I cooked dinner on Saturday to assure that I would have plenty of time to get ready to leave on time for the start of the Varsity Football Game. I was doubly excited!. I had looked forward to seeing Owen play and watching a game with Darry, which was something we had never done together. I pulled on my green cardigan sweater and squished my feet into my loafers. After one last look in the mirror, I stepped out in the hallway and yelled, "Darry! Are you ready?" He didn't answer, which frustrated me as I stopped into Ponyboy's bedroom, "Have a good night Pony!"
Ponyboy looked up from his book. "Yeah," he said with an annoyed sarcastic tone. I'm sure to have a blast."
There wasn't much I could say to make his weeklong stay in bed better, so I simply reminded him to get his rest.
I walked out into the living room to find Darry on the telephone. I made eye contact with him and mouthed the words, 'let's go!' Darry raised a finger to let me know he would need another minute. I flopped down on the couch and noticed I hadn't seen Sodapop anywhere in the house. Knowing I had time, I and went to check the bathroom, no Soda. I checked Darry's bedroom, no Soda. I ran back down the hall and checked my room and Ponyboy's bedroom, no Soda! Oh great! I thought to myself and walked out the backdoor to check the yard.
Off to my right I heard the sound of metal clinking with metal and found Sodapop with his head in the rusty engine of an old car in the yard. I ran over to him, "Soda! What are you doing? Darry and I are about ready to leave and you gotta watch Pony!"
Sodapop grinned my way. "I wouldn't be in too big of a hurry. Darry's inside talking to Kathryn and I gotta pull this part off cause I'm selling it to Sheppard's friend, Skibby."
I threw my hands in the air, looked at the living room window and then back to Soda. "You have got to be kidding. Please tell me you are kidding."
My brother laughed at me. "Just relax Scout. You aint gonna be able to talk to Jasper till after the game anyways. Besides you all can leave while I'm out here. It aint like Pony's gonna get any better any faster if I'm inside or out."
Before I could respond Darry whistled for me from the front porch. "Let's go Scout!"
"See you later So!" Excited, I turned and ran through the front gate.
Darry pulled the truck door open for me and walked around to the driver's side door. I jumped in and shut the door as he shut his. "I hope you don't mind, but I invited Kathryn to the game too. We gotta go pick her up."
I reached over and grabbed Darry's watch. "Won't we be late for the game?"
Darry looked my way and grinned in a sly, suspicious way. "No, we should have plenty of time to get there so you can see Owen make a few good plays."
I smiled at the mention of the boy's name, returned the sly look to my brother and spoke slowly. "What did Sodapop tell you?"
Darry laughed as he pulled away from the curb, "Nothing." Darry lied.
"He's not my boyfriend." I said to clarify any embellishments Sodapop may have put into Darry's mind.
"I never said he was," Darry smiled and shook his head. We pulled up outside Kathryn's house and she walked out their stately front door with her father. Suddenly, I felt embarrassed because the last time I saw the older man I was in the back of a police car. Like a gentleman, Darry stepped out of the truck to shake Mr. Ottavi's hand. All three of the adults stood together on the sidewalk for a moment and I over heard Mr. Ottavi's suggestion. "Why don't the three of you take my car for the evening." The older man handed the keys to Darry and insisted. Darry graciously accepted and called me out of the truck.
Shamefully, I slid across the vinyl seat and climbed out of the truck. I tried to avoid eye contact in a vain attempt to be invisible, but once I shut the truck door Kathryn grabbed me in her arms. "Scout, how are you doing?"
I kept my vision to the ground and spoke quietly as Kathryn released me. "I'm good."
"I sure hope you're good," Mr. Ottavi said and he stepped forward and put his arm over my shoulder. "By the way Officer Cannon says you've got a great right hook! You probably learned that from living with three brothers, didn't you?"
I didn't know whether to laugh or not then I looked to Darry who was smiling so I answered. "Yeah, it sure can come in handy when you want the bathroom first."
Everyone laughed and Kathryn folded her arms across her chest in a motherly sort of way. "Are you ready to go? I hear you've got a boyfriend on the football team?"
I threw my hands out in comical disbelief. "He is not my boyfriend!" Everyone laughed again and we headed back to the Ottavi's garage. Mr. Ottavi had a black Chrysler sedan with shinny wheels and leather seats. I enjoyed riding to the game in style. Kathryn and Darry enjoyed riding together, alone, in the front seat.
The three of us moved through the crowd and up the wooden stairs of the stands. My brother preferred we sat up high enough that he could see the team's plays develop on the field. Darry hadn't been to a high school football game since dad died. The two of them went to every game the year after Darry graduated. I had once heard dad telling mom one night how much Darry missed the game and how sad my father was that he couldn't do more to help his son get into college. Knowing this, I was wanted to sit anywhere my brother wanted to sit.
We found aisle seats half way up the steps and sat down. Kathryn sat on the aisle and Darry sat next to her. He zipped up his jacket and leaned toward me. "So what number is Owen?"
I shrugged my shoulders and looked into my brother's eyes. "I don't know."
"Do you know what position he plays?" Darry asked even though he knew the answer.
"I don't know."
Darry laughed, "So why are we here?"
I cocked an eyebrow and cracked a smile. "I don't know."
Darry playfully elbowed me and told me what he knew. "Jasper's a running back, number 27. He didn't play much when I was on the team, but last year he was really impressive. This year they talk about him in the sports page nearly every week. He is definitely the team's MVP."
I settled into the old wooden bench and watched the game. Being there with Darry was fun because he could call the plays and took the time to teach me some things about the game I didn't know. Often times he would refer to a play that I hadn't seen because my mind had drifted off to think about how great it would be to be the girlfriend of Owen Jasper, one of the most sought after boys in school.
The first half of the game ended with a score of 28 to 7, and Darry was right, Owen was amazing the way he could run the football. Darry stood up and looked down at Kathryn and I. "I'll go and get some popcorn and cokes." Darry headed down the steps leaving Kathryn and I to watch the marching band take the field. I looked to Kathryn a few times before gathering up enough courage to ask her a question that I had been thinking about. "Kathryn, do you mind if I ask you something kind of personal?"
Kathryn looked over to me and the wind blew her beautiful hair from her face. "Sure, anything."
I was a little nervous to ask, but I wanted to know. "Why doesn't it bother you that Darry never has time to spend with you?"
Kathryn flashed one of those smiles that let me know she wasn't surprised to hear me ask. "It's not as if I don't know why he rarely has time for me. Besides, Darry and I are not exclusive. I have gone on dates with other boys." She let out a deep sigh. "It's just that each time I meet a new boy, I find myself still liking your brother more than any of the others, so I know I just have to use my patience."
"Boy, do you ever!" I rolled my eyes and remembered how much of a handful Ponyboy, Sodapop and I had been in less than a year.
"Yeah, well …I admire all that Darry has done to keep your family together. That's an important quality in a man, and it's something that makes your brother special." I shook my head in agreement and looked back to the field where the marching band was playing a song I didn't recognize. Kathryn wrapped her arm around me to show affection and the two of us sat quiet. It's not that we didn't have anything to talk about. We just didn't know what would be considered a sensitive subject and what wouldn't. Darry finally broke the silence when he returned with the snacks. We had a great time watching the end of the game and enjoying our school's twenty-one-point lead. As the crowd filed out of the stadium the three of us walked over to an area outside of the locker rooms to congratulate Owen.
While we stood in the cool night, teachers and coaches wandered up to Darry and Kathryn to say hi. Both were had been well known students, Darry from football and Kathryn was the Homecoming Queen. I stood alone against the chain link fence as Kathryn and Darry worked the crowd. The two of them made a great couple. I felt bad that I was one of the reasons they couldn't be together more often.
Slowly the players, dressed in their khaki pants and letterman jackets, walked out of the locker room in sets of twos and threes. I observed the boys filing out of the door then noticed Owen wander out with his friend Peter. I smiled and took a few steps toward him. Immediately, the crowd flooded around the running back to offer congratulations and ask for his autograph. I stopped and watched as Owen graciously met with everyone who ran up to him, even Charlotte, who was a Varsity Football cheerleader. She clung to his arm and smiled at everyone who passed as if she were showing off a trophy of some kind.
I sized up the girl and realized I couldn't compete with her beauty and popularity. Defeated, I looked around for Darry and Kathryn who had disappeared into the crowd. When I couldn't see where they had gone I backed up to lean against the fence to stay out of everyone's way. I looked over at Owen Jasper one more time and saw the wind whip his bangs from his face. He slowly lifted his ocean blue eyes from a paper he had autographed. My bright blue eyes met with his, and a wide smile graced his face. He slightly nodded his head in my direction.
A warm flush filled my body and I walked toward the boy. Owen shook Charlotte off his arm and moved through the crowd to greet me. He stepped close and wrapped me in his strong arms. "Scout! I am so glad you came!" Owen stepped back and I looked up to him with a smile.
"You played a good game."
Owen grinned with pride and grabbed my hand in his. "Yeah, it was one of my better games." He led us away from the crowd for a little more privacy.
I had to laugh, "according to Darry most of your games are better games." Owen didn't argue. I looked around at the crowd and remembered how everyone in my family used to meet with Darry after a game. "Are your parents here?"
"No, they don't come to my games."
I looked at him in surprise. "They don't come? Wow. My dad never missed one of Darry's games."
"Well…my parents aren't too supportive of me playing for a football scholarship." Owen ran his fingers through his hair in an effort to keep it out of his eyes. "They don't even want me to go to college?"
The suggestion was implausible to me and I had to ask. "Why?"
"All they want is for me to take over the family business, and I don't need college for that."
"There you two are!" Kathryn's sweet voice cut into our conversation.
I stepped forward. "Owen, this is my brother Darry and his date Kathryn Ottavi."
Owen shook hands with my brother. "Darry, it's good to see you again."
"You played a good game Owen, really good!" Darry added as he stood near us holding Kathryn's hand in his.
"Thanks." Owen grinned. "It was nice of all of you to come and watch."
A loud yell from behind us broke up our greeting. "Jasper! Hey, O, let's get going!"
I looked over my shoulder, to the football player who yelled, and didn't recognize him. I thought about how incredible it was that Owen had so many friends then a familiar face strolled towards us. "Hi Scout." Pete smiled then turned to his friend. "Everyone is ready to head over to Kirby's house. You ready?"
Owen looked to me, "you wanna come with?"
"No." Darry answered for me. Owen and I both looked at my brother and he elaborated. "Scout, I know I can trust you and all, but it's just not a good idea for you to go with them." I rolled my eyes and Darry reasoned, "it's past ten o'clock, you're just fourteen and after everything that has happened lately, I want you home."
I looked back at the boy and frowned. "Sorry, maybe next time?"
"Don't sweat it. I understand." Owen paused in front of me. "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?"
I could feel myself blush. "Okay, sure." Before I could babble any longer Owen dropped my hand and walked away to the large group of boys and girls who were anxiously waiting for him. I sighed and headed home with my brother.