Chapter 2

There was a heavy beat of silence before Claudia swallowed audibly and spoke.

"You're Sylvia Richards."

Claudia probably should have thought of something better to say, but she hadn't let the shock wear off before she opened her mouth. Sylvia arched a high, dark eyebrow and scoffed harshly.

"No honey I'm Marilyn Monroe, but close enough I s'pose", she said smartly as she lit a cigarette. The smoke poured from her perfect red mouth like a waterfall. No wonder Karen couldn't work up the nerve to speak to her. She was so tuff.

Claudia didn't realize she was staring, silent, until Sylvia spoke again.

"Well hell kid, aren't ya gonna invite me in?"

It was like cold water had been splashed on her face and Claudia suddenly grasped the situation at hand. Sylvia Richards, the pinnacle of greaser heiarchy, was standing on her front porch. Claudia Randle's front porch. And she wanted to be invited in.

It seemed as though every bad thing she'd ever heard about Sylvia, every warning Steve had ever given her, flew right out the window as Claudia shuffled aside and allowed Sylvia to come in.

While Claudia had never thought much on the girl before her, she was starting to see Karen's admiration. Sylvia was like something out of a dream. She stood at least three inches taller than Claudia naturally, but the spiky heels on her feet made her seem statuesque. She had all the obvious curves and blonde curls, but what truly struck Claudia was her face. It was not heavily made up (like most girls preferred), but perfectly accentuated. High cheekbones held up darkened hazel eyes, while her full lips pouted beneath a proud nose. She wore a tight skirt with an even tighter blouse and if she was freezing in the fall air, she didn't show it.

Claudia stood there, afraid to speak, afraid to move. She didn't know what to do, that much was clear. Sylvia smirked at her.

"Here's the score, kid. I'm taking you and the Mathews girl out with me tonight. Karen knows how to pretty up for night out, so I ain't too worried about her. You on the other hand…", she trailed off with a mocking eye that assessed Claudia critically. She felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment and a hint of anger. Claudia knew she wasn't the prettiest, but she'd never had it so blatantly spelled out in front of her before. It didn't make her feel too hot.

"So, I'm here to spruce you up a bit; get you ready for a night on the town," Sylvia said as she began walking up the stairs, in hunt of the bathroom. Claudia only just realized the cosmetics bag and curling iron in her hand. She swallowed roughly before she followed hurriedly behind the older girl.

"A night on the town? I thought we were just going to the Dingo", Claudia hoped she didn't sound as pathetic as she felt. Sylvia snorted.

"Oh, we'll end up at the Dingo at some point. First, we're going to the Slash J." Claudia frowned at that, her nerves about the night coming back in full force. The Slash J? Claudia couldn't count how many times Steve had told her to stay away from the Slash J. He said it could get just as rough as Buck's if the wrong crowd was there. Claudia had a feeling she would definitely be mixing with the wrong crowd that night if she was anywhere near Sylvia.

Claudia should have protested then, should have put her foot down and said that she was absolutely not going; truthfully, she should have done it first thing that morning when Karen initially asked her to go. She didn't, though. Instead, she pointed Sylvia in the direction of the bathroom, albeit reluctantly, and sealed her fate. Sylvia smiled at her then, as if she knew exactly what war raged inside of her. Claudia felt sick.

"Well come on, we ain't got all day," Sylvia said from the bathroom. Claudia rounded the corner to find her plugging in the curling iron and stubbing out her smoke in the sink. Claudia knew she should have said something about that, but her voice was lodged in her throat like a rock.

Sylvia suddenly paused and had a quick look around the room. She seemed to be looking for something, but Claudia wasn't quite sure what it was.

"You got a stool or a chair or sumthin'?", Sylvia asked her, one hand on her hip and the iron dangling from the other. Claudia opened her mouth to answer, but Sylvia was already putting the iron down and pushing past her in search of something to sit on. Claudia sighed, the rigid nervousness leaving her body as she sat down on the toilet and put her head in her hands. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

Sylvia stumbled back in the bathroom carrying one of the kitchen chairs. Claudia looked up, resigned.

"Sit," Sylvia demanded as she began to empty out her makeup bag. Claudia got up and did as she was told. She was afraid to find out what would happen if she didn't.

Sylvia finally turned to look at her. She had a brush in her hand, tapping slowly against her chin, as she stared at Claudia critically. She didn't look as cruel as she did before.

"You know, you ain't as hopeless as I thought. Once we fix your hair and put some blush on you", Sylvia spoke as if she was thinking out loud instead of actually talking to Claudia. She stuck out a hand and brushed the younger girl's hair back. "Oh Christ, and pluck those brows. Geez, they're almost as bad your brother's."

Claudia ducked her head and felt her face get hot from embarrassment. Sylvia just huffed.

"Ah kid, I ain't aimin' to make you feel lousy. You think my eyebrows wouldn't be just as bad if I didn't prune 'em every week? Talk about a pair of caterpillars…", Sylvia trailed off as she began to search presumably for her tweezers. Claudia let out a startled giggle. Sylvia Richards just confessed to having bushy brows to Claudia Randle. In Claudia Randle's bathroom. At Claudia Randle's house. Claudia half expected Two-Bit to jump out from behind the shower curtain as part of some elaborate prank, but the feeling she had in her heart told her that that was far too good to be true. This was horribly, terrifyingly real.

Sylvia found her tweezers and Claudia's eyes watered as the older girl ripped hair after hair from her brow. Gosh, if this was what being beautiful meant, Claudia was almost certain she wanted no part in it. Of course, it wasn't as though Sylvia was giving her any kind of option.

"Glory kid, it ain't that bad," Sylvia muttered after Claudia winced for the tenth time. The younger girl refrained from rolling her eyes. Sylvia finally took a step back and looked, for the first time, somewhat approving.

"Alright, that's the best I can do without any wax. I guess we'll just have to save that for next time."

Next time?, Claudia's mind shrieked. Sylvia must have seen the panic on her face because she laughed and said, "Didn't Karen tell you? You two munchkins are my new proteges."

Claudia definitely didn't like the sound of that.

Sylvia moved behind her and began the process of brushing Claudia's hair. Claudia's hair wasn't particularly thick, but it was curly, which made for a knotted mess at the end of each day. Initially, she worried that the older girl would just start ripping through the knots in her hair with no care of the pain it would cause her, but she was surprised at the gentle touch that Sylvia used. She worked through each knot carefully and thoroughly before moving onto the next lock. Claudia found herself relaxing under the soothing ministrations. She'd always loved having her hair brushed. Steve used to do it when they were younger and he needed to get her ready for school. She missed that.

If Claudia was being quite honest, she missed the days when it was her and Steve, not Steve and his buddies. These days, she barely saw her brother, and if she did he was always with one of his gang or Evie. When she was younger, she and Steve were inseparable. They would go and get ice cream at D'Angelo's on Pickett every afternoon after school. They would play and tell one another stories. They were happy, even though their ma was gone. That is, until Jerry Randle decided to ruin all that. As Steve got older, Jerry got meaner. Pretty soon every time Jerry yelled, Steve yelled back and it all went to hell from there. Their fights were vicious and eventually, Steve began to storm out. Then, Jerry began to kick him out and Claudia saw less and less of her brother. Claudia felt tears prick at her eyes, lost in the memories of crying herself to sleep as bangs and shouts echoed through the shell of a house.

"So, what the hell is wrong with your voice?", Claudia was startled by the question as she tore her thoughts away from dark times. Sylvia brushed her newly smoothed hair down her shoulders.

"What?"

"You know, your voice. It don't sound right. Are ya sick or somethin'?"

Claudia realized with a lousy feeling what Sylvia was talking about.

Claudia had been born premature. While she hadn't had any real complications, as she had only been a few weeks early, it had left her with a paralyzed vocal cord. The doctor said that it would not cause any detrimental health issues, but it left her voice fragmented and hoarse. On her best days, she just sounded sick, but some days she could squeak out only a few words at a time. It was something she had learned to live with and honestly forgot about…until someone pointed it out as Sylvia was doing just then. She flushed slightly.

"Um, n-no. It's always like that", she stuttered out, embarrassed. Sylvia just shrugged it off and reached for the curling iron. It took her only thirty more minutes to conclude her project complete.

"Ok, you can look now. I gotta fix my makeup," Sylvia said dismissively as she began applying a healthy amount of red lipstick in a mirror from her clutch. Claudia swallowed nervously. She'd never worn makeup before. She had no idea what she would look like, but judging from how most grease girls appeared, it wouldn't be good.

When she turned to face the mirror, she gazed at her reflection in both shock and relief.

Sylvia hadn't done as much as she had feared.

Her hair was tamed into framing her face. It wasn't smooth because as Sylvia said, "I didn't bring hairspray to brush it down, but it looks tuff enough without it", but it wasn't as fluffy as it usually was. Her cheeks were flushed with rouge and her eyes darkened with a pencil, but that was the extent of her face. Sylvia told her that she had good undertones, but Claudia wasn't quite sure what that meant. She just knew that she had her ma's coloring, with dark hair and warm skin. Steve took after their dad with his inky locks and green eyes. Overall, Sylvia hadn't made her look as trashy as some girls, but her look was still obvious. She was a greaser and she looked like one.

"You could almost pass for my age", Sylvia spoke out from under the hair she was teasing. Claudia just nodded, unsure of how to take that. She was really trying to take it all in. Just that morning, she had simply been Steve Randle's little sister; plain and unexciting. Now she was in a bathroom with Sylvia Richards, wearing make-up and getting ready for a night on the town with the tuffest girl in Tulsa. Claudia grinned slightly at the thought, her heart beating faster; it was a bit of a rush. Suddenly, she wasn't all that scared about Steve finding out. Instead, she felt anticipation for what was to come. She was…excited.

Sylvia noticed her smiling at her reflection and smirked.

"I'm a miracle worker, huh?", she asked smugly. Claudia simply laughed lightly and nodded, no longer offended at Sylvia's somewhat backhanded remarks. She took a moment to reflect on how easily her mood had changed. Steve would say it was a chick thing, but Claudia didn't care. She'd never felt this sort of excitement before; probably because she'd never done anything truly exciting. Karen was right; she'd been living in a hole.

"Alright kid, we need to get you in some decent clothes. Our ride will be here soon", Sylvia said as her heels clicked out of the bathroom. Claudia trustingly followed her.

Sylvia raided her dresser and eyed every piece she deemed worthy of pulling out critically. Claudia sat idly by, not wanting to get in the way of Sylvia. She was certain the older girl knew what she was looking for.

Finally, Sylvia sighed with some finality. Claudia looked up, worried that something was wrong.

"What is it", she asked, worried. Sylvia just shook her head slightly as she raised up a sweater and a skirt, laying them over top one another as if to picture how the outfit would look. Claudia attempted to see what Sylvia had pulled, but the girl moved before she could get a glimpse.

"It's nothin' really, I just shoulda known there wouldn't be much t work with. Ah well, this'll haveta do."

Sylvia held the clothing in front of her body to give Claudia a look. The younger girl was somewhat surprised at what she'd picked.

The sweater hadn't been worn in two years. It was a pale lavender with quarter-length sleeves, and last Claudia remembered it was about a size too small. The skirt was also old as well. It was plain and black and a bit shorter than her other skirts. Claudia frowned.

"What? You don't like it?', Sylvia asked a bit defensively as she turned the clothes back around and searched them as if she had missed something before. Claudia shook her head.

"It ain't that, it's just…those are too small. They don't fit", Claudia said. Sylvia looked at the girl and snorted.

"Geez, chick, you had me doubtin' my taste there for a second", Sylvia said amused. Claudia just raised a brow. Sylvia snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, hun, this'll fit where it counts", Sylvia thrust the clothes onto to the bed and Claudia just shook her head in resignation, not quite sure what the older girl meant by her statement.

Sylvia waved her hand impatiently.

"You need to put those on. We gotta get goin'."

Claudia simply sighed and went to the bathroom to change. She didn't feel like putting up an argument over clothes.

It seemed as though she had just fastened the snap when Sylvia's voice pierced through the house.

"Come on Randle, we ain't got all damn day!"

Claudia smiled lightly to her reflection in the mirror. This would definitely be a night to remember.