Sixteen
Chapter Four

Author's Note: I'll be completely honest. I don't really remember what happens in this chapter. Oops. Either way, I hope you all like it!


Mom cries out once the words leave Mr Rivera's mouth; Dad looks far from pleased. As for me, I stare blankly at the concrete below me, absentmindedly kicking around imaginary dirt. "Eileen Elizabeth, what did we tell you?" Dad stops himself short, suddenly remembering that Frank Rivera is still present. He clears his throat awkwardly. "Uh, thank you, Frank. We really appreciate you bringing her home especially at this hour." With a nod of his head, Mr Rivera turns and heads back to his car.

Once his back is facing us, Dad grabs my arm and furiously yanks me into the house.

"Were those the same boys that Douglas warned us about?" Weakly, I nod my head. "I thought we told you to stay away from those hoodlums, Eileen! They're going to get you into a lot of trouble, and you're lucky that it was Frank that caught you instead." Dad stops abruptly. He looks towards Mom, desperate for her help. With a loud, exasperated sigh, he directs his attention back towards me. "Go to bed, Eileen. We'll talk about this tomorrow morning."

He shakes his head angrily, lazily heading towards the couch. With Mom following behind him, the two fall onto the couch.

When their attention focused on each other and my "bad" behavior, I scurry off down the hall, hoping to reach my room before my parents decide to call me back.

XxXxXxX

"You better thank your lucky stars, young lady," Mom announces. Ignoring her comment, I head straight for the table. "Uncle Mark called your father, and now Dad's going to be gone all weekend. Your punishment is going to be pushed off until he gets back, so you better enjoy your last days of freedom."

Mom was born in Idabel, Oklahoma; she spent most of her life there, but when she was 12, her parents got a divorce, and her mother moved her, along with her two older brothers and older sister, to Tulsa. Shortly after I was born, Uncle Mark decided to move back to Idabel, and he's been there ever since.

"Oh." I answer, trying to contain my excitement. With the route that Dad usually takes, it takes nearly four hours to reach Uncle Mark's house. Knowing Uncle Mark, whatever project he has planned for Dad will take all weekend.

I'm a free woman until Monday, at least.

Mom heads to her mother's house around noon to help set up a retirement party my grandmother is throwing for one of her coworkers (Grandma works at the local clothing shop where they make clothes for the less fortunate). As for Imogene and Douglas, they leave shortly after Mom, and by 12:45, I'm left alone.

Although neither of my parents are home, I decide to work on my homework. Halfway through my math, I realize this might've helped me get back on their good side if I waited until Mom got home, but at the moment, I don't care. I'm bored beyond belief, and there's nothing else for me to do.

Around 2:00, I'm granted with company. After nearly having a heart attack, I hop up from my chair in the kitchen and gleefully run for the door – eager to be entertained by another individual.

Once I see who's on the other side, my mood heads south.

Jacquelyn sighs sadly, knowing exactly what I'm thinking. "Please, Eileen, before you slam the door in my face, can we talk?" Silently, I step out of the entrance, allowing her inside. Jacquelyn enters our house awkwardly, and in all honesty, it pains me to see how badly our friendship is being affected since I've decided to hang out with Sodapop and his friends.

"Do you want to go to my room?" I ask quietly. Jacquelyn shrugs her shoulders and turns towards me sluggishly. "I mean, no one is home, but I'd rather talk in there than out here in the open."

"That's fine with me then."

Jacquelyn takes a seat on my bed, and once my bedroom door is shut behind us, it almost feels like old times. The awkwardness definitely isn't consuming us anymore. "So, what do you want to talk about?" I ask, taking a seat at my desk. Jacquelyn sighs again, looking towards my comforter. She looks pained, and instantly, I realize how terrible of a friend I've been to her recently.

It breaks my heart.

"I want to apologize for how I acted towards you and your new friends yesterday," she frowns, weakly meeting my eyes. "I explained everything to my sister, and she made me realize that I was being a jerk to you. Then, I was thinking about everything you said about them, and you were right. Eileen, I'm really, really sorry for being so rude towards your friends. I'm sorry about everything you said."

"It's all right, Jackie," I answer, expressing a small smile. "Besides, you were right. They did get me in trouble already." Her appearance softens while her eyes widen in surprise. "Sodapop wanted me to sneak out last night, so I did, and he, along with Steve, went around the East side, stealing hubcaps off the cars. Mr Rivera ended up pulling us over, and even though he let those two off with a warning, he brought me home. I'm still waiting for my punishment."

"I don't think the consequences will be too bad," she shares. "Your parents are lenient, and we both know they're not one for grounding the three of you." I shrug my shoulders.

"I don't know about this time, Jacquelyn. Last week, my dad caught me skipping my afternoon classes, and he wasn't happy about that. Well then, Douglas and Imogene told them about how each of the greasers are, and my parents told me they don't want me to hang around them anymore, so I'm probably going to get into more trouble than if I snuck out to hang with you and Ellen."

"Did you hear that Ellen's moving?" Jackie inquires suddenly. My eyes enlarge as soon as she blurts it out. She nods in confirmation. "She told us a couple days ago. Her dad's job is transferring them to New York. They're leaving this weekend."

My face drops.

Jacquelyn and I have been best friends with Ellen ever since she transferred to public schooling in the sixth grade. Considering she was homeschooled all her life before, she had no friends, and no one made an effort to welcome her to the school. On the first day of school, we sat with her at lunch, and all three of us became best friends instantly.

"Hey, do you want to spend the night or something?"

XxXxXxX

After swinging by Jackie's house and grabbing her clothes, we decide to head off to the drive-in's weekly nightly double.

Considering we don't have a car, the two of us take a seat a couple rows back, sitting in the middle of the stands. Jacquelyn sets her overnight bag down beside her feet before looking around nervously. "What's the matter, Jackie?" I ask, watching her squirm uncomfortably in her seat. Her eyes meet mine before darting off to my right - silently telling me to look. "Oh."

"Do you know those boys?"

"No, I don't know them, but they don't look the nicest. I wouldn't worry about them, Jacquelyn. I highly doubt they're going to bother a group of middle class girls."

Jacquelyn tries to relax, and together, we attempt to enjoy the movie, but behind us, those greasers start making dirty comments about every girl in sight. It actually makes me sick when I overhear them talking about Jackie and I sexually.

XxXxXxX

Mom is surprised to see Jacquelyn at our house, but like usual, she welcomes her with open arms, and to be completely honest, I'm surprised I don't get in trouble for having company over considering the stunt from earlier this morning.

Sunday passes quickly, and before I know it, it's time for another week of school. Normally, I wouldn't mind, but now that I know I'm going to get in trouble makes me dread anything this day has to offer - no matter if it's good or bad.

I take my usual seat in algebra - near the window, towards the front - and much to my surprise, Steve Randle comes leisurely walking my way, looking as though he doesn't have a care in the world. "Hey," he greets plainly, dropping his book onto the table, creating a thud and earning him some nasty looks from other kids trying to work on other homework.

"What are you doing over here?" I ask curiously, genuinely shocked that, out of all the kids in the class, he's sitting by me. Steve shrugs his shoulders silently.

"I dunno," he finally answers. "I guess cause Daniel ain't here, and you're the only other kid in the class that I know. Is that gonna be a problem?" I shake my head, setting my pencil down. Steve flashes his trademark smirk, making me fear what the next thing he says is going to be about. "So, how'd your old man take to the fuzz bringin' ya home the other night." I roll my eyes, growing annoyed that he'd ask such a thing.

"Because of you two, I'm going to be grounded for the rest of my life. Both of my parents were beyond furious." I explain. "So, thanks a lot to you, Steve Randle." He continues staring at me with amusement evident all over his face.

"If you can't hang with us greasers, Princess, don't you think you should head back to your other friends?" I roll my eyes, ultimately letting him win. It's too early in the morning to be arguing with him.

XxXxXxX

It happens again in chemistry. Instead of sitting at his usual lab table, Steve strolls over to me, taking the empty seat. "Are you back to pick an argument with me? If you are, you might as well leave, I'm not in the mood to argue with you." He rolls his eyes, taking a seat beside me anyway.

"No, I ain't doin' too well in this class, and I was figurin' you'd help me since you seem to be real good friends with Soda." Steve answers, pulling his things out of his backpack.

"Oh, so, now you're using me?"

"No, I ain't!" Steve defends, huffing angrily. He looks annoyed - like usual. "Soda always tells the gang he thinks we should give you a chance, so here I am, tryna give you a damn chance, but you ain't workin' with me too well." He drops his battered up notebook on the table before turning to retrieve his lone pencil from inside his worn out backpack.

I turn towards the board, curiously watching our teacher write down today's warm-up. Once he's finished, he turns and with a self-satisfied smile on his face, our work is explained to us. "I want you to solve these problems. I'll give you ten extra minutes today, so use this time wisely." Mr Daley steps away from the front and heads silently for his desk.

Beside me, Steve mutters a couple swears and stares hard at the board, trying to figure out the foreign language written in chalk. "What the hell does this even say?" He asks cluelessly.

"How are you even in this class?"

"Shut up," he groans, rolling his eyes again. "Now, are you gonna help me or not?" I sigh loudly in defeat. Steve watches me, and once he realizes he's going to receive my help, he begins to smirk victoriously.

And I've never felt the urge to punch someone in the face until now.

XxXxXxX

It doesn't surprise me, really, that both of my parents are waiting for me as soon as I step through the door. Dad stands up from his seat on the couch, gesturing towards the empty seat with his right hand. "Welcome home, honey. Would you please come take a seat?" I drop my bag onto the ground, creating a loud thud, before dragging myself to the couch and my mother's side. My parents appear to be surprised that I don't fight them right then and there.

"Can we get this over with? I have a lot of homework to complete." I explain, bored and ready to receive my punishment for being nice to the less fortunate.

"Well, you paid no heed to us when we instructed you to stay away from those greasers, Eileen. You know how serious we were, and your mother and I think
you should get a week for that. As for sneaking out and being brought back home by the police, we think that adds an additional week and a half. Honey, you're grounded for two and a half weeks. You are to only roam to and from school for that time, and you aren't allowed to go anywhere else. Do I make myself clear?" I nod my head weakly. My punishment slowly sinks in, and I find myself wanting to cry. I've never known my parents to be this tough with scolding us, and frankly I don't like it. "Eileen, you're excused." I pull my numb body up from the couch before dragging myself down the hall.

My life is officially over for the next two and a half weeks.


So, how do you feel about the Eileen / Steve interaction? Please don't be shy. Leave me a review! I love hearing what you guys think, and it gives me motivation to write. :)