Sharon was the first to speak following Paulette's and Andrianna's departure, while Rizzo sat down in Paulette's vacated chair. "I brought the codes along, just in case." she said, pulling the laminated paper from her shoulder bag. "I didn't know what was gonna happen." She laid it down centered between Michael and Stephanie, each of whom leaned forward to read the hand-written edicts:
The Pink Lady Code
Rule 1: Obey the Pink Lady Pledge: Act cool, Look cool, Be cool. Til death do us part, think Pink!
Edrie, Jessamine, Christina, and Aimee were all standing and leaning to see for themselves, as well, and Christina glanced up at Stephanie. "'Think pink'?"
"Bottom line of the pledge. We used to go around singing that, had hand gestures and everything."
Aimee arched an eyebrow at her. "What hand gesture will you be using now?" she teased carefully, and Stephanie gave her half a smirk before her expression clouded over again.
Rule 2: At no time is a Pink Lady to become romantically involved with a non-T-Bird member. Restriction is rescinded only after graduation or expulsion. A Pink Lady will not date a: jock, nerd, preppie, anybody non-cool, or member of a rival school or gang. T-Birds, not Nerds!
Edrie's eyes narrowed.
"Well, me and Marty smashed that one to oblivion." Rizzo commented, almost idly.
"Hey, you goin' to the dance with B – with that blow-hard, wasn't my idea." Marty reminded her cheekily.
"Shall I say the name?" Jan offered, grinning wickedly.
"You do, and your ears will be ringing for a week." Rizzo promised, as Kenickie came to a stop behind her, Audra cradled against him, fast asleep. Helen wandered out just behind him, holding a now-sleeping Peter, watching silently as she sat back down.
"She went with an outsider, and you didn't do nothin'?" Goose asked Danny, looking incredulous.
Danny, Sandy, Frenchy, Jan, Marty, Sonny, Kenickie and Rizzo each started laughing, with Danny saying, "Man, I got about as much control over Rizzo as you got over Stephanie."
"The codes, though – " Goose wheedled.
"Are idiotic and chauvinistic." Edrie declared coolly.
"She's got you there." Jett complied. "We put them together when we were kids, and each of us T-Birds was going around with a Lady. We all thought it would be, ya know, cool."
"To have such double standards, you mean. There's nothing here about a T-Bird having only a Pink Lady for an option."
"Like I said, Miss Starnes, we were kids."
"And what is your definition of a nerd?" Michael asked.
"You." Goose sneered.
"You'll have to be a bit more specific, McKenzie. I'm aware of my grades and how I generally behave, but what is your definition of a nerd?"
"Someone who don't know how to have fun past a book, who always has ten billion pens and calculators on him." Louis answered.
"You." Goose repeated, looking irritated now.
Michael looked back steadily. "I don't carry a calculator. Since I'm not taking any math classes, I don't find them particularly necessary. Also, what on earth would I need ten billion pens for? Three to four generally suffices."
"Next." Rhonda commanded, before Goose could retort. "Stay on topic, Goose."
Rule 3: The Pink Lady jacket symbolizes that the wearer is the girlfriend/consort of a T-Bird member. Upon leaving the Pink Ladies under duress – violation of any of the Rules, expulsion, illness, death, school transfer, or personal choice, the wearer must return the jacket to the T-Birds to avoid damaging said T-Birds' reputations. 'They got a rep to protect'. Rep is everything.
"I think I'll wreck Johnny's precious rep left, right, and center." Stephanie swore.
"I doubt you'll have to do much, Miss Zinone. It's inevitable that everyone at school will hear about this." Miss Mason said, and Stephanie grinned wide, utterly pleased at the thought.
"Indeed." Edrie pressed, infuriated, and thinking of Rhetta. "And these really are such a load of horse manure, the Pink Ladies were here long before the T-Birds! How in the hell did you get the girls from that time to even agree with these?!"
Jessamine, Christina, and Aimee all glanced at each other, mouths pressed into lines. Stand back, she's ready to explode. What do you think, Rhetta?
To hell with them all, these are our lives, had generally been Rhetta's answer.
"We were kids, miss, the same as Stephanie, Rhonda, Paulette, and Sharon were, before they grew up a little. And most of these were the ideas of the Ladies from then, believe or not. We were being teenagers and wanting everything to be exclusive."
"What I want to know is how a Pink Lady jacket became T-Bird property." Edrie ground out, eyes flashing. "We did not put our sorority together for the boys to say they were in charge."
Jett raised his hands in a gesture of mercy. "I'm sorry, miss. But for that one, you would have to ask Lorenzo and Rosaleen." He sighed heavily. "Actually, I'm pretty sure it was cos Rosaleen was determined and desperate to have Lorenzo for herself. But that idiot couldn't keep it in his pants to save his life. She was really hung up on him."
"Hence, this atrocity." Christina concluded.
Jett nodded, looking like he was remembering something painful. "Some of the rules, anyway. Number five was my idea. Lorenzo and Rosaleen were still going in circles when we graduated. She followed him when he left for Miami, I have no clue what happened after that. I'll admit, I was impressed, back then, by how easy he made it seem, to get with girls." Jett shook his head. "Took me a while to figure out just what a mess it all was, that sleeping with a hundred women never made a boy a man."
Galvan squinted, while Bryony grinned at her husband-to-be.
Rule 4: A Pink Lady must present herself in appropriate attire at school at all times – Pink Lady jacket a must! Flashy, seductive clothing is not allowed, as they allow non-T-Bird students (and other men, Rydell staff included) to see what is for T-Bird eyes only. Seductive attire is only to be worn at social functions if accompanied by their T-Bird escort/boyfriend.
"Can I burn this?" Stephanie asked, a sour taste forming at the back of her throat. We really were dumb at the beginning.
"Soon." Rizzo answered.
"Tattoos aren't mentioned here." Stephanie commented idly. "I'm getting one after my eighteenth birthday." She avoided her father's eye saying that, knowing he wasn't thrilled with the idea.
"When is that?" Michael asked, feigning polite curiosity, as though he didn't already know, via Sandy, that Stephanie was a month and a day older than him; the thought still tickled him.
"March twenty-first. Mom always got a kick out of my being born during the equinox."
"Frenchy mentioned that you look a great deal like her." he offered kindly, by way of a condolence.
"Oh, she's all her mother's daughter." Jake commented, giving Stephanie an ornery look; she stuck her tongue out at him in reply, smirking a little.
Rule 5: A Pink Lady is to have a cigarette and matches or a lighter on her at all times, for herself – cigarette equals `cool' – plus her fellow Pink Ladies and T-Birds (and favored Rydell staff) who might wish to bum a smoke.
"Light up, Ladies." Louis cracked.
"Shove it, DiMucci." Rhonda flung at him.
Rule 6: No Pink Lady is allowed to interfere with another Pink Lady to T-Bird relationship. If a T-Bird is spoken for, the unattached Pink Lady is not permitted to trespass on the fellow Pink Lady relationship. If the T-Bird is available (Pink Lady girlfriend leaves – see Rule 3), the unattached Pink Lady may make advances on the unclaimed T-Bird. Rule 4 applies. The prettier the Pink Lady, the more interested the unattached T-Bird will be.
"Yeah, cos girls love when guys start to cherry-pickin'." Stephanie bit out, then snapped, "What?", at Michael's confused look.
"I was told once that cherry is slang for, ah, virgin. Is that what you mean by your statement? Or is it something else?"
Stephanie looked like she wanted to laugh, while an amused Bryony answered, "Here, to cherry-pick is to choose the best and most desirable.", leaning back in her chair, yawning, the sleepiness creeping in.
"Oh."
"Whose idea was rule six?" Jessamine asked.
"Rosaleen's. She raised hell about it, she didn't want Hazel flirting with Lorenzo." Jett snorted. "Not that it really stopped them when they thought no one was looking."
"That poor girl." Aimee lamented.
Bryony smiled at Jett again, before standing (wobbly from her sudden exhaustion), kissing his cheek, and announcing quietly that she was going inside for a nap. Jett followed her in to see to her comfort on his parent's bed, and returned only after she'd fallen asleep, not two minutes later.
Rule 7: Returning to Rule 2, Fraternization outside of the T-Birds, if all members of the T-Birds are accounted for and have Pink Lady girlfriends, the unattached Pink Lady must remain single. Extra: If the unattached Pink Lady has an interest in non-T-Bird student, and wishes to pursue a relationship with said student, see Rule 3.
Rule 8: Contrary to popular belief, premarital 'coupling' isn't a requirement for a Pink Lady.
"But the T-Birds can have it when and where they please? Someone get me a torch light." Aimee said coldly, her mouth curving in a hard frown.
"Louis, I want you to walk around reciting rule eight to yourself for the next two weeks." Sharon stated crisply, flinging him an aggravated look.
"How did this one come about?" Edrie demanded, standing back and at full height, arms crossed, her mouth a thin line of anger. "Is this what our sorority had de-evolved into?!"
"Rumors were flying. People love to talk." Jett answered carefully while walking closer, looking a little alarmed by the expression on Edrie's face.
Rule 9: If you are a non-romantic friend of the Pink Ladies, you're a friend for life. Friendship (non-fraternization) may include nerd/brain (good for assistance with essays), and jock. NOT allowed: Gossip Girls or annoying cheerleaders.
Below these rules were eight signatures – four T-Birds, four Ladies – with Jett's messy scrawl being among them, just beneath that of Lorenzo De la Rue's.
Michael read the rules over again to make sure he understood what he was looking at; peering up at Stephanie, Sharon, and Rhonda, he thought for a moment, then said, "Well, I'm not a Pink Lady. I don't think I could have much say in this."
"Thanks, but it doesn't work that way. Any major decision has to be agreed on by both sides." Sharon replied.
"Does it?" Edrie hissed.
"Edrie, please, calm yourself. They aren't ours. We can advise them, but they are their own Pink Ladies, they'll choose to do as they see fit." Jessamine entreated.
"We need to figure out what to do about Paulette first." Rhonda clarified.
"I want her out." Stephanie's voice shook, still taut with enraged betrayal.
"Steph, the show – " Sharon began, a pleading look descending.
"I don't give a fuck." Stephanie hissed with vitriol. "I want her gone. Johnny, too, since you're the Head T-Bird now, Carrington."
Goose and Louis both put their hands up, Goose saying, "Objection."
"Overruled, and shut the hell up!" Stephanie glared, sneering viciously. "But you would defend him, wouldn't you?"
"Put your hands down." Danny barked at them, and they obliged, Goose looking mutinous, Louis looking uncertain.
"Stephanie, this has to be done fairly, so that there's no mistakes or loopholes." Sandy informed her gently. "The Birds and Ladies have been inter-connected for the last ten years."
"All cos of a sex addict and a stage-five clinger, wonderful." Stephanie derided. "Sounds a lot like Johnny and Paulette."
No one argued with her on that one.
"Why ain't you protestin' with us?" Goose demanded, peering sharply at Davey. "Whose side are ya on?"
"Yours." Davey looked like he'd been waiting for the question. "But what difference does it make? We were outvoted, and Johnny needs to graduate. If this is how it goes down ... at least he's still a T-Bird – "
"He'll be boss again before long, Shakespeare, and then you can go sit on a snake." Goose derided. "And I ain't bowing to the likes of you."
"I wasn't planning on asking you to. Keep your loyalty to him." He looked at Stephanie. "I'm not in the mood to play overlord, so tell me, please, what do you feel is best?"
"Steph, I – "
"Shut up, Sharon."
"I need her for the show!"
"Sharon, give it a rest! She's been pushed enough as it is!" Rhonda snapped. Huffing out a breath, she continued. "Let's decide what to do about Paulette and Johnny first, and then we can figure out which rules stay and which get tossed."
Sharon couldn't contain herself. "Steph, I know you're mad as all hell at her – I get it, really, I do ... but if you throw her out and she quits the show, I'm screwed. Please, I really want to make this happen." She plowed ahead, halfway ignoring the pissed off expression on Stephanie's face, her mind scrambling for suitable arguments. "How about you just make it so that she only talks to you when it's necessary? Given the differences in the ways you two go about things, chats should be a rare occurrence. At most, it'll just be about the show, and choosing the next Ladies, and that convention is only a onetime thing."
Stephanie opened her mouth to start spitting rejoinders, and Sharon pleaded, "Please, Steph, it's only for a few months. I'll make sure she knows to leave you alone, and that she brought it on herself."
Stephanie looked away, frowning. "I don't care." she muttered, expression mildly contorted. "I don't want to care. I can't trust her now."
"It's okay. I'll deal with her, I promise." Sharon answered firmly. "She'll just have to agree to it, because if she doesn't, she knows she'll get tossed. Plus, you know how vain she is about her looks. I don't have a problem threatening her with them six ways from Sunday."
"How?"
"Me." Frenchy answered, giving Stephanie a wink and a devious smirk. "A few more months, and I take my Chemistry exam. In the meantime, I still need guinea pigs. One wrong move, and I can make what I did to Rizzo's hair look like child's play." Leaning, she patted Stephanie's hand. "Take a breath, sweetie. Let Sharon keep going as planned with the show. I'll make sure Paulette knows she's only still around on a technicality." Her eyes searched Stephanie's expression. "And you can go about treating her as you see fit. We'll make sure she knows she's earned your silence."
"The same goes for Johnny, I think. If you really want, Stephanie, I'll remove him from the T-Birds – "
"NO!" Goose barked, wide-eyed, and Rhonda gripped his forearm, giving him a meaningful look.
"Shut it, Goose!" Stephanie snapped, fighting not to scream at him, her eyes cold.
"I'm going to have to ask you not to, Mr. Carrington." Duran spoke up, almost pleadingly. "I know my son has made a complete ass of himself, and he isn't deserving of it, but that jacket means too much to him. Andrianna and I want this to go as smooth as possible. Let him stay a T-Bird, it'll make matters far less complicated."
"Another technicality." Stephanie hissed bitterly.
"One you can ignore, Steph." Rhonda offered. "Just don't talk to either of them. I don't think they'd be so thickheaded as to not understand why."
Stephanie abruptly shivered and hugged her arms around herself, staring down, shutting her eyes, taking deep breaths, raw and wounded and defiant, the walls of her pride going up, higher and higher, the broken places of her heart screaming for justice.
Jake put one arm around her, hugging her close. "Just breathe, bluebell. Don't talk to them, ignore them when they try to talk to you. Turn away when they come at you. Flip them off as many times as it takes. With both fingers. For an hour. Uphill. Both ways. In fifty feet of snow."
Stephanie shivered on a laugh, letting a deep breath out.
Watching with a humored smile, Michael was almost jealous, wishing he could be the one to comfort her.
"Does that settle that, then? Mr. Nogerelli and Miss Rebchuck get to remain via an escape clause, with the understanding that they are on very thin ice. May we move on to these so-called Pink Lady rules now?" Edrie asked, irritated and eager.
Stephanie straightened. "New rule is, there are no rules. Each of us gets to do as we please."
"Shut it, McKenzie." Rizzo snapped. "Play along, or you're all gonna be out, and Carrington here'll replace you with the likes of Bruce Sanders and Eugene Fitzherbert." She smirked wickedly at Danny. "The new name can be T-Nerds."
"Not while I'm breathin' it won't be." Danny vowed. "Cool cats only."
"Then what the hell are ya draggin' Shakespeare in for?!" Goose demanded, gesturing in Michael's direction haphazardly. "That nerd don't even have a car, let alone a 'cycle!"
Michael opened his mouth to say that Paula and Ted were taking him to purchase a truck over the weekend, but was interrupted by Sandy's yelling of, "Stop calling him that! And so what if Mike's smart, what does that even prove?! I'm smart! Are you going to start calling me names, too?!"
"We know better, Zuko would have our asses if we went actin' that stupid." Louis replied, looking a little shame-faced.
"And it ain't the same – " Goose began.
"What's the difference?" Sandy demanded, eyes flashing fire. "Who are you to look down your nose at anyone? To laugh at them just because they don't think just the way you do?"
Goose didn't have a ready answer, not with the way Sandy was looking at him.
"Steph, can we discuss rule one, five, the first sentence of six, and eight and nine?" Rhonda posed, her voice forcibly light. "I think those are good ones to keep. We can re-word everything. And there's the nice little loophole, too. Paulette broke rule six, for that she doesn't get a say in how the new rules are put together. The same goes for Johnny."
"Actually, they do, since they're still members. They'll just be out-voted." Sharon said.
Jake did the math in two heartbeats, and added, "Narrowly."
"Paulette probably won't object to the rule changes, as long as she can stay with Johnny." Sandy said. "So ... five to four, with Michael as the tie-breaker."
"Actually, more than that." Michael said, glancing around. "If everyone here gets a say."
Edrie smiled widely, plainly relieved, while Aimee, Christina, and Jessamine all smirked at each other. "Well put, Mr. Carrington."
"Anyone busy tomorrow?" Marty asked.
"It's Black Friday, are you kidding?" Rizzo protested mildly. "Ma and I will be on the hunt for diapers and baby things. Kenickie will have Audra ... demanding that she don't date til he's dead."
"Damn straight!"
Good luck with that, Jake thought, amused and knowing that he'd been no better: He'd walked on eggshells for a month following Stephanie's first date.
"Can you spare two hours at a diner at one o'clock? This has to be put to rest." Edrie said tautly, on edge.
"Edrie, calm down. A baby's needs come first." Christina admonished gently.
"Saturday, then? Say one o'clock, at the Frosty Palace? We can all give Val a heart-attack." Marty offered.
"I wouldn't be able to join you, my aunt and uncle are taking me shopping for a truck." Michael explained.
Sunday at one p.m. at the Frosty Palace, it was, for thirteen Ladies and nine T-Birds.
The time was going on 6 p.m.
Anaheim was the farthest Johnny had ever gone from home. But now, some hours after his squealing departure, he was sitting at the edge of a road called West Main, which led to a parking lot on Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Park, a few miles outside of Santa Maria, a hundred and forty miles north of Rydell. The sun had set an hour ago, and he didn't care. The ride here had been enjoyable; the ride home was going to be a pain in the ass.
Summer sky blue eyes were on his mind, and all the bitter disappointment he'd ever seen in them.
And now, Paulette, who was swearing up and down that everything she had was all for him.
And now, Michael Carrington, who represented the braininess that Johnny liked to make fun of, while at the same time (slowly but surely) proving himself to be what Johnny couldn't. There was now an inch-long scars on Johnny's right cheek, from when Michael had shoved his face into the outer wall of the bowling alley; and Johnny could still feel the ghost of Carrington's hand around his throat, steady and inflexible.
Hypothetical, my ass. You fucker, you're outta your mind if you think that jacket is gonna get you anywhere with her, you're still just a loser, a nerd, that's all you'll ever be, you're gonna nothin' but a fight on your softy hands –
When had everything stopped making sense?
God ... Damn, I need a drink.