Chapter Two
We reached Lem's house in no time flat. She got out of the car. "Thanks for the ride Belle. I'll see you later."
"No prob. See ya." And I sped off the lousy two blocks to my pink and gray stoned row house/ town house. I parked my Mustang and took the steps two at a time. I was eager to get back to the station and I needed to change. I slammed the door and dropped my keys on the small coffee table right beside it. No one was there as usual. It's only me and my mom. We left my father when I was about 4 or 5. He lives a couple of towns over. I still see him. When he's not working. My dad's in theater and work is basically his life. My mom's a teacher. She has meetings and classes after work sometimes. I went and changed my skirt to jeans and boots. I left the T-shirt on. Now I really looked like a Greaser. Greasers are the ones with jeans and tennis shoes or boots. Not Madras and khakis with loafers. Those are the Socs. I usually fit in more with the Greaser cloths. They're way more comfortable. But I didn't wear them all the time. Sometimes I put on a long skirt and a really nice blouse with very small heeled loafers. That was Soc dress. Sometimes I wore a mix of the two. Sometimes I just did something completely different. When no one really notices you, and you don't really know what you should really be wearing, it doesn't really make any difference if you don't look like everyone else. And if someone did think what I was wearing was strange and actually said anything to me, I'd just beat them up. Then I pulled my hair into a high ponytail. It wouldn't be there for long, I think that I look better with it down, but I noticed that guys loved it when I shook it down around my face. I have really unusual hair and I love it. It's long, half curly and half straight. It's color is really unusual too. It's light brown, blond, and with a hint of red all at the same time. In the summer, the sun bleaches my hair even lighter than it is. In winter, it can get pretty dark. I guess you would say it changes according to season. Now that I was dressed 'greaser style' I was ready to go. I left my mom a note saying that I was at work if she needed me and that I would be home later. I dashed outta the house, got in my baby, and high-tailed it to the DX.The only real uniform we have, or at least I have, is a baseball hat and name tag. I walked into the station. Soda was up front, stocking the shelves with motor oil. I looked behind the register where I usually keep my hat. My name tag was there, but not my hat. " Hey Soda, you seen my hat around?" I asked, shuffling through a box of candy to see if I had accidentally just dropped it there when I had left the day before.
" Oh, sure. It's in the back. I put it there yesterday when I saw it in a box of TWIX."
" Thanks Soda." I went to the back and got my hat.
" Hey, Belle?"
" Yeah, Soda?" I said loudly from the back room.
" You'd tell me if there was anything going on right?" He said. He sounded a little worried. I walked out of the coat room and looked at him. He looked really down. Real worried about something.
" What're you talkin' about Soda?" I asked. Soda always wears this baseball cap with DX embroidered on it. He put his hand on the back of his head and rubbed it, moving the cap up and down a little. He looked down.
"Well, like if there was anything going on with Sandy or something." He suddenly looked up at me, at my face. I drew a slow breath. " Wouldn't you?" I cocked my head to one side a little bit. I looked at him. I was starting to get real worried about him.
" Of course I would Soda. You know I would." I said firmly and what I hope was reassuringly. His face broke into a smile. Soda can never stay worried for long. It just isn't in him. I moved to the register and stretched. I relaxed and reached up and pulled my ponytail holder. I shook my head slightly as I pulled and my hair came tumbling down around my shoulders, and a little past that. I put on my hat, stuck in my name tag, and looked around. Soda looked at me, smiling. I knew that he loved my hair. " You just love teasing us don't you Belle?" he asked, cracking a bigger smile.
" Oh, you know I do." I said half joking. I laughed. About an hour later, Ponyboy, Dally, and Johnny walked in. Johnny is the gang's pet. His parents, when they actually acknowledge that he exists, usually beat the hell out of him. Dally was a real hood. He came from New York City. No one really knows the story, only that he was running from something. He must have done something really bad. Dally never runs from anything except maybe the police. And even then, only on special occasions. He was real tough. He was always getting into fights and getting into trouble. With Socs and Greasers. The police had a whole file on him. But I wasn't scared of him like most people. For some reason, he seemed to like me and I don't know why, but I just really understood the guy. He could always make me laugh. I know Pony didn't like him and Johnny thought that he was a real hero and worshipped the ground he walked on. Soda and Steve, Two-Bit, and Darry got along OK with him, although I think everyone was a tiny tiny bit afraid of him. That kid had a temper like you wouldn't believe. Most of the other Greasers got along OK with him, but some of them he just really pissed off. Anyway, I knew they'd come around sooner or later. Pony was absolutely crazy about Soda and I know the feeling was mutual. "Hey Belle! So when are you gonna ditch this place and run away with me somewhere?" said Dally joking with me.
" Hey Dally. Oh, I can't right now Dally, but uh, come back later and we'll see what we can work out.", I said joking. I smiled. We both laughed. They stuck around for a little while, then headed out to the drive-in. The drive-in that would change my whole world, or at least, my outlook on it. But I didn't know that yet. My day was really uneventful. AT around 12:00 p.m. we closed up shop and I gave Soda a ride home. I knew how dangerous it was for a Grease to be caught alone. " Thanks for the ride Belle.", he said. "See ya tomorrow."
"See ya Soda." He opened the gate, ran up the steps and opened the door. He turned and waved. I waved back. He slammed the door shut. "Darry! The mail here yet?" I heard him yell from the inside. He always said that. Everytime I drove him home, which was often enough when the gang wasn't around, I heard him say that. Darry, or Darrel, is Soda's other brother. He's twenty and he didn't go to college so that he could get a job and support Soda and Pony when their parents died. Darry loves Soda. He usually doesn't let anybody make fun of him, but I knew he liked it when Soda did it. Pony and Darry didn't get along too well. Actually, they didn't get along at all. Darry always pushed too hard and Pony never used his head, which, in his social position was really dangerous. I know that Soda absolutely HATED it when they fought. Sometimes, when it got real bad, he'd run here crying. When you're a Greaser, your not supposed to cry. You're supposed to keep it inside and use it as anger. It can come in handy for rumbles, but it really messes you up. Soda's different though. He won't bottle it up. He's got so much feeling, keeping that in there is just a waste of space. He's got more important things to fill it with, although I know that he wouldn't let anyone know it. When he came here, he'd go in the back where no one could see him. No one but me anyway, and I'd never tell. God, I wanted to run to him then. I wanted to comfort him so badly. I wanted him to cry on my shoulder and I'd kiss him and everything would be OK. But I couldn't. I couldn't let him know how I really felt about him. I didn't know what he would do or say and his friendship was the most important one that I had. The only thing I could do was walk over to him, put my hand on his shoulder and tell him, just once, that everything would be OK. That it'd all work out in the end. And it killed me that I couldn't do more. Anyway, I live right on the middle of the tracks. If you were going to be very meticulous I was about three inches to the Soc side. I went home slowly. Although I was never bothered by Greasers or Socs, it was usually because I was wearing half and half and letting everyone know I wasn't one or the other. Tonight though, I had to be more careful. If some drunk Socs cam along, they might mistake me for a Grease. I was dressed like one after all. But the only thing I saw was a Mustang full of whisky drunk Socs, heading towards the park. They were too busy yelling at each other to pay attention to me. I got home and got a shower. I climbed into bed and fell asleep. Unaware that my world was suddenly going to start changing forever, however slowly the ENTIRE process took.
We reached Lem's house in no time flat. She got out of the car. "Thanks for the ride Belle. I'll see you later."
"No prob. See ya." And I sped off the lousy two blocks to my pink and gray stoned row house/ town house. I parked my Mustang and took the steps two at a time. I was eager to get back to the station and I needed to change. I slammed the door and dropped my keys on the small coffee table right beside it. No one was there as usual. It's only me and my mom. We left my father when I was about 4 or 5. He lives a couple of towns over. I still see him. When he's not working. My dad's in theater and work is basically his life. My mom's a teacher. She has meetings and classes after work sometimes. I went and changed my skirt to jeans and boots. I left the T-shirt on. Now I really looked like a Greaser. Greasers are the ones with jeans and tennis shoes or boots. Not Madras and khakis with loafers. Those are the Socs. I usually fit in more with the Greaser cloths. They're way more comfortable. But I didn't wear them all the time. Sometimes I put on a long skirt and a really nice blouse with very small heeled loafers. That was Soc dress. Sometimes I wore a mix of the two. Sometimes I just did something completely different. When no one really notices you, and you don't really know what you should really be wearing, it doesn't really make any difference if you don't look like everyone else. And if someone did think what I was wearing was strange and actually said anything to me, I'd just beat them up. Then I pulled my hair into a high ponytail. It wouldn't be there for long, I think that I look better with it down, but I noticed that guys loved it when I shook it down around my face. I have really unusual hair and I love it. It's long, half curly and half straight. It's color is really unusual too. It's light brown, blond, and with a hint of red all at the same time. In the summer, the sun bleaches my hair even lighter than it is. In winter, it can get pretty dark. I guess you would say it changes according to season. Now that I was dressed 'greaser style' I was ready to go. I left my mom a note saying that I was at work if she needed me and that I would be home later. I dashed outta the house, got in my baby, and high-tailed it to the DX.The only real uniform we have, or at least I have, is a baseball hat and name tag. I walked into the station. Soda was up front, stocking the shelves with motor oil. I looked behind the register where I usually keep my hat. My name tag was there, but not my hat. " Hey Soda, you seen my hat around?" I asked, shuffling through a box of candy to see if I had accidentally just dropped it there when I had left the day before.
" Oh, sure. It's in the back. I put it there yesterday when I saw it in a box of TWIX."
" Thanks Soda." I went to the back and got my hat.
" Hey, Belle?"
" Yeah, Soda?" I said loudly from the back room.
" You'd tell me if there was anything going on right?" He said. He sounded a little worried. I walked out of the coat room and looked at him. He looked really down. Real worried about something.
" What're you talkin' about Soda?" I asked. Soda always wears this baseball cap with DX embroidered on it. He put his hand on the back of his head and rubbed it, moving the cap up and down a little. He looked down.
"Well, like if there was anything going on with Sandy or something." He suddenly looked up at me, at my face. I drew a slow breath. " Wouldn't you?" I cocked my head to one side a little bit. I looked at him. I was starting to get real worried about him.
" Of course I would Soda. You know I would." I said firmly and what I hope was reassuringly. His face broke into a smile. Soda can never stay worried for long. It just isn't in him. I moved to the register and stretched. I relaxed and reached up and pulled my ponytail holder. I shook my head slightly as I pulled and my hair came tumbling down around my shoulders, and a little past that. I put on my hat, stuck in my name tag, and looked around. Soda looked at me, smiling. I knew that he loved my hair. " You just love teasing us don't you Belle?" he asked, cracking a bigger smile.
" Oh, you know I do." I said half joking. I laughed. About an hour later, Ponyboy, Dally, and Johnny walked in. Johnny is the gang's pet. His parents, when they actually acknowledge that he exists, usually beat the hell out of him. Dally was a real hood. He came from New York City. No one really knows the story, only that he was running from something. He must have done something really bad. Dally never runs from anything except maybe the police. And even then, only on special occasions. He was real tough. He was always getting into fights and getting into trouble. With Socs and Greasers. The police had a whole file on him. But I wasn't scared of him like most people. For some reason, he seemed to like me and I don't know why, but I just really understood the guy. He could always make me laugh. I know Pony didn't like him and Johnny thought that he was a real hero and worshipped the ground he walked on. Soda and Steve, Two-Bit, and Darry got along OK with him, although I think everyone was a tiny tiny bit afraid of him. That kid had a temper like you wouldn't believe. Most of the other Greasers got along OK with him, but some of them he just really pissed off. Anyway, I knew they'd come around sooner or later. Pony was absolutely crazy about Soda and I know the feeling was mutual. "Hey Belle! So when are you gonna ditch this place and run away with me somewhere?" said Dally joking with me.
" Hey Dally. Oh, I can't right now Dally, but uh, come back later and we'll see what we can work out.", I said joking. I smiled. We both laughed. They stuck around for a little while, then headed out to the drive-in. The drive-in that would change my whole world, or at least, my outlook on it. But I didn't know that yet. My day was really uneventful. AT around 12:00 p.m. we closed up shop and I gave Soda a ride home. I knew how dangerous it was for a Grease to be caught alone. " Thanks for the ride Belle.", he said. "See ya tomorrow."
"See ya Soda." He opened the gate, ran up the steps and opened the door. He turned and waved. I waved back. He slammed the door shut. "Darry! The mail here yet?" I heard him yell from the inside. He always said that. Everytime I drove him home, which was often enough when the gang wasn't around, I heard him say that. Darry, or Darrel, is Soda's other brother. He's twenty and he didn't go to college so that he could get a job and support Soda and Pony when their parents died. Darry loves Soda. He usually doesn't let anybody make fun of him, but I knew he liked it when Soda did it. Pony and Darry didn't get along too well. Actually, they didn't get along at all. Darry always pushed too hard and Pony never used his head, which, in his social position was really dangerous. I know that Soda absolutely HATED it when they fought. Sometimes, when it got real bad, he'd run here crying. When you're a Greaser, your not supposed to cry. You're supposed to keep it inside and use it as anger. It can come in handy for rumbles, but it really messes you up. Soda's different though. He won't bottle it up. He's got so much feeling, keeping that in there is just a waste of space. He's got more important things to fill it with, although I know that he wouldn't let anyone know it. When he came here, he'd go in the back where no one could see him. No one but me anyway, and I'd never tell. God, I wanted to run to him then. I wanted to comfort him so badly. I wanted him to cry on my shoulder and I'd kiss him and everything would be OK. But I couldn't. I couldn't let him know how I really felt about him. I didn't know what he would do or say and his friendship was the most important one that I had. The only thing I could do was walk over to him, put my hand on his shoulder and tell him, just once, that everything would be OK. That it'd all work out in the end. And it killed me that I couldn't do more. Anyway, I live right on the middle of the tracks. If you were going to be very meticulous I was about three inches to the Soc side. I went home slowly. Although I was never bothered by Greasers or Socs, it was usually because I was wearing half and half and letting everyone know I wasn't one or the other. Tonight though, I had to be more careful. If some drunk Socs cam along, they might mistake me for a Grease. I was dressed like one after all. But the only thing I saw was a Mustang full of whisky drunk Socs, heading towards the park. They were too busy yelling at each other to pay attention to me. I got home and got a shower. I climbed into bed and fell asleep. Unaware that my world was suddenly going to start changing forever, however slowly the ENTIRE process took.