Ooh, thank you for the reviews! "katie" and umbridge made my day. Please keep reviewing! I check my email like a fiend and cross my fingers hoping I will get another review. Thank you Staying-gold-for-johnny and leximander for the favorites, as well. Happy Valentine's Day, for those of you that like that sort of stuff...I've never personally been a fan. I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter. Have a wonderful day.
Disclaimer: The Outsiders novel and characters belong to S.E. Hinton.
Chapter 9: Bringing Home the Bacon
I pushed open the glass doors. The air inside was warm, but not humid. It smelled like fried food. A few afternoon patrons were scattered throughout the restaurant, but no one seemed to be causing a lot of trouble. That would come after dinner time. I knew this from unfortunately having to drag Two-Bit out of several public places after starting a food fight or being a pervert.
"Hello. Can I speak to the manager about a job?" I asked the woman who was mopping up. The red booths and round metallic tables reminded me of a diner from the- oh, okay. I should stop using the 1960's example. It really didn't make sense anymore.
A tough looking man who was probably in his thirties came out from a swinging door, as if on cue.
"What do you want, lady? I don't got time for this." He looked at me with annoyance and I frowned.
"Look, I saw your sign and I want to apply," I responded evenly, deciding to ignore the man's snappy attitude.
He relaxed in a second and I saw how tired he was. "Thank the Lord. Things have been damn busy around here and we need more cheap workers."
I finally broke into a grin. "I'd be happy to work here. I don't have any experience, but I come here a lot with my friends and I know how the system works."
He blinked and thought for a moment, recognition appearing on his face. "Wait, you're that girl that always comes with the fellow with the sideburns…God, I hope you don't plan on bringing him again now that you work here!"
I laughed at this. Of course, no restaurant owner could forget Two-Bit. He had gotten us kicked out of every establishment authorized for the sale of food in town.
"Anyways, that's great! I'm Larry, your new boss. You can start tomorrow, after school I presume. Your shift starts at 3:30. Ends at…let's say, 7:30 for now. We can arrange wages later."
"I'm Alice Smith. Thanks so much!" I waved and left, walking out the doors and down the sidewalk. There was a group of greaser boys outside, smoking and leaning against someone's car. I tried to dampen the natural swing of my hips and walked past, fiddling with an invisible string on my shirt. I glanced up briefly and locked eyes with a tall and dark character. In just a millisecond, I saw a flash of a smirk in his eyes that made me speed up a little. Holy shit. It's the guy. He probably has no idea who I am. After passing them, I knew there were at least four pairs of eyeballs staring at my ass. But I was sure the tall one was still gazing at the back of my head.
As soon as I got home, I crashed on the couch. This dress was about to make me explode so I used the energy I still had to get up and change into a t-shirt and my shorts. I heard the Ford growling into the driveway and Soda came in, making sure to shut the screen door carefully. While he hung up his DX shirt, I took note of his expression and sighed. I saw weariness, confusion, and hurt, until he turned to me with a happy smile.
"Guess what, 7-Up?" I said, smiling and elbowing him, trying to lift his spirits. He grinned wider and started tickling my sides, earning a round of "please stop!" and "I hate you!" from me while I begged for a chance to breathe.
"I got a job at LJ's. I'll be working there tomorrow after school!" I managed, in between giggles.
Soda let me go. "Really? That's great, but…" He trailed off into a worried expression.
"But what?" My own face turned to one of confusion.
"I don't like everyone that hangs around there. I'm just looking out for you."
"Thanks for your concern, Sods. But living with you greasers, I know how to handle myself." I punched him playfully and went to get a bowl of dry cereal. Not to mention how ironic his statement was, about the people that hang around there…
Yeah, that. The tall dark guy? He was definitely the one who, uh, assaulted me that morning when I ran to Johnny's. I had to tell him about this, speaking of. I'm sure the poor guy didn't remember, he had been so drunk, but I was still nervous to be around LJ's if he hung out there a lot.
"Hey, since you had kind of a rough morning a few days ago, I was wondering if you wanted to go see a movie tonight? It might take your mind off things." I stared at Soda in shock. "But Soda…you can't stand movies! I'm not coming if you're just going to fall asleep," I teased, sitting back on the couch with a Coke while he started making another cake for tomorrow. Pony would be disappointed that Darry hadn't gotten to it first.
"Well, I don't know. I haven't been to a movie in a long time and I don't think I'll get bored with you around."
I laughed at him and nodded. "Okay, fine. But you are so going to pay if you start dozing off." Plus, this would give me a chance to ask him about that sadness I had spied when he came home.
Darry got back from work after another hour and fixed dinner. A thick noodle soup that made my nose run from the delicious heat. Only now did I finally accept the fact that had been at the back of my mind all this time: boys ate a lot. After we ate, we all had some of Sodapop's freshly baked cake. It tasted like it had overdosed on sugar steroids.
I changed back into some nicer clothes, putting on some jeans and rolling the bottoms into cuffs. I folded up the sleeves of the black t-shirt I was wearing, and felt a little more natural when I saw myself in the mirror. At least, for 2012. Girls wore dresses and skirts and stuff like that on a normal day basis. Ick.
While I was braiding my hair down the side in the bathroom, Pony came in to do something.
"Alice, you're dressed like a boy!" He laughed at me and folded his arms. I gently shoved him.
"This is what all the girls wear in 2012! 'Cept everything's tighter," I informed him, tying off my braid and sticking bobby pins in to secure the loose strands. I actually felt pretty good looking, but extremely out of place at the same time. Whatever. Dresses were itchy and just so damn hard to run in!
I was waiting on the couch for Soda to finish doing the dishes, and thinking about school. The classes hadn't been very hard and the students were seemingly nice. Suze was really funny and didn't care whether I was a greaser or not (which I'm totally not!). The year ahead was going to be long, but it would get easier to pass the time…right? Hey, I even had a job now. Things were just fine.
I was about to change the channel on the TV when Soda appeared. I grinned and stood up. "Are we walking, or are you driving?"
Now, I would have asked the rest of the gang to come with, but I didn't want to ask Soda about his mood with them there and I sort of wanted it to just be…uh, never mind.
"I'm taking you for the ride of your LIFE!" he shouted, laughing and dragging me to the car. I facepalmed at his ridiculousness and got in shotgun, resting my elbow outside the window and turning up the radio.
Jeez, boys were crazy.
