Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own anything from The Outsiders, but I do own my characters, blah, blah, blah. I own my shoes, too. I hope you have liked my story so far. I will be updating as fast as my sister, Emily, can editthe chapters. She is very thorough, though- and a slow reader, so one chapter seems to take her hours.
Chapter 2:
Unexpected Company brings Troubling Tidings
My hand was shaking as I pulled out my keys to open the door. I had to take several large breaths before actually opening it. When I finally managed to turn my key in the lock and push myself into the house, I peered in to the front room cautiously to see if Mrs. Peirce was actually there. Sadly, she was.
There, sitting on the couch with Sarah, was Mrs. Peirce, who looked up at me with a large, painful-looking smile when she heard my footsteps.
"Catherine, dear. Nice to see you!" she said in her usual, calm tone.
"Mrs. Peirce! What a nice surprise! We weren't expecting you so soon." I said in my best happy voice. I really hope she wasn't here with bad news.
"Come and sit down and I will be able to tell you why I have come." She said, patting the seat next to her. I sat down and she turned to Sarah, who was also trying to hide her fear.
" Sarah, dear, where are Andrew and the other children?" she asked calmly.
" Andrew took everyone except Melody to the park after he got home from work around a half hour ago so that I could prepare dinner and wait for Catherine. Melody is having her normal evening nap."
"Wonderful, dear, wonderful," she said, "It will be much easier to tell you two the news first, and you can tell the rest."
"You aren't shutting us down, are you?" I asked, nervously. I couldn't resist any longer, I needed to know!
"Oh, no dear." Mrs. Peirce smiled warmly as I gave a long exhale, " However, the price of rent on this house has just gone up and the home can no longer pay for it."
"Do we have to leave Tulsa?" asked Sarah, and I was thinking the same thing.
" Luckily, no. We have found another home for you on the eastern part of the city…" Wait…she just said that the new house is in the EAST! That's greaser territory!
Sarah looked slightly shocked but was able to speak before I could.
" Oh…alright." She smiled and I followed her lead.
" So I came by to bring some boxes that dear Andrew can help me unload from the car and to tell you that you will be moving by next Sunday, alright."
" Wonderful," I smiled. " But do we have to change schools? Or day care for Melody?"
"You don't need to change schools, but it will be a bit of a longer drive to places. And I have arranged for the all the little children to go to a new day care facility before and after school and all day for Melody."
" Is it a good place?" Sarah asked, you're never sure about these things…
" Oh yes, I have visited myself. It is great to hear you take such an interest in the children. I am very proud of this group." Sarah and I shared a glance and a pride-filled smile. We really were a family.
Just then, Andrew and the others came through the door.
"Mrs. Peirce!" cried Andrew as he ducked his head under the doorway and came to join us in the living room. " Weren't you just here last week?" He gave me a look that clearly asked, are we being shut down? I answered with a slight shake of the head and a calm down look. His anxious face quickly formed a genuine smile and he was able to listen more clearly. The other kids came in behind him. I think I'll take this time to introduce everyone. There are eight of us living together, and we take great care in keeping it that way.
Andrew Dennis is the eldest at nineteen. He graduated high school last year and goes part time to University of Oklahoma while also working as a carpenter for a construction company. I have known him since his family died in a fire when he was five. He still has the same big blue eyes, round boyish face and highlighted curly brown hair that he did back then, too. However, at 6'5'', he is now quite a bit taller- and from all the construction work, a lot buffer. I love Andy so much. He is the closest thing I have had to a big brother and he has always protected me. And I protect him, but he seems to have to protect me more.
Next is Sarah Jennings, the second oldest at eighteen. She is my best friend and a senior at Tulsa High, just like me. She works part time as a waitress at a diner on the west side. I feel so bad for her sometimes, the socs really do treat their "help" awful. Sarah, however, being kind and sweet, but still very independent and strong, seems to be able to handle it. She has been this way since I met her at the orphanage when she was one and a half. Her mom gave her up as a baby. Every once in a while, she thinks about trying to track her down, but she hasn't yet. Sarah has long, curly brown hair, a rosy complexion and soft brown eyes. She reminds us all of Snow White, which we all went to see the moment it came out in theatres- after being told we just had to or he would go nuts by Francis, who was five at the time. At five foot, Andy towers over Sarah. It is funny to see them stand next to one another.
I am the third eldest. At seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen, Andy, Sarah, and I make up the oldest of our family, and we are therefore the leaders. We keep the house organized and working with ease, which we all like because it means more family time. I am, like I said, seventeen and a senior in high school and I work part time at the library. All I know about my parents is that they died just after I was born and I have been either at the orphanage or with these guys ever since. Unlike Sarah, I don't really want to know why or how my parents died. I think it would cause too much pain, and I don't like to dwell on the past. If Sarah, Andy, and I were to stand in height order, I would be in the middle at 5'8". I am somewhat tall and gangly. I have long dishwater blonde hair that I HATE! I hate it with a passion! I wish I was a brunette; it would match my eyes. My eyes are very, very dark green. They are my favorite thing about me. They are unique. Most people with green eyes don't have them as dark as mine. They are usually kind of hazelish also, but mine are just straight emerald.
The fourth member of our crew is Teresa Montgomery, or Tessa. She is fourteen and, unfortunately, she has to keep a job too. She works part time at the local vet office, bathing and walking pets. We feel so bad that she had to get a job, just so that we could provide for everyone, but she doesn't seem to mind. She loves animals and she loves to walk! Tessa also loves her hair, which is a fiery red that with the help of Sarah, she keeps in a short, curly bob. She has already surpassed Sarah on the height scale and she is gaining on me at 5'6". She says she wants to be taller but I keep telling her, no. Tallness sucks-most of the time. Tessa's eyes are a deep gray that show her emotions. She has a very, very hard time keeping secrets. She tried to keep how she was orphaned secret for a very long while, but couldn't. It turns out she was beat by an abusive father and was sent to the home at three and then got sent to live with us at nine. She actually used to have an older brother, but he refused to take care of her or something. So instead, she found a loving family in us.
Oh, by the way, Sarah, Andy, and I have been living with one another since we were thirteen, twelve, and eleven and then they slowly began to add other kids into the mix. When we were that young, they had a social worker living with us all the time but by the time Andy was fifteen, they started the whole monthly visits thing.
Number five is Charles Anderson, more commonly known as Charlie while Mrs. Peirce is over and Chubby the rest of the time. We call him Chubby because he is naturally stick thin. It's a joke, basically. Chubby is ten, almost eleven and like I said, is pretty tall for his age and pretty thin. He is in the fifth grade at Tulsa elementary. His parents died in a car accident when he was five and he and his sister came to live with us. He is naturally very pale and is very, very towheaded. He also has a pair of icy blue eyes to match his hair. But he is one of the sweetest, nicest boys I have ever met. He refuses to even hurt an ant.
Next is Chubby's sister, Cassandra Anderson, or Cassie, or Cassy Wassy, or anything else you can think of calling her. We think up new names for her on a regular basis, and she, who is just as sweet as her older brother, doesn't mind. Cassie is the female version of Chubby. They both look and act exactly alike. Their only difference is their age; Cassie is only eight and in the third grade.
Seventh in line is Francis, who we call Fuzzy, because of his frizzy brown hair. Fuzzy is six and the cutest, most adorable, most outspoken, and most annoying kindergartener to ever reside in Tulsa, if not, Oklahoma. He can make you want to scream in a matter of seconds, but when he looks at you with his tiny hands behind his back, tilting upwards so you can see his watery brown eyes looking up at you, all you'll want to do his hug him and give him all the ice cream he will ever want. But don't, because he will start bouncing off the walls. Fuzzy, the poor thing, was left in a telephone booth right after his birth. There was no record of his birth or anything, so some old foagy at a police station decided to name the baby after himself, Francis Shoebensterner. If you must laugh, please don't let Francis hear you, he does have a tendency to bite.
Last but not least, at age three and just around two feet tall is Melody Engles. Melody is an adorable three year old with short, dark brown hair and blue eyes just as big as Andy's. People mistake them for father and daughter all the time. It is hilarious when we are at the grocery store and they think that Sarah is the mother too! The looks the two of them have on their faces are priceless! They might as well be Melody's parents, too, considering that they both dote on her. Melody's mother died in childbirth and her father was unknown. She actually came to us soon after she turned one. I hate changing diapers but I have gotten used to it. She is almost potty trained, now and I am awaiting the day that we no longer have to keep diapers around with much pleasure!
As soon as Fuzzy saw me in the living room, he ran in and jumped onto my lap. His little arms wrapped around my neck and he shouted excitedly " Kitty!!! Kitty!!! You're home early!"
He was right. Normally, I got home at around six thirty, just in time for dinner. But I didn't have homework or anything to do after I finished sorting the books so I left for home much earlier than I normally do.
I laughed and replied to Fuzzy as everyone else came into the room.
"Yes, I am home early. And Mrs. Peirce here has some news for us. If everyone could sit down quietly we could listen to her couldn't we?"
The children sat down on the opposing couch, chairs, and on the floor in front of us. They gave Mrs. Peirce their full attention. She looked shocked. I smiled. This is how we always behaved, we didn't need to know any other way. Following orders means less stress and more happiness, and all of us knew that.
Mrs. Peirce explained to everyone that we were moving and that we would still be in Tulsa, at the same schools, just in a different part of town. Everyone got very excited. Truth be told, I was excited too. This would be our first moving experience, other than coming here from the orphanage. I just wasn't too excited about where we were moving.
As soon as Mrs. Peirce was finished, Sarah gave out orders.
" Charlie, Francis, and Cassandra, please set the table for dinner and Tessa, please check on Melody for me. Will you be joining us for dinner Mrs. Peirce?"
Mrs. Peirce smiled and replied " No thank you, dear, but if I could have you girls and dear Andrew please come with me to my car. I will give you the boxes and some more moving details."
To be Continued...
