Chapter 10: Hey y'all! After that cliffhanger, here's the next part!:) Happy Reading!
I returned his smile until we both noticed the police car pulling in and Officer Michaels stepping out. "Izzy!" I breathed.
Apparently, the guys had also noticed the police car through the window, and just as they reached the door, Officer Michaels stopped them. I went to rush forward but Steve held a hand up and stopped me, a silent reminder that we had to be careful. Between what happened with Dallas, the state continuously breathing down the backs of my brothers and I, and Izzy's parents, Officer Michaels would be dying to bust us on something.
"You boys 21 years old?" He questioned. "Not exactly," Two Bit muttered. "Then you need to explain to me what you were doing inside of a bar." Izzy grabbed onto Two Bit's leg and hid her face in the denim. There wasn't much that scared the little girl that hung out with hoods and greasy gang members. One of those things was Socs. The other was policemen. And both were with good reason. The officer had it out for us. As badly as I wanted to grab her, I knew if I did, he'd just ask questions about her and who she was. I couldn't lead that trouble to her family.
"And what were you doing taking a child into an establishment like this?" He reached out and grabbed Izzy's arm, and that was it. A scowl on my face, I took a step forward, aiming to give the officer a piece of my mind, but Steve grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "Not yet" he whispered.
"Oh officer!" We all turned to the voice to see the girl from earlier walking towards him, holding Buck's pit bull Pig in her arms. "My little sister followed our dog in there and those boys were kind enough to get her out for me!" Izzy glanced at me and I nodded, a silent 'go ahead'. Within a few seconds she let go of Two Bit and ran forward to the girl, grabbing onto Pig and exclaiming, "Sissy, I tried to follow Fluffy out, but he was too fast!"
I swear, that little girl is going to grow up to be an actress. Perfect timing, perfect facial expressions, perfect understanding of how to read a situation. I was almost convinced.
"Well yeah, that's all we were doing!" Two Bit agreed, Pony nodding along with him. Officer Michaels gave them a skeptical look before saying, "Alright, get along now boys." The girl grinned, really putting on a show. "Thanks for helping me find my sister!"
As soon as Michaels got back into his car and drove off, I rushed forward and kneeled to check on Izzy, holding her face and examining it before doing the same with her arms. She grinned at me. "I'm okay, don't worry!" I hugged her and stood up, holding her in my arms as I turned to the mystery girl.
"Thank you," I breathed out. "Thank you so much, you have no idea-" "Don't mention it" She smiled, standing up after placing Pig in her bed and putting her hands in her pockets.
"Who are you?" Two Bit asked, a little too bluntly. I tensed, wondering if she would be able to handle the ruff and tuff greaser forwardness. "Who are you?" She questioned, making me grin. Not only could she handle it, she could toss it right back. "Now don't get uptight, I'm just asking. You really helped us out!"
Soda, Steve, and Hudson had joined us at this point, Steve putting an arm around my shoulder and squeezing with a smile, as if to say See? Everything's okay! Izzy grinned and stuck her tongue out at him, completely lost from the current situation. He copied her actions and made her giggle.
"I'm Two Bit. This here is Ponyboy, Soda, Hudson, Steve, Avery, and that little cutie you saved is Izzy." Said 'little cutie' stuck a hand out and held up five fingers. "And I'M five years old!" She said proudly, making all of us laugh.
"So what's your name?" Two Bit finished. I noticed the look she shared with Ponyboy and knew there was definitely something there.
"Scout," She said quickly, and almost unsure. "Well good deal Scout, thanks!" Two Bit grinned. "Sure," She smiled. "See you around."
And with that, Scout was on her way once again.
...
"I saw Mrs. Richards today," Pony spoke later that night, as the five of us Curtis kids worked on setting the table and putting the last touches on dinner. "I told her you had a great new job Darry!" Hudson smiled to himself as he climbed down from the counter, a bottle of food coloring from the cabinet in his hand, and bounded over to where Soda stood, mashing the potatoes. Pony and I shared grossed-out faces as we watched.
"What else did she want to know?" Darry asked as he got the plates down. "If I could trust her," Ponyboy sheepishly admitted as he placed the silverware on their respective napkins.
"Trust her, trust her about what?" Soda asked as he began to drop the food coloring into the bowl. "You know, to tell her if things are going okay for us," Pony shrugged. My older brothers and I gave each other, 'You have got to be kidding me' looks. "I said I wasn't ready to trust her that much. She said she really wants to help keep us together." Pony finished. I scoffed. Did she? Did we dare to trust her? We've had three social workers since mom and died. All three of them treated us like cockroaches they couldn't wait to squish. How would that change, especially considering what happened just a few weeks ago?
"You believe that?" Darry asked. "I'd like to," Pony shrugs. A knock at the door caused Hudson, hands blue from the dye, to go running towards the living room yelling, "I'll get it!" and Soda to go running after him, scolding him not to touch anything with his messy hands.
"Oh hi, come in!" I looked up to see Soda opening the door wide and our new friend walking through. "I'm Pony's cook," he grinned. Scout gave him a polite smile and walked further inside. "Hi Ponyboy," She said softly, glancing around at all of us, I'm sure trying to make the connections. "Hi Scout. These are my brothers. Darry is the one you didn't meet earlier. That's Soda and Hudson, and this is my sister Avery." We all smiled and said our hellos as Pony went around the circle.
"We take turns cooking," Pony continued, gesturing to the meal being made "No we don't," Soda laughed, turning the mixer on for the mashed potatoes. "Pony starts dinner, wanders off, and it burns to a crisp. We take turns doing the dishes" all of us laughed at his joke. I watched from my spot mixing the lemonade as she handed Pony a book. "The Yearling. Thanks Scout!" He exclaimed, making me raise my eyebrows at Darry, who nudged my shoulders with a stern look that said, 'Don't start!' Both Darry and I had recommended The Yearling to Pony over the last couple of years, and he told both of us he didn't think he'd like it. This proves he either just didn't like the suggestion coming from us, or he would read anything a pretty girl suggested...
I sighed but continued stirring, as Scout walked over to Soda. "Are those potatoes blue?" I bit my lip to hold in a laugh. It's been so long, sometimes I forget that we're the only family who colors their food. "Sure are!" Soda grinned. "They'l never see their girlfriends again!" Pony, Soda, Scout and Hudson laughed at the joke as Darry glanced at them from the fridge, where he was pulling out the butter dish. I grinned at him. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was just as curious as I was about our little brother and his first friend of the opposite gender.
"No, no really." Soda continued. "One thing you never want to do, when making blue mashed potatoes is-" "Hey!" Darry yelled, already knowing where this was going as Soda lifted the mixer out of the bowl and it started splattering everywhere. "Soda!" I shrieked as I felt it fly into my hair.
Once he was finished, Pony, Scout, and I were all covered in potatoes. Soda was safe because of his apron, and Darry and Hudson had managed to be just far enough away. It's a wonder any was left in the bowl. "I am so sorry about this doofus, Scout," I smiled, Soda sticking his tongue out at me with a laugh. She grinned. "That's okay, this is the most fun I've had in awhile!"
I nodded towards the stairs. "Come on, I've got some clothes you can change into. It wouldn't be very comfortable walking around with blue potatoes all over you." "And you're more than welcome to stay for dinner!" Darry piped in, before shooting a look at Sodapop, who just shrugged with a smile.