I'm back! Yes, I have to keep busy and I think most of you are going "it's about time!". I agree! Ok, just a few quick things. Soda is bummed out over being there and not home in Tulsa, you know? So if he's not bouncy and fun and all that, you'll know why. Plus he has cousins to contend with. Now that is hard, let me tell you! J.C. is what I like to call an "Absent Professor" Messy as all get out, but absolutely brilliant and funny. So if you're thinking this guy is a kid, you'll see.
Disclaimer: I own everything S.E. Hinton and the American government don't. I feel very rich!
Dedication: To Rock and Kiks who I know I have kept waiting for a whole weekend.
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Darry's POV
We were all sitting in the living room waiting for J.C. He had said he wanted to talk to all of us about something and we were all waiting for that. Rain and River had come up with things to keep themselves amused and the rest of us were watching them. Sure, thumb wars weren't that interesting, but it was keep us busy by watching them.
"Sorry that took so long," J.C. apologized joining us in the same clothes he had worn to breakfast "They struck more oil in the west field."
Rain and River nodded and J.C. went on
"You must be Sodapop and Ponyboy. Lord, you're both your mother's children for sure. I'm J.C.," he introduced, taking both Soda and Pony's hands "Now that we're all acquainted and everyone is in the same room, I thought it would be a good idea to go over the ground rules and maybe discuss them." J.C. sat down and smiled at all of us
We sat there and waited for him to go on and he looked at all of us for some direction. This should be interesting.
"Well, curfew first of all." J.C. almost had a light bulb hanging about his head "Midnight on weekends unless and agreement is arranged."
"Won't work, J.C," River answered very interested in her nails
"We'll make it work, River. Secondly, language. Summer knows too many dirty words as it is." J.C. threw a guy in the corner a dirty look "So everyone will be watching the swearing, right Brand?"
"Whatever you say, J.C," he answered flipping through a magazine
Brand was the eldest of my cousins. It was going to take a long time to think of them that way. He had lighter hair and bright blue eyes. He was almost my height, but had less of a build. He didn't say much, but from the conversation I had over heard he was no match for Dally or Tim Shepard when it came to bad language.
"School nights everyone is home by nine; we have to get you ready for school now that I think on it," J.C. said absently looking where Soda I and Pony were sitting on a couch "Homework comes first, as I will remind Rain and River."
"Can we help it if the football game is on?" Rain asked
"We get it done sooner or later." River shrugged
"And you don't get to bed until after midnight. This year you are doing it when you get home," J.C. said sternly "Feel free to roam the property. If you get to the highway, you've gone far enough. Sometimes there are guests that stay down the hill, so don't mind them and don't do anything cruel to them."
"We have a little too much fun one time..." River muttered
"If you're hungry, help yourself, but clean up your mess. The maid only comes every two weeks and she has a hard enough time getting food off the roof," J.C. said pointedly "Spare key is now under the flower pot for those of you who continuously loose them or don't care to carry them. On that note, no more writing our address on the keys you loose. Guests are great, but I don't want to change the locks, again."
"We didn't know people would actually believe that was the address." Rain shrugged
"What else...?" J.C. asked trying to think of what else was on his mind
"Lots, but we got lives," Brand added from the corner
"Do you three have any questions?" J.C. asked
I looked over at Soda and Pony. I guess they were as on the spot as I was. I had a ton of questions but they were the ones that you ask in private, like what kind of health care they have in Texas or do we need new licenses. Mostly I wanted to know if there were any Soc's or Greasers and if there were where did they fit in? Or should I be asking where do we fit in?
"I think there are a few things you and I should talk about," I said and he nodded
"Ok, now that that's over, any news?" J.C. asked
"I'm legally changing my name when I turn 21," Brand offered
"I mean new news," J.C. prompted
"We're nearly out of food," River pointed out
"Then we'll go shopping," J.C. said making a note of it
"The school phoned," Rain put in, thumbing through a magazine
"What did they have to say?" J.C. looked interested
"They don't talk to me." he shrugged
"Could you two possibly stay in school for a week without skipping?" Brand asked
"Depends on how you phrase that," River answered "Like Rain can keep from sucking his girl friend's face for an hour, but could he?"
River jumped up and ran out of the room with Rain right on her tail. J.C. smiled and shook his head.
"Don't worry about rough housing in here," he said "They do it all the time."
"Then they go and break something," Brand pointed setting his magazine down "If were done here, I got other shit to do."
"Language," J.C. warned as Brand walked out
I got the feeling Brand had very little respect for J.C. and I could see why. From what I had just seen, he ran a house that was more fun and games than anything. He let them do practically anything they wanted from he looks of it. It was almost the exact opposite from where I grew up and it was going to take a long time to get use to.
"Well, I believe you wanted a private word Darry?" J.C. said standing
"Yeah." I stood as well
"Summer has the TV on and Rain and River will run into you before long," J.C. said to Pony and Soda "So have some fun and don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Pony and Soda threw him strange looks and I followed J.C. down the hall to what River had said was his office. I could tell instantly the maid hadn't been there in a while. He had papers everywhere; coffee cups all over the desk, there were toys on the floor, a suit on the couch in there, what looked to be an ashtray full of mints, crooked pictures on the walls and news papers in a stack in the corner. He was worse than Pony and Soda about cleaning their room old.
"Excuse the mess." he wiped some crumbs off a chair and offered it to me. I reluctantly sat down and he moved some toys off the couch and sat to face me. "What did you want to talk about?"
"There are a lot of things." I sighed "School, health care, licensing, social classes..."
"Soda and Ponyboy are enrolled at school with Rain and River already. It isn't a fancy school, but they wouldn't go to any school where they had to wear uniforms and I figured that would be best."
He looked through all the random junk on his table before finding a brochure and handing it to me. It was to Westside High School. I flipped through it while J.C. made some effort to tidy. It looked like a better school than the one they had been going to and I wondered if he had actually remembered when I told him Pony was moved up a year, but I didn't ask. I set the brochure down and J.C. looked up.
"Will it do?" He asked
"It will do fine," I answered
"Good, now we can talk about your education," J.C. said and I was taken aback "What would you like to study?"
"I'm not going to college; I've got to take care of Soda and Ponyboy." I shook my head
"Nonsense," J.C. said looking for something else "You're going to school."
"Shouldn't it be my choice?" I asked wondering where he got off with that
"You had a scholarship when you came out of high school," J.C. replied "If you're anything like my father and his prized son, you're going somewhere, if you get the chance."
I sat there wondering what he meant while he still looked for whatever he couldn't find. He finally stood up and looked under the cushion he was sitting on.
"Ah ha!" he picked up another brochure and handed it to me "University of Huston is where you want to be if you can get enrolled."
I looked it over and he waited patiently for me to finish. I looked up at him and he was smiling.
"I think you'll like it there and if you start next week, you'll be there for the new semester," J.C. instructed
"I can't leave Soda and Pony," I stated shaking myself back to reality
"You won't have to." he moved to a map on the wall where there were numerous red lines and blue marks "Here we are and here is the University. It doesn't take more than half an hour to get there on a bad day. You can live here and go to school, just like the rest of the kids."
I was really hoping he was being honest. I wanted to go to university more than anything and when my parents died that looked nearly impossible. Now I was looking at my own future for the first time in weeks and it actually looked welcoming.
"Business," I said looking up at him "I wanted to go into business."
"Good money there, especially if you couple it with a trade." J.C. nodded and wrote it down "They have a hell of a football team at the university, too."
He went on telling me about everything I could have asked him while I sat there lost in my own thoughts. I was really going to University. I had a future and so did my brothers. It was definitely a surprising day to say the least.
-/-/-/-
Soda's POV
"I drew you a picture," Summer said showing me a page with a lot of colorful scribbles on it
"Thanks." I took it and wondered what I was supposed to do with it
"I drew this one for Daddy," she said showing me another one that was almost identical to the one she had drawn for me
"It's nice."
"I have to draw one for Darry now. He's my friend." she smiled
"Is he now?" I asked smiling
"Yep! He was the firstest cousin I ever metted, so he's special," Summer explained
"Girls!" Rain said stalking into the room "Be thankful you never got a sister."
"I will then," I answered glancing over at Pony who was glued to the TV
"Did you see the picture I made for Daddy?" Summer asked showing it to Rain
"That's nice," he replied barely glancing at it
"Why is you mad at River?" Summer asked
"I am mad at River because she doesn't say nice things about Hillary," Rain said going towards the kitchen
"Him and Hillary smooch and do yucky stuff like that," Summer said looking disgusted
"Don't all girls like boys?" I asked confused
"Rain isn't a boy, he's a brother." Summer said smartly going back to her crayons
I smiled. I had never been around a little kid, especially a little girl. She was cute and made good points, but it was going to take me a while to get used to her. It was going to take me a while to get used to all of this. It sure was a fancy house and pretty big. I never thought anyone would want a maid until I came here. From what I can tell, this place does get cleaned twice a month. Maybe if they did their own cleaning I would have been more comfortable. All this was making me think more and more that we'd never fit in. Our cousins were Socs and we were in the middle of nowhere with them.
"Hey, Pony? I'm going on a walk." I was getting too ancy to sit around anymore "Will you be ok?"
"Yeah, sure," Pony answered still looking at the TV. He was lost in his own thoughts. At least some things didn't change.
I went to the front door and grabbed my shoes from where I had kicked them off the night before. They weren't as nice as the other shoes there, but they would do, especially if this was anything like farm country. The front yard was huge. You could only see space forever. You could have fit the whole neighborhood from back home in here with room to spare and plenty of field to play football on. It wasn't really green grass, but it was grass and it was good enough to play a game of ball on. I walked down the drive way a bit towards a building that was almost like the Slash J barn at home, but a bit smaller. The doors were open so I let myself in.
"Howdy, Sodapop," River greeted from where she was petting a horse's nose "Is Rain with you?"
"No," I answered looking around
"Good. I don't think I can whip him more than twice a day." she smiled and went back to stroking the bay's nose
There had to be 8 horses in there and more tack than anything. It was pretty clean and I wondered sarcastically if all the horses had maids, too.
"I didn't know you had horses," I said still looking around
"J.C. likes 'em and I can't complain." River smiled "Half of these are ones I saw and had to have."
I remembered Mickey Mouse and the girl who just had to have him too. River pet the horse's nose lovingly and I found it easier to think of her as a Soc. Did they even have Socs here?
"Do you like horses?" She asked
"Yeah, I used to work with one that was mine every way but legally," I answered still thinking on Mickey Mouse
"That's cool." River nodded and we were quiet "This is so awkward."
"Yeah," I agreed reaching over to pet a horse.
"And it probably won't get better any time soon," River sighed "Do you want to go for a ride?"
"Nah, I shouldn't go too far with Darry busy and Pony on his lonesome," I answered regretfully
"Suit yourself." River shrugged leaving the barn
I pet the horse's nose again and followed her up to the garage. She glanced at me with a look I couldn't read and gestured me into the garage. It was one of those really big ones, like for tractors or something. It was bigger than the one at the DX and I got homesick right then thinking on it. There wasn't much in there but a couple cars, one of which had the hood open and someone was leaning over it.
"Have you figured out the problem yet?" River asked
"Nope." Brand straightened up "It's just being a stubborn piece of tin at this point. I need to get it down to the garage. Can you drive the tow-truck up here after school on Monday?"
"I'll see how things go. Scott has been such a bastard lately," River sighed "Do you like cars Sodapop?"
"Yep I used to work at the DX back home." I nodded looking over the engine "Cracked radiator?"
"Yep, but that's the least of my problems. If that was it I would patch it and drive it to the garage myself," Brand said wiping his hands on a rag "The transmission is going."
"Luckily for him his kid sister will fix it for him." River grinned at him "Working at the Texaco has its perks."
"What? Like working crap hours for minimum wage? Or was it the fact you're the only girl in history to work there?" Brand asked
"A little of both, O' god of who gets to work at the Texaco." River mock bowed
I smiled thinking they didn't look much alike. River smiled too and Brand ran a finger down her nose leaving a line of grease. She didn't seem to mind.
"Very mature," she said grabbing the end of his t-shirt to wipe her nose
"I thought so." Brand shrugged leaving the garage and River sighed
"When I was a little kid I always wanted to marry him." she grinned "Then grew up and found the ass side of him."
"I heard that!" Brand yelled back and I had to grin
I guess all big brothers were the same, or at least ones that went by Curtis.
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Ok, that may be long and pointless but I liked it. It took a heck of a lot longer to write than I intended, but that's ok. I think next will be DV or Passin' Through, so no worries on keeping busy. Ok on to the reviews before I drive some one crazy with my rambling.
Hehe Miss Mango makes me laugh: You are the funniest person on a high and I love it! I thought you would like the dark hair and the grey eyes. That's why I wrote him that way. Ok, you should know by now I have no idea who River Phoenix is, let alone who his sisters are! I know, my spelling leaves much to be desired. I thought that was hilarious. I like planes! I think they're fun! I know you don't. Nope! You have to plead insanity! Hahaha! I know you miss him and so will Pony. Thankies chocolate bar! Hope you enjoyed!
Keira having trouble spelling her own name: I find that hilarious by the way. Thanks! I'm glad I got the picture in your mind. Yep! I am the secret holder! You will die with curiosity! Thanks, I love them too. I love that name! I would never not use it! He does sound cute huh? I love them all, but hey, I like any guy that fits into my preference range. Oh definitely. When the family is expecting her and Rain to just do stuff like that you know she's that type of sister. I love little kids too. She has some moments. Just wait until I put the good stuff I won't tell you about in. Of course he is! Officially Soda hasn't dropped out yet, so yeah. Does any kid like going to school besides me? I'm sure they'll be mentioned frequently. Hey, been there, done that. Just glad there's half an hour between us and not half a state. Haha! You do that! Hope this was worth the wait.
Rock, Proud reviewer of the king's circle: Hey! Cool name! Thanks! I love that too, even if his kids are a little odd in my view. Yeah, I was going for realistic. I just can't see them fitting in or not being awkward yet. Of course I did! How else would they get a fun loving uncle? I know how it goes and I thank you for your reviewing time! Knowing you liked I'll hope you're waiting for more!
Berserker Nightwitch: Thanks! I think that they all should have way out there names and I love playing with them! Really? Cancel their credit cards and stick them on the next plane home! Hahaha. Well, I don't know who they are, but they are most likely hot. Thanks again and hope you enjoyed!
CiCi: Believe me, we all have days like that. So no worries! Really? Yay for you! What type of Puppy? I have a dog all my responsibility and so does Jhon. It's a lot of fun, but work too. Thanks and hope you enjoyed!
DaNNi BaBezZz: Thanks! Hahaha, yeah they do, but that's half the fun! I love big families like that. Haha! They most likely where. I have yet to reveal Brand's full name, so you'll think it's weird I'm sure. I still have yet to see Shrek. I'll put it on my to do list. Maybe she will...Hope you enjoyed!
Two-BitGortez: Thanks. Hope you enjoyed!
Sabby: Thanks! Always nice to see a new face in the crowd, loosely speaking of course since I can't see you. Hope you enjoyed!
Meredith: Hahaha! You'll never believe I didn't know that. I blame Goddess. She should have told me. Hope you enjoyed!
Well, that's all of them. My people left to get ice cream so what shall I do to keep you all entertained? This is the song that never ends! It goes on and on my friends! Somebody started singing it not knowing what it was and they're forever singing it ...That gets boring fast.
Any comments at all are welcome and Flames are accepted.
See ya in the funny papers! Tens