Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders.
I was putting on my DX shirt when my best friend, Soda came into the break room taking off his own DX shirt. His shift was ending and mine was just starting. But, that's how it is on school nights. Soda works days since he dropped out of school last spring , and I still work part time after school and on weekends.
"You have a few cars to look at Steve." Soda told me.
"Okay." I said casually. Inside, I was happy. I love working on cars. Don't ask why. There's just something about cars that I like. And people trust me with them. Even the socs which I think is funny considering us greasers don't get along with them. It seems like the only time a soc is civil to us is when I'm fixing one of their fancy cars. "Was it busy today?"
Soda rolled his eyes. "No. I spent most of the day restocking shelves and cleaning. You're lucky, Steve. At least you get to work on cars."
"You work on cars." I reminded him.
"Yeah, but I can't fix these cars that you'll be working on tonight. They need your special touch." Soda told me with a wink. "And let me tell you, they're pretty messed up."
We walked out of the break room together and outside where Soda led me to the garage and opened the door. Inside were two piles of chipped paint and rust on wheels. They were probably the two worst looking cars I had ever seen. And I was supposed to be the miracle worker.
"You're kidding me, right?" I looked at Soda who was shaking his head. "These belong in a dump."
"Yeah, well, the boss wants you to fix them." Soda said softly.
"How?" I asked. "Even if I can get them running decently, there's nothing I can do about the appearance. My car looks like a soc's car compared to these pieces of junk!"
Soda grinned. "Just do what you can. We'll figure out what to do about the appearance of these cars tonight at my place. You are coming over after you get off, right?"
"Where else would I go? My old man kicked me out again this morning before school." I said a little more harshly then I intended to. "Sorry Soda, I didn't mean to sound harsh."
"No problem. I know it bothers you when your dad does that." Soda told me. "But, you're always welcome to stay at my place."
"Speaking of your place, you should get going. I'll see you later." I said looking helplessly at the two junk piles in front of me.
"Okay, Steve. I'll have Darry make some extra food for dinner tonight so you have something to eat when you come over." Soda told me as he turned and walked away. I didn't respond. I just stood there for a few minutes before slowly making my way to the cars and looking at them up close. Carefully popping the hood on each of them because I half expected the cars to fall apart if I touched them. These two cars needed a lot of work and it was up to me to get it done.