FOUR:
The bar was already packed when we arrived. True to Mandy's word everyone there was dressed neatly like me. A tall guy with dark blonde hair spotted Mandy and waved to her enthusiastically over the top of the crowd.
"Who's that?" I asked her as she waved back.
"His name's Brian, we sit together in history." Mandy explained. "Remember I told you I was working with a partner on an assignment?"
"And that's your partner?" I asked as he made his way over to us.'
"Yep." Mandy said, and then she greeted Brian with a hug.
"You're late, I thought maybe you weren't coming." Brian said to her.
"I told you we'd be here!" Mandy assured him. "We were just having some dramas with clothes."
"Dramas with clothes?" Brian repeated.
"Don't ask!" Mandy said rolling her eyes and laughing.
I frowned. Was it my imagination or was my girlfriend making fun of me?
"And this must be the famous Ponyboy." Brian said turning to me. The way he said my name he managed to convey disdain.
"None other." Mandy said and then she turned to me. "Brian, Pony. Pony, Brian."
Brian held out his hand and I had no choice but to take it and shake it.
"I've heard a lot about you." Brian told me.
"Interesting, since I've heard next to nothing about you." I replied, and I felt Mandy elbow me.
"Pony, look there's Randy, why don't you go over and say hello? I'll be there in a moment." Mandy said.
The last thing I wanted to do was to go over and say hello leaving Mandy there, but what could I say? I nodded, and went over.
"Ponyboy Curtis!" Randy said, shaking my hand jovially. "How is college life treating you?"
"Not bad." I said, glancing over at Mandy out of the corner of my eye. She and Brian were having an animated conversation about something, and she was shaking her head vigorously. "How about you?"
"Yeah, a lot harder than I expected, but that's what you get for picking hard subjects." Randy said. "Mandy was telling me you're majoring in English and creative writing."
I nodded. "That's the plan. Ever since I wrote a rather large essay for English a few years back I've always sort of thought I'd be a writer."
"Well you're good at it you know. We all read your essay on England which was published in the school paper." Randy said.
It had been something of an embarrassment to me when the teacher had decided my essay was so good he thought it should go into the paper so everyone could read it. I'd noticed people around the school reading the paper and then looking up as I walked past. Especially the Socs who mostly had disdainful expressions on their faces. I guessed to them a trip to England wasn't much special! In fact they probably had laughed at my innocent descriptions and wonder!
"Yeah well, cool..." I muttered not sure what to say.
"It's funny though, it was only after I read it that I saw some of the things in England in a different light. I mean to me Stonehenge was just a bunch of rocks, no big deal, but after I read your description of it, and the history I changed my mine. I guess I saw the significance in it perhaps. And that, Pony, is the sign of a good writer!" Randy told me.
"What's the sign of a good writer?" Mandy asked, as she joined us.
"Making people see things differently, making people change their mind." Randy explained to her.
"Oh right." She agreed, and then she turned to me. "Brian thinks you don't like him."
"I don't." I replied.
Mandy looked taken aback. "Why not?" She asked. "You don't even know him, you barely even spoke to him!"
"He seemed to slick." I replied.
"Too slick?" Mandy managed, and then she realised Randy was still there, and shrugged. "Whatever." She said, but I knew the subject wasn't over- it would be brought up later. What a night it had been- Mandy and I were going to argue over two things. When before that we hardly ever even fought!
"So how's the assignment going Mands?" Randy asked.
"Yeah, it's coming along all right." Mandy replied. "We put in quite a bit of work on it the other night, in fact we got so absorbed in it we were working on it until almost three in the morning!"
I raised my eyebrows. This was certainly news to me!
"Well you better get a good mark after putting in that much effort!" Randy said with a grin. "An A for effort?"
"Brian's so smart, I'm sure we'll do well. He knows everything, he makes me feel stupid sometimes he's that smart." Mandy admitted.
By now I'd had more than enough of this talk about Brian, and my girlfriend's strange attitude. "I'm going to get a drink. Want one either of you?" I asked.
"No thanks buddy." Randy said, and Mandy shook her head in response. I shrugged and went over to the bar.
A few beers later the night was over. Mandy, her lips tight with anger, came over to take my arm. "I've told people you've got a headache and that's why you're not socializing."
"Try telling them that they are not my type of people." I replied, not wanting to make her even angrier, but still knowing it had to be said. "Sorry Mandy, as much as I love you we just don't have the same taste in people, in friends."
Mandy sighed. "It seems to me Pony, we don't have the same taste in anything anymore." She said, now sounding more sad than mad.
"What do you mean?" I asked confused.
"Nothing, let's get out of here." Mandy said.
"You want to leave this early?" I asked surprised.
"How can I stay when all I can see is my boyfriend standing by the bar drinking alone and looking completely miserable?" Mandy asked me. "Even Brian's noticed it."
"Did he just?" I asked. "And what did he say?"
"He asked where you all right? I said you weren't feeling too well." Mandy replied, and she pulled me up off the bar stool. "Besides I've seen you ordering at least three beers, and who knows how much more you've had? The last thing I need is you getting drunk and telling people what you really think."
I tried to walk in a perfectly straight line to convince her I was not in the least drunk, but she didn't pay attention to my walking as we walked back towards campus. In fact she didn't say a word until we were nearly back and then she said "Pony, we've really got to talk."
"If it's about my clothes and that stupid argument today-" I began, but she interrupted.
"-That's part of it. But it's not it completely." She said. "There are a few things bothering me, and I've just got to get them off my chest."
"Okay," I said with a sigh. "Shoot."
The bar was already packed when we arrived. True to Mandy's word everyone there was dressed neatly like me. A tall guy with dark blonde hair spotted Mandy and waved to her enthusiastically over the top of the crowd.
"Who's that?" I asked her as she waved back.
"His name's Brian, we sit together in history." Mandy explained. "Remember I told you I was working with a partner on an assignment?"
"And that's your partner?" I asked as he made his way over to us.'
"Yep." Mandy said, and then she greeted Brian with a hug.
"You're late, I thought maybe you weren't coming." Brian said to her.
"I told you we'd be here!" Mandy assured him. "We were just having some dramas with clothes."
"Dramas with clothes?" Brian repeated.
"Don't ask!" Mandy said rolling her eyes and laughing.
I frowned. Was it my imagination or was my girlfriend making fun of me?
"And this must be the famous Ponyboy." Brian said turning to me. The way he said my name he managed to convey disdain.
"None other." Mandy said and then she turned to me. "Brian, Pony. Pony, Brian."
Brian held out his hand and I had no choice but to take it and shake it.
"I've heard a lot about you." Brian told me.
"Interesting, since I've heard next to nothing about you." I replied, and I felt Mandy elbow me.
"Pony, look there's Randy, why don't you go over and say hello? I'll be there in a moment." Mandy said.
The last thing I wanted to do was to go over and say hello leaving Mandy there, but what could I say? I nodded, and went over.
"Ponyboy Curtis!" Randy said, shaking my hand jovially. "How is college life treating you?"
"Not bad." I said, glancing over at Mandy out of the corner of my eye. She and Brian were having an animated conversation about something, and she was shaking her head vigorously. "How about you?"
"Yeah, a lot harder than I expected, but that's what you get for picking hard subjects." Randy said. "Mandy was telling me you're majoring in English and creative writing."
I nodded. "That's the plan. Ever since I wrote a rather large essay for English a few years back I've always sort of thought I'd be a writer."
"Well you're good at it you know. We all read your essay on England which was published in the school paper." Randy said.
It had been something of an embarrassment to me when the teacher had decided my essay was so good he thought it should go into the paper so everyone could read it. I'd noticed people around the school reading the paper and then looking up as I walked past. Especially the Socs who mostly had disdainful expressions on their faces. I guessed to them a trip to England wasn't much special! In fact they probably had laughed at my innocent descriptions and wonder!
"Yeah well, cool..." I muttered not sure what to say.
"It's funny though, it was only after I read it that I saw some of the things in England in a different light. I mean to me Stonehenge was just a bunch of rocks, no big deal, but after I read your description of it, and the history I changed my mine. I guess I saw the significance in it perhaps. And that, Pony, is the sign of a good writer!" Randy told me.
"What's the sign of a good writer?" Mandy asked, as she joined us.
"Making people see things differently, making people change their mind." Randy explained to her.
"Oh right." She agreed, and then she turned to me. "Brian thinks you don't like him."
"I don't." I replied.
Mandy looked taken aback. "Why not?" She asked. "You don't even know him, you barely even spoke to him!"
"He seemed to slick." I replied.
"Too slick?" Mandy managed, and then she realised Randy was still there, and shrugged. "Whatever." She said, but I knew the subject wasn't over- it would be brought up later. What a night it had been- Mandy and I were going to argue over two things. When before that we hardly ever even fought!
"So how's the assignment going Mands?" Randy asked.
"Yeah, it's coming along all right." Mandy replied. "We put in quite a bit of work on it the other night, in fact we got so absorbed in it we were working on it until almost three in the morning!"
I raised my eyebrows. This was certainly news to me!
"Well you better get a good mark after putting in that much effort!" Randy said with a grin. "An A for effort?"
"Brian's so smart, I'm sure we'll do well. He knows everything, he makes me feel stupid sometimes he's that smart." Mandy admitted.
By now I'd had more than enough of this talk about Brian, and my girlfriend's strange attitude. "I'm going to get a drink. Want one either of you?" I asked.
"No thanks buddy." Randy said, and Mandy shook her head in response. I shrugged and went over to the bar.
A few beers later the night was over. Mandy, her lips tight with anger, came over to take my arm. "I've told people you've got a headache and that's why you're not socializing."
"Try telling them that they are not my type of people." I replied, not wanting to make her even angrier, but still knowing it had to be said. "Sorry Mandy, as much as I love you we just don't have the same taste in people, in friends."
Mandy sighed. "It seems to me Pony, we don't have the same taste in anything anymore." She said, now sounding more sad than mad.
"What do you mean?" I asked confused.
"Nothing, let's get out of here." Mandy said.
"You want to leave this early?" I asked surprised.
"How can I stay when all I can see is my boyfriend standing by the bar drinking alone and looking completely miserable?" Mandy asked me. "Even Brian's noticed it."
"Did he just?" I asked. "And what did he say?"
"He asked where you all right? I said you weren't feeling too well." Mandy replied, and she pulled me up off the bar stool. "Besides I've seen you ordering at least three beers, and who knows how much more you've had? The last thing I need is you getting drunk and telling people what you really think."
I tried to walk in a perfectly straight line to convince her I was not in the least drunk, but she didn't pay attention to my walking as we walked back towards campus. In fact she didn't say a word until we were nearly back and then she said "Pony, we've really got to talk."
"If it's about my clothes and that stupid argument today-" I began, but she interrupted.
"-That's part of it. But it's not it completely." She said. "There are a few things bothering me, and I've just got to get them off my chest."
"Okay," I said with a sigh. "Shoot."