Truth be Told

Chapter 1

Evie sat on the bench slowly tying her gym shoes. God how she hated gym. I'm so ready for school to be over she thought. Just a few more weeks. Then graduation. Then marry Steve. Okay maybe first she needed to finish convincing Steve they should get married. It wasn't that he was opposed to it. Evie just knew left to his own devices, Steven James Randall would take forever to get around to asking her.

And he really didn't have anymore good excuses. He had graduated almost a year ago. Just in time to go into business with Soda. Boy was the timing on that good. Soda's kid brother Pony had written that composition about everything that happened to him and Johnny. He did such a good job at it, Evie bawled after reading it. Of course the fact that she knew Pony and everything he and his brothers had been through, not to mention the fact that Johnny was such a sweetheart didn't help. And not forgetting Dally, who was, well Dally was Dally. All of it was enough to just about break her heart.

But something good came out of it. Pony's ninth grade English teacher liked it so much, he sent it out and got it published for Ponyboy. There has even been talk about making it into a movie. Whether that happens or not they still had to see, but the fact of the matter was, Pony got paid for that story. And that helped things out a lot at the Curtis house. The book company even gave him a contract for him to write some more. Evie had never seen Darrel Curtis look so proud of anybody as he was they day they got the letter telling them about Ponyboy.

Even Steve was happy for him, and Steve never used to like him. It wasn't his fault though. Soda always took Pony with them. And back then he was still a kid. But he'd grown up. That was proven when he gave Soda the money. As a matter of fact, it was Pony's idea for Steve and Soda to go into business together. Maybe that was one of the reasons she liked him. If Steve was still only working part time, he'd never marry her. Now he was not only fully employed, but he owned his own business.

Steve and Soda were always saying how old man Driscole could have made that place so much better. How if he just fixed a few things, or offered a few more things, then he'd make more money. How if they owned it, it would be different. And they were right.

They had always considered it just talk. Something that would never actually happen. But then Steve graduated high school and when he did, his aunt came to see it. It turned out his grandmother who had died when he was fifteen had an insurance policy. One that left money to all four of her grandkids. Steve, his little sister and his two cousins. The only people that knew about it until then were his mom and her sister. They never told any of the kids, because they didn't want them to have it till they were at least out of high school. And in Steve's case, his mom worried his dad would try and steal it from him, which was exactly what would have happened.

So there they were, after graduation, hanging around celebrating at the Curtis house. It was a double celebration because Pony had just gotten the advance check from the book company the day before. But the last person Evie had expected to see walk through the Curtis' front door was Mrs. Randall and her sister. They came down and in front of everyone, told Steve about the money. Evie had been excited right away. To her that meant they could get married in a year, the day after she graduated. And Steve had immediately started talking about a new car. But his Aunt sort of burst that bubble.

She informed them all that she had control of the money. Yes, the money was for him, but she had to give it him, and she wasn't going to let him just throw it away and on cars ands stereos and things like that. It was for his future she told him.

That was when Ponyboy said it. All of a sudden he blurted it out. "You guys should buy the DX!" Everybody laughed at that, but the kid was serious. Then he started pointing out how they were always talking about how much better they could do it and the changes and improvements old man Driscole was too cheap to make. He even reminded them that old man Driscole, ever since his heart attack had been talking about wanting to sell the place. But like everything else, he just never got around to it. "You guys could do it. You could make that place really work. Really make money." Ponyboy said with so much sincerity even Steve realized Pony believed in him as well as Soda.

"Well Pone, that's a good idea, but it would take more money than this to buy the DX." Steve told him, so politely Evie almost couldn't believe it. Steve never said anything that politely to anyone. Especially Ponyboy.

"I know that. That's why you'd have to do it together. You and Soda." He told him. At that point everyone was listening intently as Soda laughed.

"Except for one problem kiddo, I don't have any money!" He laughed again.

"Yes you do!" Ponyboy told him as Darry's head shot up. "You take my book check and buy the DX with Steve!"

"No way!" Soda told him. "That's your college money."

"Yeah Pony, it's a really nice idea, but you need it for college." Steve told him.

"No I don't."

"WHAT?" Darry yelled at him so loud Evie jumped.

"Relax, that's not what I mean. I mean I don't need this money right here. I've got three years before I go to college. Use the money now, and you'll have time to make it back!"

"No way!" Soda told him shaking his head. The three of them had all but forgotten everyone else was in the room.

"Darry I've already got some money." He reminded him referring to the scholarship the Windrixville Elementary school parents had created for him after finding out about the Curtis brothers after Dally and Johnny died saving their kids.

"But Pony…" Soda said.

"No! Listen to me! For once everybody's gonna listen to me!" He shouted and at that everyone, including Two-Bit did. "It's your one chance to do something! And have something that's yours! You and Steve can do this! And do it right! And make some money! It's your chance Soda. I'll go to college in three years. I'll get my chance then. This is yours. You have to do it. You have to."

No one knew what to say. Evie just remembered standing there between Steve and his aunt, totally surprised at Pony. But nothing prepared her for what came next.

"He's right. You have to do. You need to do it. It's your chance." Darry told him to everyone's surprise.

And that was it. Next thing she knew, her boyfriend and his best friend were buying the DX. It was rocky at first. It took a lot of work to get it to where they wanted it. Work beyond just the everyday stuff. And the books were a problem in the beginning too, but that had actually turned out pretty well thanks to Steve's aunt.

She and his uncle were both accountants. That's why she was in charge of his grandmother's money. She helped Steve and Soda figure out how to do the books. But mainly she taught Evie to do it. Taught her enough over that summer that she took an accounting class this year in school. Took it and liked it. Liked it enough that she was thinking that if Steve was gonna make her wait to marry her, maybe she should go to community college and take more accounting classes. She did like math. And she was doing the books for them most of the time. And that was just one step closer to making her Mrs. Steven Randall. If he wouldn't marry her, then he'd at least have to hire her full time.

She heard her gym teacher yelling into the locker for them all to hurry up. Evie let out a long sigh. God how she really hated gym! She started tying her other shoe as she listened to the girls one row over going gaga over a picture of some guy. Evie never remembered be that pathetic over guys ever. Even over Steve. They sounded like idiots.

"Oh he is such a cutie!" She heard the one say.

"And look at all that hair!" The other one exclaimed.

That was just pathetic Evie thought. God grow up.

"Oh he is just adorable." Another one said. "How old is he?"

"I know, he is just the cuties thing! He's nine months in this picture."

Nine months old? Opps! Evie laughed to herself. Okay, gaga over baby pictures was a little different than gaga over some guy. Babies were different.

"She just sent it to me with a letter the other day. She must have just got it taken."

Evie realized that was Susie talking. Somebody she knows must have had a baby.

"So how is she doing?"

"Okay." Susie answered. "She still misses Tulsa. I don't know why. Florida has got to be better than Tulsa."

Florida? Evie listened.

"Is she ever coming back?"

"I don't know. He parents have gone to visit her there, but they won't let her come back here to stay with them, which I think is total crap!"

"Does she like it down there?"

"Not really. She says between the baby and her grandparents, she's got no life. She's lonely I think."

"Ladies will you all be joining us in class today?" Their gym teacher yelled into the locker room.

"Yes ma'am, we're coming." One of the girls called back. "Come on you guys. Susie be sure to tell Sandy I said hi when you talk to her. And tell her that baby of her's is adorable."

And then they walked out. Evie just sat there. She didn't know what to do. Susie had been a really good friend of Soda's old girlfriend Sandy. And Sandy had broke his heart big time. Steve says he was still in love with her.

Sandy and Evie weren't close friends or anything. Their boyfriends were best friends, therefore putting them together a lot. So maybe you could call them friends sort of. When Steve told her that Sandy said the baby wasn't Soda's she was really mad at her for doing that to a guy as sweet as Soda. But later after everything had settled down she remembered thinking how strange that was. Even though she didn't know Sandy well, that just never seemed right to her. Never really sounded like Sandy.

Evie didn't know what it was, but suddenly, she wanted to see that picture. She needed too. She sat there for a minute listening. The only sound she heard was water dripping from a faucet. Quietly she got up and walked one row over.

True, she was a greaser. And true, she had done her fair share of "greaser-type" things in the past. But Evie felt she was getting too old to be running around like a little hoodette. Susie wasn't a greaser. She wasn't a soc either. She was one of those in betweens. So was Sandy. That was the problem with Sandy's parents and Soda. He was a greaser and therefore not good enough for her.

She heard the water dripping from the faucet. Drip. Drip. Drip. If she got caught they'd think she was trying to steal Susie's purse. She'd get screwed and it could effect her graduation. But she had to see that picture. Drip. Drip. Drip.

She opened the locker door and recognized Susie's purse she had seen hanging off the back of the chair ahead of her in history this morning. Quickly she reached in and found the envelope. She pulled out the picture, the back facing her. "Lucas - 9 months" was written on the back. As she flipped it over she gasp as she heard the locker room door open. Hastily she shoved the picture in her back pocket as she closed Susie's gym locker door and rushed out.

"Planning on joining us today Miss Ellison?" Her gym teacher asked.

"Uh, yes ma'am." Evie uttered as she hurried into the gym.