Title- Trying to Adjust

Chapter Title- Dirty Work

Chapter Number- 17

Disclaimer- I do not own The Outsiders.

Reviewers-

XAmberX- Of course it's awesome. I'm an awesome person

QTpie4- Nobody likes her…

Eternal Dragon101- She might get nicer; when she wants something.

Hahukum Konn- Yes, Caroline is a bad girl. Here's an update.

Note- Um yeah… tried not to make you wait, some important stuff on the bottom about updating though.

"Did you ever see that guy drink?" Caroline asked me. I shrugged. "Tonight, you need to go and see if he has any beer," she ordered. I nodded. She smiled and rubbed my head, making my hair all messy. "I could become used to you, kid," she said finally. I combed my hair with my fingers. I still didn't like her, I wouldn't. And it didn't matter what she said. That's a fact.

That night, I did as I had been asked to do. I didn't want to get hurt by the tooth fairy. I went into the kitchen and found some beer. I told Caroline they had some and she asked me to get her some. I pulled a bottle away from the others and brought it back to her room. She smiled and said she would tell the tooth fairy I was good. I left the room and went to sleep, but first I made sure my tooth was safely tucked underneath my pillow.

When I woke up, there was a quarter underneath my pillow. It was shiny. That was better than all of my friends. They got dimes, but I got a whole quarter. I ran into the kitchen to see Terry and show her. She smiled and gave me a hug. I went back to my room to hide it and when I was coming out, Caroline grabbed my arm.

"Listen, I got the tooth fairy to give you a quarter. Now, you must do something else for me or she'll steal it from you. I need to go out, distract Terry while I leave. I don't want questions asked." She let go of my arm and I nodded. I didn't want my quarter stolen. I rubbed my arm where she squeezed and walked into the kitchen.

"So, Terry, what are we doing today?" I asked her. I was facing the door, while Terry's back was to it. I watched as Caroline pulled the keys off the hook and went back to her room. A few seconds later, I saw her outside. I figured she climbed out the window. Two-Bit used to do that. That was before he found out mom knew where he was going. I hoped Caroline wasn't going to bars as well.

"I don't know, what do you want to do?" She asked, looking at me. I shrugged.

"Stay ho- here," I answered. I didn't want to call this place home. At least, not yet; I still had time before they decided what to do with me. She nodded and I went to play in the yard. I figured I would see Caroline coming down the street in the car and I would be able to distract Terry. I was able to successfully distract Terry when Caroline came home. Caroline thanked me and gave me a dime.

The next morning I had to get dressed in the uniform I had for school. I didn't like the way it felt, but Terry said it was required. I grabbed my backpack and Terry drove Caroline and I to the school. Caroline met up with a bunch of her friends and pulled something out of her backpack. I couldn't tell what it was; I didn't ask.

Caroline shooed me away so I walked and looked for room 101. I found it and sat in a seat in the back. I hated the front, I don't know why.

The teacher called me from to the front when class began. I received a few looks and somebody yelled 'greaser' out. I turned red and tried hard not to cry. I was successful. This never happened in my old school.

At the end of the day I met Terry outside. We waited in the car for Caroline and when she came she handed Terry a few slips of paper. Terry frowned and sighed; Caroline said nothing. I wanted to know what was going on but I wasn't going to ask.

Back at the house, I sat at the kitchen table and started to do my homework. Terry placed a glass of milk and a brownie in front of me. I smiled and thanked her, but continued to do my homework. After I was done, I headed back to my room. I was almost in there, free from Caroline when I heard her call my name.

"I need you to distract the lady again," she ordered. "I'll give you a dime." A dime was a lot of money so I nodded.

"Hey, Terry," I called, walking into the kitchen. "Where's the nearest park?" I asked. She smiled.

"Would you like to go to the park?" she asked. I nodded. "It's within walking distance. Go get your coat and I'll take you there for a half hour." I grabbed my coat and waved 'bye' to Caroline. She grinned and nodded.

I wanted to get this update in quickly. I hate to make you wait and right now I just can't write anymore. My family is in this big fight and my mom's in tears and screaming, my dad's yelling at her and my brother and my brother's being a wise ass. I can't write under these conditions and things have been going on that I can't deal with. This story will be longer than I expected because the chapters will be shorter. I want to get this finished incase things get so bad and I need to go to the extreme.

Anyway- drop me a review and make me smile. (And that sounded so emo.)