Chapter Eighteen

The next few days I went out looking for a job, and decided to take my chances on a public kindergarten located on the West Side, since the I had no special abilities but taking care of children and teaching them. I actually got lucky, they needed a teacher and I had a fine resume.

A place in the Choir was easy to get, too. Of course it wouldn't be so easy if Ms. Collins hadn't given me that recommendation letter. Concerning the ballet stuff, I knew I had to take a test and they would only admit me if I showed them some very good work, so I went there, scheduled an audition and left.

School was the worst part. My legal responsible had to sign some papers. But who was this person, my legal responsible? Apparently I hadn't any, at least until they catch me. Dad's signature wasn't so hard to mimic, so I did it. Now my hands were dirty, but what the fuck, it was just a piece of paper and I was just a kid eager to complete school.

When I got home, Pony was reading and Darry watched a movie. I told them about my adventures of that day and Darry offered himself to go with me to the ballet audition, just to cross his fingers. Everything seemed ok then, but after dinner Darry started scolding Pony, I guess the kid hasn't finished his homework. Soda got home in that very moment and it sucked, after all he was the guy in the middle and I knew perfectly well how miserable he could get when his brothers argued.

I didn't want to stay there, not only because of the fight, but because of Soda's presence too. So I went for a walk, then realized I would kill for a slice of cheesecake. I stopped at the first diner I found, sat at the counter and ordered a huge piece of cheesecake with an indecent quantity of strawberry topping on it. My mood instantly got better.

Then I saw a familiar face sliding the diner door. It was the last person I wanted to meet, Dallas Winston in his own flesh and blood. And who was that guy behind him? You could barely notice, but Dallas was not alone, he had a short guy with black hair and cinnamon-tanned skin in his company.

I had to fight the urge to run to him, give him a big hug and scream "Johnnycake, how good it is to see ya!", cause I really wanted to stay far from Dallas, at least at that moment. But Dallas Winston wouldn't be Dallas Winston if he was at the same room that any girl and didn't try to get her or at least to bother her. In a minute he was seated next to me and started to mess with my hair.

"Fine hair you got here... I've always preferred the brunettes..." he said, while I sat there quietly. All Johnny could do was look and shake his head slowly.

When he started to touch my neck, I couldn't stand it.

"Fuck off" I said, grabbing his hand.

He lifted and eyebrow and gave me a dangerous grin:

"I think, broad, that you don't know who I am... and what I am capable of..."

"I know who you are" I yelled "and I know you much more than I wanted to!"

I felt Johnny looking at me as if he was trying to remember where he had seen me before.

"Sure you do know me." Dallas said, stuffing his chest. "Everybody knows me. But if you knew me, I mean, if you knew me for real, you'd know that I like to be respected. See?"

"I pretty much know why everybody respects you so much! Cause everybody is so afraid of you they shit their pants! That's why!"

Dallas' face was starting to look red. Boy, that was dangerous. At this point Johnny decided to say something:

"Wait! There's only one person in this world who'd say those stuff..."

"Johnny...?" I smiled. "Hey, Johnny!"

Johnnycake gave me a hug and man, you should see Dally's face. Puzzled wouldn't be enough to describe it. I mean, Johnny never even talked to girls and now he was hugging one!

"If you know her, pal" said poor Dallas, who had a question mark printed on his forehead "you'd better introduce me."

"Dal, don't you remember Lil' Susie here?" Johnny said with a grin.

"Well well well" Dallas spoke "I thought she was familiar, anyway. You've grown, huh? And I surely prefer "now" than "then"!"

"Back off, Dallas. I didn't forget how nervous you were minutes ago."

He thought it was better to keep his mouth shut and I started to tell Johnny why I had to come back and about all my stuff. And I couldn't help remembering what Two Bit had told me about Johnny, he really seemed uneasy, even more than before.

We were all trying to survive. By teaching kids, like me; by dreaming, like Pony; by doing nasty stuff, like Dally; by carrying a huge switchblade, like Johnny. We sure had our own ways.