Chapter Eleven: Everybody's Talkin'

Sundays were never a day of rest for me. It was Mama's one day off, so once she got up and moving around two o'clock, it was time to clean. For years, I'd sacrificed one day out of my weekend to scrubbing the toilet and sweeping the floors. (Two-Bit never helped until about last winter, when we woke up one Sunday to him bleaching the bathroom floor. It was spooky.) Thanks to all the 7-Up and vodka, I didn't out of bed myself until after noon, so I had no time to visit the Curtises or call Carla or do anything of the things I wanted to do before Mama had recruited me to do dishes.

Monday morning, I felt vaguely nauseous while getting ready for school. I skipped the peanut butter sandwich and downed twice as much coffee. My mind kept anxiously barreling back and forth between two singular subjects: Ponyboy and Jennifer.

I couldn't wait to see him, even if it was just a ten minute drive to school. I was not looking forward to seeing her, in the parking lot or in homeroom or any other time. Both were guaranteed.

"You alright, Little-Bit?" Two-Bit asked once we were in the car, away from Mama's prying ears. "You're sucking on that cigarette like it's the last one you'll ever see."

My big brother had made strides this past year, but I still wasn't exactly keen on discussing my newfound feelings for Ponyboy with him. Knowing Two-Bit, he probably wouldn't mind (hell, he'd just be happy that I wasn't dating a hood) but I wasn't ready for all the jokes I'd have to endure. So instead I told him, "Jennifer probably isn't real happy with me, 'cause I broke it off with Frank."

Two-Bit raised an eyebrow. "Well, good for you, Little-Bit. That guy was a Neanderthal."

"I get the feeling a lot of people are gonna be pissed about it," I said slowly. "Especially because I kind of broke up with him for Ponyboy."

Thankfully, before the conversation could go any further, we pulled up to the Curtis' house. Ponyboy was already walking out the door, waving goodbye to his brothers. You could hear Two-Bit's car start up from a mile away.

Pony practically beamed as he got into the car. Even sober, I wanted to lean into him and kiss that smile. It felt sort of uncomfortable to think like that in front of my brother, but I suppose I was past the point of no return now.

"How ya doin', Ponykid?" Two-Bit asked.

The younger boy hit the smoke that I handed him before answering. "I'm alright. How are y'all?"

"Well, I'm just dandy, but Rosalie here is worried about Jennifer Price," my brother declared. "I'm amazed she gave up that cigarette, the way she was clutchin' onto it."

I gave him the absolute filthiest look I could possibly muster. "Really, Keith?"

"What? Obviously, he knows what happened. I'm just makin' conversation," Two-Bit replied innocently.

"Talk about something else," I snapped.

"You should just punch her, Little-Bit. Knock the absolute shit out of that girl. She'll leave you alone then."

I muttered, "Should knock the absolute shit out of you."

"How was Buck's?" Pony asked my brother, probably just to change the subject.

Two-Bit liked telling stories more than he liked teasing me. He kept up a steady stream of jokes and inappropriate tales about his weekend and Wanda Idelmann, his latest conquest, all the way to school. It was vulgar, but I was grateful, honestly; this meant I didn't have to talk, or pay attention.

When we reached the parking lot, one of Ponyboy's friends from the track team hollered for him, just as Nancy Aberdeen began waving me down from a few feet away. Before I could walk away, he gently touched my arm.

"Good luck today, Rosie," the green eyed boy said softly.

I smiled, my first genuine one all morning. "Thanks. I'll see you after school?"

"Our first track meet is today," he told me, a hint of an apology in his voice. "You should come by my house afterwards though."

Nancy was jumping up and down at this point. I agreed, then hurried over to my friend before she had a heart attack or something.

"Hey, Nance, where's the fire?" I asked.

Carla and Beth were already standing with her. All three girls looked at me sympathetically as Nancy said, "It's Jennifer. I tried to call you yesterday, but your mom said you weren't home."

I told Mom to tell her that. I had wanted to put off this moment for as long as possible. "What about Jennifer?"

"See for yourself," Carla said, nodding somewhere behind me.

I turned, scanning the crowd. It didn't take long to find her. Especially because she was standing with Frank, Curly and Angela Shepard, Valerie O'Brien, and Sue Galloway, another one of Angela's girls. Never did I think I would see the day in which Jennifer Price played second fiddle, but it was clear from the way they stood that Angela was the one holding court. When Angela saw me looking, she flipped me a bird. Some Angel.

Rolling my eyes, I turned back to my friends. "How'd they become such fast friends?"

"After you left the party, Angela showed up looking for Ponyboy," Beth told me. "Jenny was already hanging out with Valerie and Terry, so she told Angela what happened."

"You know that for sure?" I asked, because gossip at Will Rogers' wasn't always reliable, and I needed the facts.

"Yeah. Nathan and I were making out in the bathroom, but Jen told me on the ride home."

"So why aren't you over there with them?" Carla asked, ever watchful.

The blonde girl looked at us like we were the stupid ones. "We've always been friends. If Jennifer wants to be friends with someone else, she can, but I like y'all. Besides, Jen is kind of a bitch."

The first warning bell rang. With my three girl friends, I headed towards the building.

I asked the group, "So what you're telling me is that I've got six new enemies, because I didn't want to go to Sin Park with Frank Sullivan?"

"Nah, it's mostly 'cause you left with Ponyboy," Beth said. "You should watch yourself, Rose. Angela is real sour."

"I'm not scared of Angela Shepard," I said defiantly. Which was true. Angela and Jennifer together, though, was causing me a little anxiety.

"Just be careful, ya dig?" Carla gave me a significant look when she spoke.

"And why didn't you tell us that you liked Ponyboy?" Nancy asked. We were deep into the hallway now, surrounded by a whole lot of people, filing away to their classes. My stomach twisted.

I shrugged. "I didn't really know myself until recently."

Before the girls could say anything else, we arrived at my homeroom. Nancy squeezed my arm. "Good luck, Rose. We're all on your side, okay?"

Lord, I wished people would stop wishing me luck. It just made me feel even worse.

Jennifer was already seated when I walked in, which surprised me; usually, she was one of the last ones to class, soaking in as much socialization as she could beforehand. She must have been waiting for me.

It was like a flip switched in my brain. I went from anxious to fucking angry, just from the side of her golden blonde hair. Every bit of irritation from the last few years suddenly landed squarely on my chest. Never one to dodge provocation, I waltzed right over and took the seat next to her.

"Hi, Jenny. Have a good weekend?" I questioned brightly over the final bell.

"Oh, cut the shit, Rosalie," she said flatly. One morning with Angela, and she was already cussing. Golly, what would her mother say? "Do you have any idea what you did?"

"I'm pretty sure I was there, Jennifer."

The principal began making his daily announcements over the loudspeaker. We carried on, undisturbed.

"You embarrassed Frank in front of everybody!" She hissed. "And then you basically insult Angela by walking out hand in hand with the guy that everybody knows she's chasing. You could've just told me you weren't interested in Frank. I would've found you somebody else."

I scoffed. Ten years of being pushed around put venom in my voice. "Don't you see that that's the problem, Jen? I don't want some boy that you picked out for me."

"Well, you'd better stay away from Ponyboy Curtis," she warned me. "Angela's got it out for you now, and believe me when I say that you don't need anymore beef with the Shepards."

"Oh, I'm just a-shakin' in my Mary Janes," I said with a sneer.

Jennifer gave me a nasty look, but she didn't say anything else for the rest of homeroom. She didn't need to. The score was set now.

xxxxx

I managed to get through the entire school day without punching someone. That was an accomplishment for me. And then Patty Mondino had to go and ruin all that in the parking lot after school.

It was the first time I'd ever walked by myself from Mrs. Burdeshaw's classroom to Two-Bit's car; Pony had always been with me before. But he was at track practice, so I was on my own. The whispers that sprung up as soon as I passed felt louder than the cicadas in July. At least they were all coming from behind though. Then, a couple feet up ahead, I heard someone say my name.

There were people in between, but I slinked past them, so that I was right behind Patty Mondino and her friend Cheryl. I knew them; they were lower middle class girls trying desperately not to be greasers, because they were scared of us.

Still, Patty had no qualms telling Cheryl, "And so all of the sudden, Rosalie starts losing her damn mind, slapping Frank, cussing at him. And then she walks out of the place hand in hand with Ponyboy Curtis!"

"What did Frank do?" Cheryl asked eagerly.

"Nothin' yet, but I reckon he'll fix up Curtis and Matthews," Patty giggled. "I knew she was a greaser, but I guess Rosalie is a whore like the rest of them now too."

I knew I should've been pissed, and I was. But when I reached forward tapped and tapped Patty on the shoulder, I was grinning. I was gonna enjoy this.

"Big fuckin' mistake, Mondino," I said. And then my fist connected solidly with the front of her nose.

Ponyboy asked me once why I liked to fight. It took me a while to figure it out myself, but I came up with three solid reasons.

One, it was the absolute best way that I knew of to get rid of some of the god damn anger that was always boiling in my blood. Two, I liked the way it scared people, like Patty's little friend Cheryl, who bolted the second she heard my voice. And three, because, well, I was damn good at it.

I always liked to start with the nose or the teeth. They were breakable, and a quick way to draw blood. A lot of people won't even hit you back if they start bleeding.

Patty's nose immediately started pouring, but she still swung for me. My teeth scraped the back of my lips, much like how they had at Terry's from Frank's kiss. I was kind of impressed with her when I got a good taste of crimson myself. Impressed enough that I went straight for her eye. Then I really returned the favor by punching her in the mouth quicker than she could hit me.

She landed one more, this one on the side of my jaw. Speed was always my advantage, though, and this fight was no different. I just hit faster than they could hit back. Patty, like everybody else before her, eventually stopped trying.

I'd never lost a fight. You'd think by now that people would learn to stop fucking with me. Most of them did, but every once in a while, I got real lucky with an idiot like Patty Mondino.

A crowd had gathered around us, including Two-Bit, who couldn't hide the smirk on his face if he tried. I pulled out my pack of cigarettes and lit one, making sure to blow smoke onto a couple of nicer looking girls, before walking over to my brother.

"You're gonna have to take me to the Curtises to get cleaned up," I told him grimly. There was blood mixed in with the lipstick on the end of my cigarette.

"Ya know, somehow, I kinda figured that," Two-Bit said, heading towards the car. "You'd better hope ol' Darrel didn't get rained out today, 'cause if he sees you all banged up like this, you'll probably get an earful."

He was right; the pavement was still wet from the afternoon thunderstorm we'd gotten. I groaned. "How come my own big brother doesn't lecture me, but Pony's will?"

Two-Bit opened my car door for me, waving his hand dramatically for me to sit. Once he'd walked around and got in himself, he lit his own cigarette before starting up his little angel. She sounded like she smoked more than we did.

"Little-Bit, I ain't gonna lecture you, but I do want to talk to you," my brother said, adjusting his mirrors. He could never look at you when he was trying to he serious.

"About?" I had to roll down the window and spit out a mouthful of blood after I spoke. Patty had gotten me good, I'd give her that. But only once.

"Ponyboy."

"Two-Bit, please -"

He just talked louder. "Rosalie, the kid's been through a lot. You know that."

I sighed, knowing that I was firmly pinned into this conversation now. "I do know that. Where are you goin' with this?"

"Look, Ponyboy is my best buddy, alright? He's a good guy." Two-Bit paused to drag on his cigarette. I waited, not daring to interrupt wherever my brother was going with this. "And I don't know how you've missed this, darlin', but that kid is absolutely crazy about you. So I know you're my kid sister and all, but if you're just toying with him, or if you hurt him, I'll be forced to bust your head in. Savvy?"

"Yeah," I replied softly. "I hear you."

"You're a real good kid, Little-Bit. So is he. And I want y'all to be happy. So don't think that I'm tryin' to stop y'all or something, 'cause I ain't," my big brother said.

We were pulling onto Forrester now; one more left and we'd be on Chickasaw Street.

"Well, look, I promise that the last thing I wanna do is hurt Pony, and I'm definitely not toying with him," I told Two-Bit. "He's my best friend too, you know? But I had no idea that he felt this way - or that I did - up until about a week ago. I guess I'm just still trying to figure this all out."

My brother grinned at me. It felt like much more familiar territory now. "Kid, it ain't that difficult. Don't go over thinkin' things."

He finally dropped it, which I was grateful for because the Curtis' old Ford was visible as soon as we turned into our road. Darry was definitely home, and I was covered in blood.

This was gonna be fun.