"It's 3:00 already," I informed him. "School's over and someone just came home. I should get back to my house."
"Can I see you tonight?" Tim asked her, getting out of bed.
"I'll be at the Curtis' with Dal. Stop by if you want," I replied nonchalantly. Opening the bedroom window, I climbed out so that whoever was home wouldn't see me. Tim and I weren't dating exactly. We slept together sometimes, but most of the time it was only after a line or two of cocaine. Besides that, his girlfriend was one of the toughest greaser chicks around.
"Hey, aren't you forgetting something?" he called to me. I turned back around just in time to catch a bag of white powder Tim had thrown my way. "Bring it to the Curtis'. I'll pick you up and we can come back here and do it." I nodded and, placing the bag in my jacket pocket, headed home.
It was around five o'clock when Dally came home. "Hey," he greeted. I looked up at him and nodded, not speaking. I was still pretty pissed off at him. "You coming to the house tonight?" I nodded again. 'The house' was what everyone called the Curtis residence. It just sounded less informal. "You planning on giving me the silent treatment until we get there?" For the third time in a row, I nodded and then turned my attention back to the television.
Fifteen minutes later Dally came back downstairs. "If you're coming get a move on," he instructed as he blew by me with his car keys in his hand. I grabbed my jacket, cigarettes, and lighter and hoped in the car next to my brother.
The ride there, which should have taken us about five minutes, took less than two minutes. When we got there, surprisingly in one piece, we walked up the front porch. Everyone greeted us normally when we entered, so I assumed that Dally had been here earlier today and let the gang know he was back.
We took our seats, mine on the recliner and his on the couch. I was just getting comfortable when I got hit from behind with a rolled up newspaper. "Don't even think about taking my chair," Darry scolded. I rolled my eyes as I got up, mumbling something about super-man. Taking a seat on the floor, I smiled to Two-Bit who was sitting across from me.
"So," Dally spoke up finally. "What's new around here? How's school going Brooke?" I knew what he was trying to do. He knew that I wasn't going to talk to him at home and he figured that I wouldn't disrespect him in public. He obviously didn't know me anymore.
Two-Bit gave a sharp laugh. "You kidding? She ain't there enough to know."
I rolled my eyes upward before giving Two-Bit a very sarcastic smile. "Thank you Keith. Thank you so much for your thoughtful input into this conversation." It was too late though, the damage had been done. Dally turned and glared at me.
"You skipping school now Brooke?" he demanded, his voice rising slightly.
"Only every other day," Two-Bit replied for me.
Dally tried hard to control his anger. "We'll deal with this later," he promised me.
"Whatever."
"Shit!" I heard Steve curse from across the room.
"What's wrong? I questioned him.
"I can't find my damn lighter."
Reaching into my pocket I pulled out mine. "Here, use mine," I offered, tossing it to him. I saw Dally's eyes narrow. Here we go again.
"Why do you have a lighter?" he demanded, moving closing to me.
"In case I get trapped somewhere cold," I replied, dismissing him with a wave of my hand.
"Right…we're going home. Now." He grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet.
Just as we opened the front door to leave, I found Tim walking up the front steps. "Good timing," he winked at me. "Oh, hey Dal," he said offhand. "Ready to go?"