Baby John was full of regret and victory. He sat, hidden in Doc's Candy Store, gaping at his hands. He curled them into fists, then slowly uncurled them. He could hardly believe that he, the shyest Jet, gave the leader of the Sharks a black eye. Of course, Baby John knew that his fellow gang members were proud of him. But he wasn't proud of himself. He could hear a melodic giggling, and knew the girls had probably snuck some rum into their colas. Riff was oddly quiet, leaning casually against the cash register, flipping a cigarette back and forth between his fingers. Ice was always quiet around Velma...he was her boyfriend, yet he still felt nervous around her. Velma was incredibly wealthy, yet insisted to her dad that she wanted to live in West Side NYC instead of in Brooklyn or Times Square. She was laughing like a parrot, her arm slung around Ice's waist. Graziella, however, looked bored. Then she turned and whispered something in Riff's ear. His face brightened a tad, and he nodded at whatever she had said. Then, the two of them snuck out downstairs without any of the Jets noticing. All except for Baby John. He looked at his scuffed shoes and sighed. He wanted a girlfriend, too.
Tony came trotting upstairs, his hair ruffled and his skin sweaty.
"Another hard day at
work, buddy boy?" Ice asked, motioning to his empty glass. Tony
gave him an exhausted grin, and said as he refilled the glass: "At
least I earn a living...legally."
The boys had no
remark to that. Because they knew it was true.
"Come on, round out. It's closing time."
Action tossed the last
dart at the dartboard, and glared at Tony. "Why do you insist
we go home? I can see Doc sayin' this, but not you!"
Tony
rolled his eyes. "You say this every night, Action." he
jerked his head to the door. "Scat. All of youse."
Velma
kept her arm around Ice's waist, and they left first, then Snowboy,
Action, Anybodys (who had clearly been hiding the whole time), and
the rest of the Jets. Once they were outside, Ice looked around, then
quipped, "Where's Riff?"
Baby John rushed back inside. Tony glared at him. "What'd I just tell y'all, Baby John?" he asked.
Baby John ignored him, and ran downstairs. Then he wished that he had minded his own beesewax.
There was Riff, leaning against a wall, his track jacket slipping down his arms. His stubby curls were misplaced and unruly. And, leaning smack-dab right against him, was Graziella. Her red locks looked a bit more tangled then they normally did, and one foot was raised slightly in the air. She giggled every time their lips parted.
Baby John cleared his throat. Graziella sprung back from Riff's body, and Riff looked at Baby John in embarassment. Graziella cocked one hip in the air and put her hand on it, scowling at Baby John. She reached for Riff, and snatched the collar of his jacket and led him upstairs. Riff turned to Baby John and stuck out his tongue.
"And they called ME the baby." Baby John muttered under his breath.