Chapter 10: School Prank (Dally's Point of View)
I step into the Curtis's house, not really knowing what to expect. I'm glad that everything is on the table, and there isn't a huge secret between us, but I also know they're probably angry as hell. I mean, they have every right to be, keeping something this big away from them. A brother. Our brother. How weird. When I walk in, everyone does look at me, but not angrily. I think they still need me to answer questions before they decide to kill me.
"Hey Dally." Darry says. His friendliness is forced I can tell, but I don't care.
"Hey. How's everyone been?" I ask, trying to steer away from awkward silence. They all look at me before forcing more smiles.
"Good. Everything with you?" Soda asks.
"Aw, cut the crap. Say what ya' wanna say." I tell him.
"We're not mad at you Dally. We understand why you didn't tell us." Darry says, giving the others a look that says they best agree. I can't help but laugh.
"Hey look, uh…Lexan is comin' over later." I try to say causally.
"What?" Ponyboy yells. Darry and Soda look just as shocked.
"Yes, Par-ty!" Two-bit yells. "I'll get the beer!"
"What do you mean?" Darry asks.
"Look, him and Kate are comin' to see me . If you guys don't wanna meet em', that's fine. He'll understand." I tell them.
"No, we do." Darry says.
"Yeah, it's just…you couldn't have told us earlier?" Soda asks.
"Well, ya know, they just told me this morning. The won't be 'ere for a couple hours, so you have time to get dolled up if ya like. I wouldn't suggest it though. Darry knows what Lexan is like." I say, laughing when I think about the kid. "He's damn honest and it's not his life goal to impress everyone else."
"Yeah. You know he drinks?" Darry says.
"Yeah of course. Dar, is that all you think about? Stopin' the kid from comin' a drunk? Don't bother, he won't listen. He's as stubborn as any of us." I tell him, knowing he won't listen.
"Well see about that." Darry mutters. I can't help but think what a fight that's going to be.
Skywriter's Point of View
I'm kind of nervous. When Kate says that's we're ten minutes away, I start having second doubts. I mean, I'm not one to get afraid of people, but this is kind of different. When we pull onto their street, I can tell that they probably have a lot of the same problems that we have in our neighborhood. It's not fancy or anything, though I have to say, it's a lot cleaner.
"You ready?" Kate says, looking at me excitedly. I have that gnawing feel in the put of my stomache and I really hope I don't throw up. God, what is wrong with me?
"Yeah, ready." I say, lighting up a cigarette. She laughs, and I know it's 'cause she knows I'm nervous, but she doesn't say anything. That's good too considering I might cuss er' out if she does. We walk up the stairs to their house and you can hear their laughing and joking from outside on the porch. I wipe my hands on my jeans and take another drag on my cigarette before throwing it out. I refuse to let these suckers know I'm nervous. Kate knocks on the door and my stomach does flips when Dally opens it.
"Hey kid, c'mon in." He says in that all-too-happy kind of way. I know they purposefully got him to open the door, and I'm kinda glad.
"You already met Darry." Dally says as I follow him inside. "That's Two-bit, Johnny, and Steve." Dally says, pointing them out.
"Great, another kid. That's exactly what I need." Steve mutters, and I can't really tell if he's joking or not. Dally glares at him, which pisses me off. I can handle myself.
"And those two kids are your other big brothers." He tells me. It's sounds so weird to hear him say that.
"I'm Soda. That's Pony." Soda, the older one, informs me. At least I didn't get those names, I think to myself. It takes all my energy not to say it out loud.
"Is there a Peace or a Love too?" I ask instead, and it's clear as soon as I say it that no one understands what I'm asking.
"Forget it. Hey." I say quickly, taking out another cigarette and lighting it.
"You kind of look like Soda. And you have green eyes like Pony." Two-bit tells me. I decide right away that I like him. He reminds me of Danny.
"They're actually more grey." I tell him. He laughs, as well as Pony, Soda, and Darry. I don't really find it that funny though.
"That's what I always say." Pony explains, clearing it up. Great, just perfect. Now we're saying the same things.
"Um…sit down." Darry says, making room on the couch. Everyone is kind of nervous I can tell, and I do my best not to laugh. I sit down, only because I'm trying not to be rude, and Kate sits beside me.
"Oh yeah, guys, this is Kate." Dally says, as an after thought. "My sister." She nods and smiles but doesn't say anything.
"You like Mickey?" Two-bit asks. I look at him with confusion.
"Aw Two-bit, don't start with the Mickey thing!" Johnny says, really surprising me. It's the first thing he's said since I got here.
"What's wrong with him?" Two-bit asks with false hurt. Darry shakes his head and goes into the kitchen.
"Do you like chocolate cake?" He calls, already taking it out of the freezer. What's with these people? They're so random it's scary.
"Um, no." I answer, and everyone looks at me. Especially Kate, since she knows I love it.
"I'm allergic." I explain. Soda looks at me surprised.
"To what?" He asks.
"Food. I don't eat." I state. They all continue staring at me.
"Lexan!" Kate scolds. "He's kidding." Dally laughs and Steve rolls his eyes, but the others look like they still don't get it.
"I should have gone with the Vegan joke." I state. Kate smiles but shakes it off quickly.
"So um…where do you go to school?" Darry asks, giving up on the cake and coming into the living room. It was such a quick change that I had to think for a minute to understand what he was saying.
"Oh uh…I'm not goin' right now." I say.
"He was, but he was suspended. So, I mean, he'll go back." Kate says hurriedly.
"You got suspended?" Johnny asks. I nod. What else could I do?
"It was the principal's fault really. He such a fuckin' prick." I say. They all just stare at me. Damn I'm really bad at this.
"Okay uh, so here's what happened. The principal had it out for a friend of mine, so the two us decided we would play a little prank. Nothing harmful or nothing. We just decided we would roll his office. So, it was Saturday and the two of us had soccer practice-" I say.
"You play soccer?" Pony asks. I look at him like he's crazy.
"No, we just go to soccer practice cause' we're bored with our lives." I say sarcastically. He seems confused at first, but smiles a second later, and I take the chance to go on.
"So, we had soccer practice, and we told the coach that we didn't feel too good, so he told us to go sit down a while. We went in the school through the gym, my friend, Danny, picked the lock to the principal's door, and we carried out our plan. And, it all would've been fine, had my friend not been a complete dumb ass and decided to smoke. Of course, he threw the cigarette out in the trash, and the can took fire. We tried to put it out, but the smoke alarms went off before we could and, that's how we got caught." I finish. The guys think it's pretty funny, even Kate laughs at the telling of it, but Darry doesn't look amused at all.
"Dude man, that's fuckin' awesome!" Steve comments.
"I know, I wish I coulda been there!" Two-bit exclaims. "Pony, we got a plan on Monday."
"Oh hell no you don't!" Darry snaps. Pony stifles a laugh.
"C'mon guys, don't encourage him." Dally says, but he's smiling too.
"Yeah, he's right. It was stupid and something like that could've got him in a lot more trouble. Pony and Soda would be grounded for the rest of their lives if they ever did something that stupid." Darry says.
"Man, is he always so stiff?" I ask, ignoring Darry's glare.
"Don't look at me kid." Dally answers. "He's your big brother."