I stayed on my floor crying for about two minutes, and then I got up and
brushed the tears out of my eyes. Darry was wrong and I knew it. I was
still shaking; Darry and I had never been in this bad of a fight.
I needed Dally. I think he left after Darry told him not to encourage me, whatever that meant. I had to see him, he would tell me Darry was wrong, he would tell me that I'm right; he would see where I'm coming from.
Quietly I got up and went into Darry's room. I didn't turn the light on because his room is right across from the stairs and I didn't want anybody downstairs to know what I was doing. I fumbled around on his dresser and found what I was looking for: the spare key to the truck.
I went back into my room, checking the stairs to make sure that nobody was coming up. I took the sheet off my bed, tied the end to my dresser and swung the other end out the window. I climbed down the sheet and jumped the last few feet, landing safely on the ground. I snuck around to the front of the house and peeked around the corner to see the window in the living room. I didn't see anybody, so I ran for the truck. I got in and shut the door quietly, put the key in and turned the truck on. I looked over at the house and saw Darry and Soda running to the front door. They saw me in the truck and started running towards me. I put the truck in drive and sped away.
I had a good 10 minute drive to get where I was going but I knew I had to hurry, Soda would know where I was headed. I sped up a little.
Who did Darry think he was? Why was he trying to control my life? He has told me so many times he wants me to go to college. I laughed out loud at the thought. College was Darry's dream, not mine. I almost started crying so I turned the radio on to take my mind off things.
About 10 minutes later, I got to Tim Shepherd's house and parked the truck out front. I ran up to the door and started pounding on it. "TIM!!! TIM, LET ME IN!! C'MON TIM! HURRY!"
Tim opened the door and looked at me. "What do you want, Shorty? Does your brother know you're here?"
Darry didn't want me associating with Tim, but Tim and I had a really close bond. I wasn't scared of him like everybody else was, and I think he admired me for that.
"No, he doesn't. Look, I don't have much time-"
"Is that Darry's truck?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Did you take it here without Darry knowing?"
"Yes, now is-"
"Jesus, Zeta," he said, taking a drag on his cigarette.
"Tim, I don't have time, is Dally here?"
"Yeah, he's upstairs."
I pushed Tim out of the way and ran up the stairs. Dally heard the noise and opened the door. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I need to talk to you," I said, pushing him back into the room.
We sat down on the bed and I turned to face him. "Darry and I got in a huge fight after you left. He won't let me quit school, and he yelled at me about getting in a fight, an' you heard the story, Dal, that wasn't my fault, that girl asked for it."
"What does this have to do with me?" he asked, lighting a cigarette.
"I need somebody to tell me that I'm not crazy and that I'm right in standing up to him, nobody else will say it," I said.
Dally thought for a minute, puffing on his smoke. I wanted one so bad.
"You aren't right, Z," he said. Almost everybody calls me Z for short. Like my name is so long.
"What?" I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Dally was siding with Darry.
"You are way out of line, and you need to go home and apologize to Darry right now. How the hell did you get here anyway, kid?"
"I kinda took the truck," I said very quietly.
"Oh man. You are so lucky Darrel hasn't beat the tar outta you yet."
"I don't see why I should apologize," I said frankly.
Dally rubbed his chin. "Let me try to explain this to you. In New York, I used to come home at 5 in the morning, dead drunk. Do you think my parents said anything to me?"
I shook my head.
"No, they didn't, and you know why? Because they didn't give a hang about me. They didn't care, so they let me get away with whatever I wanted."
"Well Darry's not my dad," I replied in a very harsh tone.
"You are so damn stubborn. He's not tryin' to be your old man; he's tryin' to keep you safe. If he overlooked the stupid stuff you do, you'd just keep on doing it anyway. Not that it does any good, everything he tells you goes in one ear and out the other."
An idea was slowly forming in my mind.
"So," I asked slowly, "you mean when he yells at me, he's doing it because he's scared that I might get hurt?"
"She finally gets it," Dally said to no one in particular.
Dally can't be right. That would mean that Darry actually cared about me, and that just can't be. He yells so much, all the time, if he was really worried, why wouldn't he just tell me?
Like a ton of bricks, it hit me that Darry had told me. After Mom and Dad first died, he never yelled at me like he does now, he would always say "Z, please be home by 10," and when I came home at 11:30, he'd say "next time, please be home by 10".
I had brought this on myself. Darry was just trying to help me, and I had just made his job harder. His job? Yes. yes, his job as my guardian. I started crying.
"Nine months later, you figure it all out."
I looked up at Dally. "Darry gave up everything so that you could stay together. He wanted to go to college more than anything, and he gave it up for you."
I was beyond being able to control my tears. The door flew open and there stood Darry. I jumped up off the bed.
"We're going home right now, Zeta," he said.
He came over and grabbed my arm and we walked downstairs and out of the house. Two-Bit's car was outside, I guess that's how Darry got here. Darry opened the passenger side of the truck and I got inside. He shut the door and came over to the driver's side and got in and we pulled away.
I needed Dally. I think he left after Darry told him not to encourage me, whatever that meant. I had to see him, he would tell me Darry was wrong, he would tell me that I'm right; he would see where I'm coming from.
Quietly I got up and went into Darry's room. I didn't turn the light on because his room is right across from the stairs and I didn't want anybody downstairs to know what I was doing. I fumbled around on his dresser and found what I was looking for: the spare key to the truck.
I went back into my room, checking the stairs to make sure that nobody was coming up. I took the sheet off my bed, tied the end to my dresser and swung the other end out the window. I climbed down the sheet and jumped the last few feet, landing safely on the ground. I snuck around to the front of the house and peeked around the corner to see the window in the living room. I didn't see anybody, so I ran for the truck. I got in and shut the door quietly, put the key in and turned the truck on. I looked over at the house and saw Darry and Soda running to the front door. They saw me in the truck and started running towards me. I put the truck in drive and sped away.
I had a good 10 minute drive to get where I was going but I knew I had to hurry, Soda would know where I was headed. I sped up a little.
Who did Darry think he was? Why was he trying to control my life? He has told me so many times he wants me to go to college. I laughed out loud at the thought. College was Darry's dream, not mine. I almost started crying so I turned the radio on to take my mind off things.
About 10 minutes later, I got to Tim Shepherd's house and parked the truck out front. I ran up to the door and started pounding on it. "TIM!!! TIM, LET ME IN!! C'MON TIM! HURRY!"
Tim opened the door and looked at me. "What do you want, Shorty? Does your brother know you're here?"
Darry didn't want me associating with Tim, but Tim and I had a really close bond. I wasn't scared of him like everybody else was, and I think he admired me for that.
"No, he doesn't. Look, I don't have much time-"
"Is that Darry's truck?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Did you take it here without Darry knowing?"
"Yes, now is-"
"Jesus, Zeta," he said, taking a drag on his cigarette.
"Tim, I don't have time, is Dally here?"
"Yeah, he's upstairs."
I pushed Tim out of the way and ran up the stairs. Dally heard the noise and opened the door. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I need to talk to you," I said, pushing him back into the room.
We sat down on the bed and I turned to face him. "Darry and I got in a huge fight after you left. He won't let me quit school, and he yelled at me about getting in a fight, an' you heard the story, Dal, that wasn't my fault, that girl asked for it."
"What does this have to do with me?" he asked, lighting a cigarette.
"I need somebody to tell me that I'm not crazy and that I'm right in standing up to him, nobody else will say it," I said.
Dally thought for a minute, puffing on his smoke. I wanted one so bad.
"You aren't right, Z," he said. Almost everybody calls me Z for short. Like my name is so long.
"What?" I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Dally was siding with Darry.
"You are way out of line, and you need to go home and apologize to Darry right now. How the hell did you get here anyway, kid?"
"I kinda took the truck," I said very quietly.
"Oh man. You are so lucky Darrel hasn't beat the tar outta you yet."
"I don't see why I should apologize," I said frankly.
Dally rubbed his chin. "Let me try to explain this to you. In New York, I used to come home at 5 in the morning, dead drunk. Do you think my parents said anything to me?"
I shook my head.
"No, they didn't, and you know why? Because they didn't give a hang about me. They didn't care, so they let me get away with whatever I wanted."
"Well Darry's not my dad," I replied in a very harsh tone.
"You are so damn stubborn. He's not tryin' to be your old man; he's tryin' to keep you safe. If he overlooked the stupid stuff you do, you'd just keep on doing it anyway. Not that it does any good, everything he tells you goes in one ear and out the other."
An idea was slowly forming in my mind.
"So," I asked slowly, "you mean when he yells at me, he's doing it because he's scared that I might get hurt?"
"She finally gets it," Dally said to no one in particular.
Dally can't be right. That would mean that Darry actually cared about me, and that just can't be. He yells so much, all the time, if he was really worried, why wouldn't he just tell me?
Like a ton of bricks, it hit me that Darry had told me. After Mom and Dad first died, he never yelled at me like he does now, he would always say "Z, please be home by 10," and when I came home at 11:30, he'd say "next time, please be home by 10".
I had brought this on myself. Darry was just trying to help me, and I had just made his job harder. His job? Yes. yes, his job as my guardian. I started crying.
"Nine months later, you figure it all out."
I looked up at Dally. "Darry gave up everything so that you could stay together. He wanted to go to college more than anything, and he gave it up for you."
I was beyond being able to control my tears. The door flew open and there stood Darry. I jumped up off the bed.
"We're going home right now, Zeta," he said.
He came over and grabbed my arm and we walked downstairs and out of the house. Two-Bit's car was outside, I guess that's how Darry got here. Darry opened the passenger side of the truck and I got inside. He shut the door and came over to the driver's side and got in and we pulled away.