Chapter Seven:

Disclaimer: S.E. Hinton owns the outsiders. I only own the plot, the people Darry meets at college (A.J., Lucky, random students, the professors, the principal, you know) and soon, if I am lucky, I will own a pair of green high-top Converses.

The new professor stepped into the room. "Good afternoon, class," she said. "I am Professor Hart." Darry put his elbows on his desk and rested his chin in his hand. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

He wondered subconsciously he was drooling. He jerked out of his state as she began the lesson. There goes my Calculus grade, Darry thought happily. And I don't even care. Is this what Soda felt like when he loved Sandy?

He stared at her throughout the entire lesson, not hearing a single word she said. He was too busy watching the way her brown hair curled just right, the way her celery-colored eyes sparkled when she was explaining an equation…

Someone was nudging him. "Eh?" he asked stupidly. It was Lucky. "Hey, moron, the lesson's over." It was true. All around, students were packing up and leaving.

Outside the classroom, Lucky nudged Darry again. "Ooh, looks like our old man's got a crush," he teased. Darry nodded happily, and was surprised when Lucky bopped him on the back of his head.

"Ow, what was that for?" Darry demanded, glaring at Lucky. Lucky took a step back, apparently not wanting to provoke Darry, but went on anyway. "Man, are you nuts? You must be! A teacher, Darry?"

Darry looked at his feet. "I didn't ask to fall in love with a teacher. It just happened. And boy, does it feel nice…" he added dreamily. Lucky bonked him again, putting him out of his dreamy state.

"Darry, you're crazy! You're hearing wedding bells that'll turn into your funeral bells if you don't snap out of it," exclaimed A.J.

Darry shrugged, not caring. He practically skipped to his next class.

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Watching Darry bounce off, Lucky and A.J. exchanged glances. "He's in over his head," groaned A.J. Lucky nodded in agreement. "It was nice knowing him," he said sympathetically.

They walked to their next class, which they also shared. "Love does weird things to people," A.J. remarked quietly, avoiding making eye contact with Lucky.

Lucky shrugged. He winked to a passing Mini as she flounced past. A.J. sighed to herself. He's never going to love me back. And can that slut's skirt get any shorter?

Jay gave Lucky a dirty look and shoved him, hard. Lucky fell against A.J., who fell over. Being short had major disadvantages. "Watch it!" she yelled at Jay. She picked herself up off the ground. Grousing to herself, she ran to catch up with Skate and Pepsi.

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Later, in his dorm, Darry was sitting on his bed, staring at his Calculus homework. He didn't understand a word of it. "Lucky? Do you get this? I don't," he said, turning to Lucky, who was pulling on his jacket.

"Ask me later," he said. "I've got a date." Darry shrugged. "Okay," he said, slightly annoyed. He would have to start paying attention in class, no matter how hard it would be.

The phone rang. Darry jumped. He hadn't noticed that there before. Probably because it was buried under Lucky's socks. He picked it up carefully, trying to avoid the socks as much as possible. "Hello?" he said curiously.

"Hey, Darry." It was A.J. "Listen, some of us are going to the movies in town. Do you and Lucky want to come?"

"Lucky isn't here," he said. "Well then, you come," said A.J., sounding kind of impatient. "Meet us at the cafeteria in ten minutes. If you're not there, we're leaving." She hung up.

Darry grabbed his jacket and key and hurried to the cafeteria. A.J. was there, along with some kids she introduced as Skate, Pepsi, Speed, Strawberry, Andy, and Oak. Darry recognized some of them, but only from class.

They all piled into Speed's car uncomfortably and took off. As soon as Speed hit the gas, Darry was thrown back against his seat. That's probably why they call him Speed, he thought.

His eyes widened as the needle rose rapidly from eighty to ninety to a hundred, pushing a hundred five miles per hour. It was all he could do not to panic, but the others seemed to find this perfectly normal.

He was thrown forward when Speed hit the brakes, hard. He spotted Lucky in the distance with Mini. A.J. apparently had seen them too. Her jaw clenched and she turned the other way.

They bought tickets for a Bugs Bunny movie and found seats. It wasn't Darry's first choice of a movie, but he didn't care, so long as he had some friends.

When the movie started, Darry wondered if they had only agreed on the movie because they were practically the only people in the theater. There were a few other kids, goofing off in their seats.

Darry and A.J. tried to watch the movie and ignore Speed, who was running around laughing like a maniac, Pepsi, who was gulping down can after can of the sweet soda, and Strawberry and Oak, who were making out.

Ponyboy would get along just fine with Pepsi, Darry thought, recalling Ponyboy's addiction to that particular beverage. A.J. offered Darry some popcorn. Besides himself, Darry thought that she was the only sane person there.

As the movie progressed, Darry began to suspect that Speed was on speed. Skate tried to make out with A.J., but she dumped her popcorn over his head. College kids today are certainly…interesting, Darry thought as Andy staggered around, acting like he was drunk.

"Hey, hey, A.J.!" shouted a redheaded girl from three rows down. "What?" A.J. shouted back. "Have you seen Root Beer?"

A.J. shrugged. "I think he got thrown out of the theater," she called back. "Why?" asked the redhead. "I think he asked the guy at the concession stand for root beer without the root!" A.J. hollered, laughing. Even Darry cracked a grin at that.

Finally the movie ended, and they sped back to the dorms. "See ya!" and "'Night!" could be heard from everybody as they traipsed off to their rooms.

Darry found Lucky hopping up and down in front of their room. "What are you doing?" Darry demanded. "I forgot my key," Lucky said, embarrassed. He stopped hopping. "I was waiting for you."

Darry sighed and opened the room. "Well, goodnight," Darry said sleepily, flopping on his bed and falling asleep almost immediately. It had been a long night, and Darry dreamed happily.

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