TWO:
"So how are you and Eric getting along now?" Mandy asked as we sat outside at the café.
"Better I guess. We just have to accept that we are two completely different types of people and we're rooming together for the year whether we like it or not!" I admitted. "And his teasing is a lot more good natured than it was at first. How's your roomie going?"
Mandy swallowed a big bite of her chicken salad roll and nodded. "Yeah, it's getting better. So long as she stops sneaking guys back into the room late at night. Does she think I can't hear what they're doing? It's not that big a room!"
I laughed. Mandy's roommate, Christy, had seemed like a nice enough girl to me when I first met her, but then I found out she was completely obsessed with guys and poor Mandy never knew when she'd walk in on Christy and some new conquest. But Mandy had laid down the law about the fact that it was her room too, and she didn't want to see that kind of thing, and now Christy was starting to bring guys back less. I'd jokingly suggested they make a timetable as to who got the room when, but Mandy had made a face. "Don't even joke about that Pony! It could come to something like that for all I know."
I drained the last of my coffee and popped the last of my chips into my mouth. I'd just decided that my essay was going to be on Mandy, and how we met and how we fell in love just like that.
"Did I tell you I saw Randy the other day?" Mandy asked me, and I nearly choked on my chip.
Randy had been the best friend of Bob, the soc one of my best friends Johnny had killed. Of course Bob had completely asked for it. He and his friends got a real kick out of jumping greasers like us, and when he was holding my head under the water Johnny had reacted instantly. After the whole thing was over I spoke to Randy occasionally, but they were generally pretty stilted conversations. After all, no matter whose fault it was, I'd been partly responsible for his best friend's deaths!
"No. Here?" I asked. I hadn't known anyone else had applied for UCLA like Mandy and I had. I had two main reasons, the first was that the writing program here was one of the best in the country, and the second was that I thought it might do me good to get away from home and my brothers for a bit. I'm not bagging them or anything, but sometimes they can get a bit much! Mandy's reasons were similar-she wouldn't mind going to college on the other side of the country from her parents!
"Yeah, he's here." Mandy replied. "He was telling me he wants to go to law school."
"Law school hey?" I mused. "That would be pretty hard."
"Well he's a pretty smart guy you know." Mandy said. "Anyway, he was saying if we're not doing anything maybe we could have a drink or something on Friday night?"
I raised my eyebrows. Why on earth would Randy want to have a drink with me? It seemed pretty strange. I realised Mandy was waiting for my answer, and I shrugged. "Maybe. Did he say why?"
"No. Why would he have?" Mandy asked, and then she frowned. "Look Pony the whole thing with Bob was a few years ago now. It's over. I'm sure Randy's more mature about things now including that."
I shrugged again. "Maybe he is." I muttered, and then I changed the subject. "Anyway have you decided about cheerleading tryouts?"
"I don't know." Mandy admitted. "There's so many girls here who are bound to be a lot better than I am!"
"Ha! That's what you think." I said. "I saw you back at school and if there was another girl on the team who was anywhere near as good as you I'd like to have seen them! Even Cherry who thought she was the bees knees was nowhere as good as you, and she only got made captain because she'd been there a lot longer than you!"
"Well I'll think about it." Mandy said. "How's that?"
"It'll have to do." I said.
Mandy glanced at her watch. "Pony I've got to run. I've got to meet one of the guys from Sociology to start work on our assignment. We've been assigned partners." She said.
I nodded. "Okay, have fun and don't work too hard."
She got up lightly, and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "I won't." She said, kissing me on the forehead before hurrying off. I watched her walk across campus, and then sighed and ordered another coffee- this time to take away, and then went back to my room to try and get some of the damn essay done. However as I walked into the room I realised I was meant to be calling Soda back, and instead I picked up the phone and rang.
Soda's voice sounded funny when he answered the phone. "'Lo?" He asked.
"Soda it's me, Ponyboy!" I said.
"Pony!" Soda repeated. "It's not that I'm not glad to hear from you kiddo, but did you forget there was a time difference here?"
Oops. "Sorry Soda, so how you been?" I asked.
"Yeah not bad. Two-Bit's been round here a bit lately. I think he's having a lot more problems with his olds. Especially now that he's finished school and all." Soda said.
"Does he have a job?" I asked.
"Not yet. He says he's looking, but who knows how hard." Soda replied.
"And how about Darry? How's he?" I asked.
"Working hard as usual." Soda replied. "Although he might not be working quite as hard in the future." There was a teasing tone in his voice when he said that, sort of a "I know something you don't know" tone.
"Why is that?" I demanded.
"Darry's got a girlfriend!" Soda exclaimed.
I almost dropped the phone. It wasn't that Darry wasn't good looking or anything, it was simply that he worked too hard. I'd always figured he would never get around to finding a girlfriend because of his long hours at work. "Well what's she like then? Is she nice? Is she pretty? Is she our type, you know a greaser?" I fired.
"Whoa Pony!" Soda said laughing. "Yes she's nice, and she's pretty enough, and she is a greaser. She's over here quite a bit, but that suits me fine since she can cook a hell of a lot better than I can."
"Wow." I said. "I just can't believe its Darry with the girlfriend not you."
Soda was silent for a moment, and when he spoke his voice was casual, almost too casual. "I don't want a girlfriend thanks Pony. I've been through that all with Sandy and I don't want to go through it all again!"
"Soda!" I said. "You'll find someone better than Sandy!"
"Yeah, well maybe one day." Soda said. I knew that the incident with Sandy had hurt him a lot, but I still didn't think it hurt this much. "Anyway Pony, I hate to be rude, but I've got to go."
"Right, the time difference thing." I replied. "Well don't forget to say hey to Darry for me. And Two-Bit also."
"I'll tell them. Look after yourself up there Pony and work hard." Soda said and then he hung up and I sighed and hung up my phone too. I glanced over at the desk and my books sitting where I'd left them before.
"Right essay, this time you're going to be written like it or not." I said out loud, and then I sat in the chair and picked up my pen to write.
"So how are you and Eric getting along now?" Mandy asked as we sat outside at the café.
"Better I guess. We just have to accept that we are two completely different types of people and we're rooming together for the year whether we like it or not!" I admitted. "And his teasing is a lot more good natured than it was at first. How's your roomie going?"
Mandy swallowed a big bite of her chicken salad roll and nodded. "Yeah, it's getting better. So long as she stops sneaking guys back into the room late at night. Does she think I can't hear what they're doing? It's not that big a room!"
I laughed. Mandy's roommate, Christy, had seemed like a nice enough girl to me when I first met her, but then I found out she was completely obsessed with guys and poor Mandy never knew when she'd walk in on Christy and some new conquest. But Mandy had laid down the law about the fact that it was her room too, and she didn't want to see that kind of thing, and now Christy was starting to bring guys back less. I'd jokingly suggested they make a timetable as to who got the room when, but Mandy had made a face. "Don't even joke about that Pony! It could come to something like that for all I know."
I drained the last of my coffee and popped the last of my chips into my mouth. I'd just decided that my essay was going to be on Mandy, and how we met and how we fell in love just like that.
"Did I tell you I saw Randy the other day?" Mandy asked me, and I nearly choked on my chip.
Randy had been the best friend of Bob, the soc one of my best friends Johnny had killed. Of course Bob had completely asked for it. He and his friends got a real kick out of jumping greasers like us, and when he was holding my head under the water Johnny had reacted instantly. After the whole thing was over I spoke to Randy occasionally, but they were generally pretty stilted conversations. After all, no matter whose fault it was, I'd been partly responsible for his best friend's deaths!
"No. Here?" I asked. I hadn't known anyone else had applied for UCLA like Mandy and I had. I had two main reasons, the first was that the writing program here was one of the best in the country, and the second was that I thought it might do me good to get away from home and my brothers for a bit. I'm not bagging them or anything, but sometimes they can get a bit much! Mandy's reasons were similar-she wouldn't mind going to college on the other side of the country from her parents!
"Yeah, he's here." Mandy replied. "He was telling me he wants to go to law school."
"Law school hey?" I mused. "That would be pretty hard."
"Well he's a pretty smart guy you know." Mandy said. "Anyway, he was saying if we're not doing anything maybe we could have a drink or something on Friday night?"
I raised my eyebrows. Why on earth would Randy want to have a drink with me? It seemed pretty strange. I realised Mandy was waiting for my answer, and I shrugged. "Maybe. Did he say why?"
"No. Why would he have?" Mandy asked, and then she frowned. "Look Pony the whole thing with Bob was a few years ago now. It's over. I'm sure Randy's more mature about things now including that."
I shrugged again. "Maybe he is." I muttered, and then I changed the subject. "Anyway have you decided about cheerleading tryouts?"
"I don't know." Mandy admitted. "There's so many girls here who are bound to be a lot better than I am!"
"Ha! That's what you think." I said. "I saw you back at school and if there was another girl on the team who was anywhere near as good as you I'd like to have seen them! Even Cherry who thought she was the bees knees was nowhere as good as you, and she only got made captain because she'd been there a lot longer than you!"
"Well I'll think about it." Mandy said. "How's that?"
"It'll have to do." I said.
Mandy glanced at her watch. "Pony I've got to run. I've got to meet one of the guys from Sociology to start work on our assignment. We've been assigned partners." She said.
I nodded. "Okay, have fun and don't work too hard."
She got up lightly, and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "I won't." She said, kissing me on the forehead before hurrying off. I watched her walk across campus, and then sighed and ordered another coffee- this time to take away, and then went back to my room to try and get some of the damn essay done. However as I walked into the room I realised I was meant to be calling Soda back, and instead I picked up the phone and rang.
Soda's voice sounded funny when he answered the phone. "'Lo?" He asked.
"Soda it's me, Ponyboy!" I said.
"Pony!" Soda repeated. "It's not that I'm not glad to hear from you kiddo, but did you forget there was a time difference here?"
Oops. "Sorry Soda, so how you been?" I asked.
"Yeah not bad. Two-Bit's been round here a bit lately. I think he's having a lot more problems with his olds. Especially now that he's finished school and all." Soda said.
"Does he have a job?" I asked.
"Not yet. He says he's looking, but who knows how hard." Soda replied.
"And how about Darry? How's he?" I asked.
"Working hard as usual." Soda replied. "Although he might not be working quite as hard in the future." There was a teasing tone in his voice when he said that, sort of a "I know something you don't know" tone.
"Why is that?" I demanded.
"Darry's got a girlfriend!" Soda exclaimed.
I almost dropped the phone. It wasn't that Darry wasn't good looking or anything, it was simply that he worked too hard. I'd always figured he would never get around to finding a girlfriend because of his long hours at work. "Well what's she like then? Is she nice? Is she pretty? Is she our type, you know a greaser?" I fired.
"Whoa Pony!" Soda said laughing. "Yes she's nice, and she's pretty enough, and she is a greaser. She's over here quite a bit, but that suits me fine since she can cook a hell of a lot better than I can."
"Wow." I said. "I just can't believe its Darry with the girlfriend not you."
Soda was silent for a moment, and when he spoke his voice was casual, almost too casual. "I don't want a girlfriend thanks Pony. I've been through that all with Sandy and I don't want to go through it all again!"
"Soda!" I said. "You'll find someone better than Sandy!"
"Yeah, well maybe one day." Soda said. I knew that the incident with Sandy had hurt him a lot, but I still didn't think it hurt this much. "Anyway Pony, I hate to be rude, but I've got to go."
"Right, the time difference thing." I replied. "Well don't forget to say hey to Darry for me. And Two-Bit also."
"I'll tell them. Look after yourself up there Pony and work hard." Soda said and then he hung up and I sighed and hung up my phone too. I glanced over at the desk and my books sitting where I'd left them before.
"Right essay, this time you're going to be written like it or not." I said out loud, and then I sat in the chair and picked up my pen to write.