hollywood Starlet and her theme park tycoon husband. More importantly, Edward Harding was Vivian's longterm beau from the city and the two of them were set on being the next King and Queen of the Hampton's.
"You're up kid." Darry said, giving Steve a push to go and help with the bags. Other porters and bellboys immediately rushed towards the cars, grabbing the doors and offering hands to the guests inside. Vivian waited in the backseat, letting her boyfriend be the one to escort her out of the car so that she could waltz into the Harbourfront with him on her arm. Some might have looked at it the other way around, that Vivian was the prize to be shown off by the young Mr. Harding but that couldn't have been further from the truth.
"Be careful with those." Vivian said to Steve, shocking him a little bit by actually looking at him when she spoke. Her eyes were brown but in the sun they glimmered like gold, mirroring the bangles and hoops that she had decked herself with. "They're very important to me."
"Yes Miss."
"Vivian."
"Of course Miss." Steve didn't miss a beat, having had the Harborfront rules drilled into him for the past week. Dally would have just called her Viv, but that was exactly why Dally was stuck in the kitchen.
The cars continued to pile in and the lads were sent rushing around, wheeling carts of bags across the expansive resort and ensuring that not a single bag, purse, or item went missing on their travels. It was almost dinner time when the last car pulled up in the drive. Everyone was supposed to have come well before dinner for socializing and time to get fixed up before the meal but as Darrel Curtis would soon find out, Lucy Eldridge only worked on her own schedule.
Darry had been the only porter left outside, informed that there was still one guest that had not checked in yet. The resort manager was not about to let any of these Socs carry their own bags so someone got the short end of the stick and had to wait outside. As the oldest Darry had been a standout for who could be mature enough to wait out on the front porch alone. When the car did arrive there were five minutes until dinner and a solo blonde was hidden underneath the white hard top on a robin egg blue T-Bird. The car gave the smallest roar as she brought it into the drive, Darry quickly descending from the steps to get the door for her. She was quicker. Slim legs emerged from the open door before Darry could even get to the handle. They'd never let her into the dining hall in the pair of high waisted shorts she was sporting, though Darry wondered if the manager would have even let her through the front door.
"I'm not late am I?" the blonde chirped.
"Right on time." Darrel charmed, deciding it was better to lie in this situation than to tell a guest that they were unpunctual. If any of the boys from home had been late they would have been sent home but at the Harborfront it was all about the guests which meant arrival time for this young woman was exactly when she wanted to get here.
"Would you mind doing me a favor? Just watch to make sure no one is looking, I'm going to change real quick." without a single word from the greaser, the blonde hopped into the backseat of her car, immediately pulling a dress over her clothes and shedding the shorts and top she wore from underneath. Darry turned his back to the car, blocking the back passenger window with his figure, not daring to even try to look at the young woman he was covering for.
Things were in the clear until Bonnie walked up. Soda and Bonnie had set up everything for the welcoming bonfire that would take place a few hours after dinner when the guests had switched out of their evening dresses and into flowing skirts and short sleeved button ups. Soda couldn't get over how many outfits these people had, how they had to change for every meal and how their lounge clothes looked fancier than his Sunday best. Once finished with the bonfire preparation Soda had taken off to the mess hall to have dinner with the boys who weren't stuck waiting on the Socs. Bonnie on the other hand had decided to get a better look at the resort before it became swarmed with guests.
"Darry what are you still doing out here?" Bonnie asked as she stumbled upon the oldest Curtis brother in his precarious position.
"Working." Darry said quickly.
"Look's like you're standing around."
It was in that moment that Lucy Eldridge emerged from the car, her shorts discarded in the backseat and a sundress placed over her body. Back home, Bonnie was known for being the biggest gossip in the group. She tended to take the smallest of details and write entire novels with them in her head. Darry could tell that she was already scribing pages about this incident and he knew it likely was going to be a story he didn't want to hear.
"Thank you." Lucy sent over to Darry. "I'm Lucy by the way, I'm in suite eight. There's two bags in the trunk and the car can just go anywhere in the lot. If you're going to take it for a joy ride just make sure the tank isn't on empty." she said as she tossed Darry the keys and quickly began to ascend up the front steps of the resort.
"And here I thought you were the sensible one." Bonnie smirked at Darry as they both watched Lucy walk away. The girl disappeared into the resort, still late for dinner arrivals despite having changed in the car. They'd likely hear all about it from the resort gossips later and Bonnie would be sure to join them. It was going to be a whole new adventure for Bonnie and the rest of the greasers.
One thing was for sure, they weren't in Tulsa anymore.