"Okay, guys, we're here." Brian called as he got out of the car.
The family followed his lead and got out, Dallas pushing Carly to get out faster. When everybody was out, the group walked over to the entrance of the prison. The high, white-wash walls would have deterred even the bravest of men on any other day, but with the big Welcome to the McAlester Prison Rodeo sign hanging between the two towers, it gave an appealing feel that seemed to draw everybody inside.
Indeed, already tons of people were walking through the gate and into the prison itself. The Mathews and Dallas trekked up to the entrance and showed their tickets, went through a security check, and then were admitted into the grandstands surrounding the arena.
Dallas gazed at everything, his senses taking it all in. After a whole week in a strange environment, with a strange family, the scene around him was intoxicating. Finally he was again in his element. He took a deep breath, absorbing even the air as inwardly some muscles relaxed after having been tensed from the moment he had robbed the store.
"Momma, I gotta go the restroom," Carly pleaded, tugging at her mother's hand.
Lisa sighed. "Well, it's better to go before than in the middle. Come on." She took Carly's hand as they threaded their way through the throng. After having only gone a few steps she turned and asked, "Anybody else need to go?"
Lori nodded and joined the girls.
"Females," Jason sighed in mock exasperation. When Brian also moved to join them, he added with a shake of his head, "And fathers."
The quartet of three girls and one man wandered off in search of the restrooms, leaving Jason and Dallas stranded in the middle of the crowd. Jason turned to Dallas.
"Well, we better go find some seats. All the good ones will be taken pretty fast." Dallas nodded and followed Mathews as he walked down to the bottom seats.
There was a crowd and they couldn't find seats at the bottom so they started working their way back up. As they climbed the steps, Dal heard a familiar voice off to the side. Turning around, he recognized Cliff encircled by his gang and several other boys.
Dal wanted to talk with Cliff; no matter what Darry said, he still needed to at least be on speaking terms with some potential allies. But he couldn't do it with Jason around. Jason was always there to louse everything up.
"Here we are," Jason said as he turned into the aisle of the sixth level seats. "Hey, the best seats we've had yet!"
Dallas sat down, but watched Cliff and the gang out of the corner of his eye. If only Jason would leave for one second, this was the perfect opportunity!
"Hey Jace!" The voice sounded right behind Dallas, and Dal's muscles tightened, but thankfully he didn't jump.
"Will, I knew you'd be here," Jason replied as he shook the youth's hand. "Where're your parents?"
"Aww, over there some place." Will pointed, and Dal looked at who he was pointing to. Surprised, he saw Mr. Roberts along with a pretty woman sitting in the seats Will was gesturing to.
"Your dad's Roberts?" he asked Will, who had now sat down in the seat behind Jason.
"Yeah," Will looked puzzled, "Who're- ohh, yeah, my dad told me about you."
There was a quick exchange of looks between him and Dal, but Jason interrupted eagerly. "What've you been doing? I haven't seen you since you left for California last week to see your grandparents."
"Oh, man, you would love it out there. Mind you, there are some strange people, but there are strange people everywhere, so..." Will droned on, and Dallas, seeing how attentive Jason was, realized his chance.
Quietly slipping from his seat, he made his way down to where the hoods were. He neatly and inconspicuously joined the tight circle; once a hood, always a hood. It wasn't until a few minutes later, when Cliff happened to glance in his direction was he even noticed.
"Dallas, when'd you get here?" his voice was friendly enough, but the attitudes of the people surrounding him instantly hardened.
"A few minutes ago," he replied to Cliff, but he kept his attention fixed on the other hoods. Obviously the others knew about his confrontation with the gang.
"Where's your little puppy dog?" Nathan jeered at him. "I thought you would be carrying it around everywhere."
"Lay off Nate," Cliff cut in, "I told you before; Dallas is a hood through and through. And if he's staying with a soc, he's got a good reason for it."
Nathan did lay off, and for several minutes Dallas was ignored as other hoods started talking. Once the other conversations had gotten going, Dallas made eye contact with Cliff and jerked his head. Cliff understood the message, and a minute later both were outside the circle of hoods.
They walked away. Once they were out of hearing distance, Cliff turned to Dallas.
"Why are you hanging out with a soc?"
So Dallas told him. Not every minute detail, just the main facts. He could trust Cliff; they had known each other for several years. But if it turned out he couldn't trust him, well, he knew some information that Cliff wouldn't want leaked to the police.
"You've been living with a soc family for a week?" he exclaimed once Dal had finished his story. "Boy, you're one brave fellow. I couldn't have done it.
"Hey, after the rodeo, we're going to go off and..." Cliff left the sentence hanging; Dallas knew what they were going to do, no sense in broadcasting to the world. "You can come if you want."
Ohh, man. After spending a week with the Mathews, Dallas hadn't had one chance to go off on his own or be with people like him. And now he had the chance to take off with some hoods just like him.
"Yeah, man that'd be-"
"There you are." Lori walked over to the two boys, a smile on her face. "We've been looking for you everywhere."
"I've been right here," Dallas, annoyed, responded.
"Well, come on back then. It's about to start, and we can't save your seat forever." She noticed Cliff just then and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Lori. I don't believe we've been introduced."
"Cliff," he said as he cautiously took her hand. If he hadn't been so mad at Lori, Dallas would have laughed at the expression on Cliff's face.
"Nice to meet you, Cliff," she turned back to Dallas. "You coming?"
"In a second."
Lori nodded and left to join her family. Dal opened his mouth to defend himself, but Cliff interrupted.
"I know, man. You need to keep up this charade. I'll see you later, okay?" Cliff left and walked back to his huddle of friends.
"Look at them go, Lori! Look at them!" Carly was sitting in Lori's lap bouncing up and down. She had her own seat, but the people in front were too tall for her to see past them into the arena.
"I see them."
"Are all these guys prisoners?" Dallas couldn't stop himself from asking.
Lori leaned over and yelled close to Dal's ear to make herself heard above the roar of the crowd. "No, about half of them are professionals. But all the others are. This is the biggest prison rodeo in the United States."
"Lori?" Carly twisted her head around to look at her sister. "I'm thirsty."
"Sweety, I asked you if you wanted anything to drink before we came down here, and you said no."
"Well, I wasn't thirsty then. But I am now. Please?"
Lori heaved a sigh, then picked Carly up and set her on the ground. Brushing past Dallas she walked up the stands to find a concession stand.
Carly was going to sit down in Lori's seat, but Jason quickly exchanged seats and had Carly sit in his. As he was watching the calf-roping, he remarked casually, "Lori said you were talking to some guy named Cliff." He glanced over at Dallas.
"That's right," Dal responded evenly.
"What did you two talk about?" he asked carefully.
"Oh, I wanted to tell him why I was with a soc like you," he stated matter-of-factly. "You know, the accident and my injuries."
"You didn't ask for anything?" Jason wouldn't let it go.
He wants to know if I got a knife. I can tell the truth to him for once. "I didn't ask for anything, and he didn't give me anything."
Lori was back, holding a tray filled with cokes.
"What'd you do, buy out the entire stand just for Carly?" Jason remarked as he moved back into his seat.
"Ha-ha. You keep talking that way, and you won't get your drink." Lori retorted as she passed out the drinks, handing Dallas a Pepsi. Jason leaned down to whisper something in Carly's ear.
Lori sat down, and Carly hopped up. "Not now, I'm getting a little tired. Go try Jason," Lori grunted as she took a sip of her own drink.
Carly jumped down, and instead of turning to Jason, she turned around to jump on Dallas. Dallas, seeing her out of the corner of his eye, stuck out his arm and firmly directed her over to Jason. Carly looked back as she was climbing onto Jason's lap and stuck out her tongue. Dallas merely ignored her.
"Well, how'd you like it Dallas?" Brian asked as they walked out of the prison.
"It was...interesting," Dallas replied. The rodeo had actually been quite enjoyable, but all throughout, a nagging part of his brain couldn't help noticing that this was where he could end up if the cops ever caught up to him.
Brian laughed. "Yeah, this town goes crazy over it every year. And it's fun every time you go."
Dallas distractedly murmured agreement: his attention was focused on the tight group of hoods as they left the prison themselves. They separating, each gang going off in their own directions. Dal watched Cliff as he left with Nathan and the others. Watching them, his mind raced.
The family had reached the car when he finally made up his mind.
"Mr. Mathews, sir, I met some friends from back home while we were there," Dal was careful to call Brian sir. "And I was wondering if I could go spend the rest of the day with them, you know, catching up on old times?"
Jason was getting in the car, but when Dallas asked that question, his head snapped up. He stared at Dallas distrustfully; Dal ignored him.
Brian thought for a moment then answered, "All right, that's fine. Just be careful with those ribs, I don't want them hurt anymore." He gave a pointed glance to Lori, who gave a guilty smile.
Dallas didn't wait for Jason to have a chance to interfere. He muttered thanks, and then hurriedly made his way over to Cliff and the gang. He had been cooped up too long with that family; he needed some action. He needed to go out and do something illegal for a while. He was a hood, after all.
Dallas walked up the doorstep drenched from the pouring rain. He glanced at his watch: 2 a.m. Man, they wouldn't react well to that. He searched around for a key; he didn't want to have to wake them up. Most people had a hidden key somewhere. He checked under the welcome mat; there it was. Amateurs.
He unlocked the door, and quietly entered. He tiptoed through the living room, and past the other bedrooms. Reaching his room, he opened the door and was met with a surprise. Jason was sitting on his bed, a book in his hand. When the door opened, he looked up and his expression hardened.
Getting off the bed, he grabbed Dallas by the arm and dragged him into the dining room. He practically shoved Dallas into a chair then took one himself.
"Now, we are going to sit down and you are going to tell me everything." Jason's voice was a barely controlled whisper.
Dallas straightened up in his chair, watching Jason struggle to control his fury. "Tell you what? I went out with my friends, I didn't get a knife if that's what you're wondering." He kept his voice at a calm, but bewildered level. He had to play it innocent.
"Hooray. That's all I wanted to know." Jason replied sarcastically, but with a definite trace of anger. "I want to know the reason you showed up at our house injured the way you were."
Dal stiffened. He couldn't tell Jason the truth or he'd have the police on him in five seconds, but if he didn't there was a great chance Jason'd call the police anyway. This was just great. Why was Jason asking these questions? He shook his head in anger and stood up, suddenly defensive.
"Why should I tell you? Give me one reason why I would tell you." His voice had risen until it was almost shouting.
Jason stood up, too, his body shaking in anger. His voice didn't rise one bit, only deepened in his fury. In clipped, slow tones he answered Dallas:
"I know you robbed that store."
Hey, less than a week! I'm happy. Next chapter will almost definitely be longer in coming. Sorry.
Robot In Disguise- I'm glad you understand that part now. It was a little confusing. Yes, the hitting was pretty fun. Thanks for saying you liked the development of Jason. I've been trying to make these characters seem real, and I hope the development seemed real enough. Thanks for being the first person to review.
steves-girl- Well, I hope you get your computer soon. But at least you've found a way. =) Glad you liked it!
MissLKid- My sympathies about school. It is very annoying. =) Hope you survive!
Cinderbrat- Thanks for bringing that point up. I hope my explanation satisfied you. A romance between Dally and Lori? Who knows? =}
CiCi- Thanks for the review. I can't say when or even if he's getting home. You don't want me to ruin it for you. I'm glad you liked the chapter!
Oblivious Misconception- Thanks for that review! And thank you for all those compliments! Perfect pace, well I hope so. That's very interesting. You noticed the number of reviews and then decided the story might be worth the time to read. I'm glad you thought it was. =) Beloved reviewers is right! I love each and ever review I get! What a thing to say! The continuation of the original story? I'm speechless!
Jessie13- Thanks for reviewing. Well, I try to keep Dal in character, but it is hard sometimes. He's just such a complicated character.
bitterspirit- Yeah, I liked Carly imitating Dallas with the eyebrow too. Thank you for the compliment about the pace. It means a lot! You scroll down too! That's a relief; I thought maybe I might be the only one! You read other replies to reviews? I do that to on other stories. Lori and Dallas, again, I'm not saying anything. Thanks so much for the review!
Tensleep- I'm so happy you thought that Dallas agreeing to listen to Darry was right. I was worried people might not see it that way. And you like doing those chores, I hope you get plenty more of them! =)
Scarlett7- Thanks for your review! And thanks for all the help you've given me with this story! Hope your cat's finally back to his normal self!
DaNNi BaBezZz- Thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked Dallas giving Two-Bit's name. Yeah, I think he has a soft spot for Carly also. Hope you like the chapter!
Malara- Unsure about everything? That's a good way to put it! Thanks for the review, don't worry I'll definitely write more. I won't let up on this story until it's finished!
Okay, sorry, I have to hurry and go, so reviews might not be as long as normal. And once again, please review! Have an awesome day!