Okay, here you go. Chapter7, finally.
Sammy's POV
When I woke up the next morning, I was so happy. I went over the events of last night and got butterflies in my stomach when I remembered Dally's kiss. I got up and got ready for work, humming one of my favorite songs ever. I put on a skirt and blouse, then ran down stairs for breakfast. Soda was cooking breakfast, and I went over to check on it. He always puts a lot of sugar in his food.
"What are ya makin'?" I asked. He motioned to the eggs he was cooking and I nodded. I think he was still half asleep.
"Where were you last night?" He said all of a sudden and I realized that's why he had been so quiet.
"Oh, I got the letter from the hospital and Dally and I went to the lot so I could read it." I said and he looked at me with raised eyebrows.
"All night?" I grinned.
"Well, we stayed out and looked at the stars," I told him. "I love to do that, and I think I hooked Dally. But I was in by nine!"
"I see," he said. I took a long look at him.
"Soda, you okay?" I asked and he nodded.
"Yea, I'm fine." He said. He glanced down at me. "I'm real tired. That's all."
"Okay," I replied, concerned. Darry and Pony came down the stairs next.
"Mornin'," Darry said and nodded to us. Pony did the same and then looked at me.
"Did the hospital have a letter?" All three boys seemed to brace themselves.
"Yes," I said.
"Can we read it?" Pony replied. I handed it over, and all three of them leaned over it. They read it silently, laughing every once and a while, at different times. Pony finished first and when he looked up, he had a mixed look on his face.
"Wow," he said. I smiled a little bit. Soda looked up with almost the same expression.
"Sammydoll?" Darry asked, almost laughing.
"Yea, that's what he called me," I told them. "It's great knowing he was thinking about me, ya know?"
"Yea," they all replied. "Hey, y'all wanna head down to the diner tonight and grab a bite to eat?" Soda asked.
"Sure," Pony and I said. Darry groaned.
"I'm working tonight," He said. I could se e that Pony and Sodapop were disappointed and angry.
"Do you have to work all the time?" Pony said. Darry turned to glare at him.
"If you want this family to stay alive, yes!" He snapped and Pony looked away, hurt. "I'm sorry, Pony, but it has to be this way."
"I know," Pony replied. "I'm sorry, Darry." They exchanged small smiles and I had an idea.
"Hey, we should invite Two-Bit and Dally," I suggested and Soda shrugged.
"Sure," He said. "We could ask Steve too." I nodded and glanced at the clock.
"I have to go," I said, "But I'll see y'all this afternoon, okay?"
"All right," they told me and Pony and I walked out the door. We often walk together because Pony goes to school where I work.
"So," Pony said and looked at me with a grin. "Dally, huh?"
"What?" I asked, confused.
"C'mon, Sammy. Everyone can tell you like him!" I smiled wryly and laughed.
"Oh, Pony. You are hopelessly naive sometimes." I didn't really know what I meant, but it made Pony shut up, and that's what I was aiming for.
When we got to the highschool, I said bye to Pony and walked through the door. One my way to the principle's office, I ran into a group of Socs. I knew their names well enough, one was Dan, another was Ricky, but I also knew better then to stop and pay attention to them.
"Hey, hey!" Ricky called out and I stopped in my tracks. "If it isn't the principal's little secretary."
"I heard she wasn't old enough to have a full time job and could get in trouble for child labor." This was from a thickheaded blond named Jackson. I should have known he was too dumb to think of a good insult.
"Well, well, well," Dan said mockingly. "We'd better not put our little toes out of line or she could tell Principal Johnson."
"Oooh," They all pretended to look scared and I rolled my eyes. I turned around and started walking, when one came up behind me and snaked his arm around my waist.
"Don't touch me," I said and threw his hand down. He grinned and I started to pick up my pace. He followed me and I finally whipped around. "Leave me alone!"
"Who's gonna make me, sweetie?" He grabbed me again and I slapped him across his face.
"I'll call the Shepard gang if you don't get lost," I warned and walked away. I was shaking something awful. They had scared me to death, but I knew that I hadn't seen it all. After this, those boys were gonna want my skin.
Later that afternoon, the phone rang. I was in the middle of taking a swig from my Pepsi, so I swallowed it as fast as I could, causing a burning feeling to occur. I picked up the phone.
"Hello, Principal Johnson's office," I said professionally.
"Sammy?" It was Dally. I could feel my heartbeat increase to a thousand miles a minute. I loved his voice, so low and rough. Okay, I sound obsessed, don't I?
"Hey!" He had sounded tired, but happy. "Do you need something?"
"Naw, I was just calling to find out how you were, 'cause I heard some Socs cussin' you out today during lunch," he sounded a bit worried and I groaned. "What happened?"
"Oh, I just had a small . . . Argument with a group of them this morning. I'm fine, though."
"Alright."
"Hey, wanna come to dinner with us this afternoon?" I asked, and he told me he'd be there. We hung up, and I was left with a very happy feeling.
Dally's POV
When Sammy, Soda, Pony, Two-Bit, Steve and I met up at the diner, I wasn't sure what to expect. I mean, I never eat at diners. Never. But I figured it could be fun. We walked in and found a booth. The place wasn't real busy, but all the waitresses were huddled in a corner talking amongst themselves.
"Listen, I have to go to the bathroom," Sammy said. "When the waitress comes over, just tell her I want a salad, okay?"
"You got it, health-nut!" Two-Bit said with a raised eyebrow. She just laughed and left.
I looked over at the waitresses again. It seemed they were arguing about something; what it was I couldn't tell you. Then one girl came out from out back and rolled her eyes. She was cute, I guess, but she seemed really ticked off. I wondered what was going on.
Elysium's POV
When I walked out of the backroom, I hadn't expected to see my fellow waitresses fighting over who was going to wait on a certain table, but that is what met my eyes when I came back from my break.
"What is going on here?" I said harshly and they all turned to face me. "Why aren't you all working? Why is that table not being covered?"
"Well, Dallas Winston is at that table, Al!" Marris wined. "He's really rude and we're all scared of him!"
"What kind of waitresses are you?" I asked, appalled. "Really, being scared of a young man. You should be ashamed of yourselves! So who's gonna do the table?" The girls all looked at me silently and I sighed. "Fine then. I'll do it myself. But I'll be talking to the boss about this!" I grabbed my apron and order book and headed toward the table. It didn't look to bad to me.
When I got there, I took a good look at everyone. There was a young boy, a comical looking guy with ugly sideburns, a tough lookin' kind with a grim smirk and a dude I recognized from the gas station. Then my eyes stopped on the last person. He was very, very good looking, with silky hair and a great smile. For a moment I couldn't do anything but stare. Then I remembered what I was doing.
"Hello, I'm Al and I'll be your waitress tonight," I said and the boys looked up at me. "Can I get you anything to drink to start off with?"
"We'll all have Cokes," the handsome boy spoke up. I wrote it down on the pad.
"Are you ready to order or shall I give you a few more minutes?" I asked and the tough guy spoke up.
"Hey, I have a question here." He said and I could tell it was the infamous Dallas Winston. "You said your name is Al?"
"Yes, I did." I replied and he snorted.
"Al's a guy name, Sugar," He said and I sighed.
"It's actually short for Elysium, but most people can't pronounce that," I told him and he laughed wryly again.
"And I thought Sodapop was the weirdest name I'd ever hear!" He said, and I felt my temper ignite.
"It means Paradise," I said witheringly. "It was the place that the Greek gods and goddesses went when they died."
"Oh, so are you paradise?" He asked, giving me a grin and I turned to walk away, disgusted. I felt something at my back pocket and whipped around. Dallas had my tip money, the money that I kept tucked into my back pocket, twirling through his fingers. I grabbed it away from him and considered slapping him. But I decided not to and carried on. As I was walking back to the kitchen, I saw a girl come out of nowhere and smack Dallas upside the head.
"I saw that!" She said and he rubbed the place where she had hit him. "Stop harassing the waitress!"
"Hey, she started it!" He pleaded and she rolled her eyes.
"Oh, she did not, you immature little bug," the girl said back and he looked like he wanted to sock her. She merely sat down next to him and motioned me over. "Hey, listen, I'm sorry about him. His physical therapist says it's bottled up anger."
I laughed and shook my head. I could tell she was joking. I looked over at Dallas, who was glaring at her.
"You are a freaking weird person, Sammy," he said and she smiled.
"Thank you. Now, I'll have a salad and a raspberry iced tea." She told me. I took everyone else's orders and brought them back to the cook. The other waitresses surrounded me.
"I don't know what you were so worried about, girls," I simpered. "Dallas is no worse than I can handle." I looked back at the cute boy, and with a jolt I realized who it was. I turned to Marianne.
"Hey, that's Sodapop Curtis, isn't it?" I asked and she nodded. He worked with that other kid, Steve what's-his-name at the DX station. I had never realized how fine he was. Hmm.
Sorry it took so long. I just moved so the computer was down for a while. thanls to everyone who reveiwed... you guys keep my smiling, and in some cases, laughing so hard i can't breathe. keep R/R and i'll keep writing. until then, enjoy.