School went by like any other. I made no new friends and Dad still gave me grief. Now things were changing even more drastically. Friendships were being changed due to stereotypes and where a person could afford to live.
Greaser. Soc. Who could come up with words like that? As I got older, kids starting separating themselves in these two gangs. The rich kids, those on the South side of Tulsa, were the Socials or Socs and the kids that were poor, those on the North side of Tulsa, were Greasers. Johnny had a huge fit at dinner the night I told them someone called my friends Greasers. He said that I should never believe in it and not worry about it. I didn't know if I should really take his advice or not.
"Wake up, Sweet Pea." Dad whispered in my ear slowly starting to tickle me. Then all of a sudden I burst out in laughter. Then of course Max starts to whine because he wants to be tickled too.
"Sorry pumpkin. Got to go wake Max..." Dad apologized. So I got out of bed and went downstairs for breakfast. Johnny and Travis already were at the table eating. Johnny, Jane, and Alice were visiting for a few days and it was the last day they were staying.
Mom made pancakes and set some on the table for me. My pancakes were plain, just the way I like them. Travis and Johnny ate them with blueberries inside and Dad had chocolate chips inside. So Mom was always busy making everyone's food the way they wanted it. I got up from the table, put my plate in the sink, and went to my room to get ready for school.
"Typh, I'm walking to school with Cody. So, you're on your own." Travis told me.
"Thanks." I said sarcastically.
Travis and I always walk to school together because it was convenient for our parents. I didn't want to walk alone so I thought I might call Casey, my next-door neighbor, to walk with me. Going to school and seeing Casey everyday turned us into really good friends.
Typhani: Hi Mrs. Linnhall. Can I talk to Casey?
Casey: Sure thing Hun.
Typhani: Case, will you walk to school with me? Travis is walking with Cody.
Casey: Sure. Are you coming here?
Typhani: Yeah. See you in a minute or two.
I hung the phone up and finished getting ready. I left about five minutes later. I knocked on the door and Casey's military dad opened the door. I was a bit frightened but when he smiled I was okay. Then Casey pushed her dad out of the way and came to me. We left after she said good-bye to her family.
On the way we saw Soda and Pony and they walked with us the rest of the way to school.
"Why don't you stick with your own kind, Taylor?" Some kid from across the street yelled to me. I just looked at him and ignored him. I hated that people had to separate themselves because of money. Other Socs called me a traitor or even a Greaser because I only hung out with Greasers.
"You gonna take that?" Soda said after flipping him off.
"Guess so." I shrugged. Casey walked silently by my side.
We finally made it to school. We made it just in time. After one morning, I was called a traitor more than ever. My own brother wouldn't even talk to me because he didn't want to be a "traitor" too.
At the end of the day, I met up with Soda and we walked to my house. On the way, a bunch of kids on my street kept making fun of Soda and calling him Greaser.
"Typhani, you're a Soc. So what are you doing hanging out with a Greaser?" Paul Holden, my neighbor across the street, screamed.
"Knock it off, Paul." I screamed back.
"Are you still gonna be my best friend, who's a girl, even if I'm a Greaser?" Soda asked a little upset.
"Of course. I will always be your friend. Will you be my friend forever?" I asked him.
"Yes. Well, I mean I want to be your best guy friend." Soda admitted. I laughed. The rest of the walk to my house was silent. We finally reached my house. We entered silently because Max was probably asleep. My mom was home and she was cleaning dishes.
"Hi, Mom. Soda came home with me today. Is that okay?" I asked walking into the kitchen.
"Oh okay. Just make sure he leaves before Daddy gets home." Mom cautioned.
"What does she mean by that?" Soda asked.
"Uh, nothing." I lied and pushed him upstairs.
Dad came home earlier than usual and Soda had to sneak out the window and wait for his dad outside. I kept an eye on Soda so no one would see him. His dad didn't take long to pick him up and I waved good-bye when he left.
"Dinner's ready!" Mom shouted from the kitchen. Dad and I walked to the kitchen together and took a seat across from each other. It was weird how nice Dad was being to me after all that had happened. My life was like a roller coaster.
Ever since officially becoming a Soc, staying friends with Sodapop, Dallas and all them has been getting harder and harder. It was like my Dad's plan was working after all. It was hard to even say "Hi" to them while seeing them at school, so I hung out with Casey and Cherry at school and out of school with my old friends. I wasn't going to let my Dad's sneaky plans ruin anything for me.
Besides getting grief from my parents I get it from other kids on my street too. It was a never ending parade of nonsense. I hated it. Mom let some things slid from time to time when a friend came over but it was always: "Make sure he leaves before Daddy gets home." So I gave up on bringing them to my house, I just went to their house.
Travis went along with the whole Grease-Soc thing and made a whole new set of friends. I didn't mind it and neither did Dad; actually, Dad liked Travis' new friends. He thought they were nice and civilized. Though, at school they didn't act civilized, they were quite obnoxious. If only my father could see who my friends really were and who Travis' friends really were. I prayed and hoped that my dad might see who they really were but that was never going to happen. Especially with my luck.
The next days at school were no better than any other. I was able to ignore those that laughed and teased my friends but it still drove me crazy. The worst part of it though was that Dallas was leaving again but he was going back to New York and he didn't know if he would be there forever or not, so who knew how long he'd be away. He was only going because his dad wanted to toughen him up and turn him into a man, able to take a real beating. Unfortunately my dad wouldn't let us move there. So I was once again left alone without Dallas. Poor me. Dallas said that he wouldn't come back until he was tough and learned to take care of himself. I think Jack was trying to keep Dallas away from me. I hoped that that wouldn't be the case.
The worst part of his departure was that he just left, disappearing and only leaving a note. He left about a week and a half ago but it was like he moved on us again. As I heard from a Texan that came to visit my mom, "You can take the girl out of Dallas but you can't take the Dallas out of the girl." (The Texan was from Dallas, Texas). It was true to me because Dallas has come into my life and I have come to love him and no longer can Dallas be taken out of my life. But life went on, with or without the ones you love.
It's now the last day of ninth grade and the beginning of the rest of my life: high school. People warned me that being a Soc with Greasers for friends would cause conflict in my life but I ignored every comment said about it.
I became more and more preoccupied with Dallas' absence and worried about my future friendships with the friends I've had forever. Mom and Dad were fighting more about my friends and the rebellious things I was doing, though, it was nothing as bad as what Dallas would do. My crush for Soda was growing into true love faster and faster each day. My friends were changing, starting to smoke and do things stupid like Dallas. Now it was time for me to fight harder for my friends and get used to their new changes.
Darry was graduating this year, so we all dragged ourselves to his graduation. It wasn't really that exciting. We only clapped when his name was called for his diploma and when he won the "Boy of the Year" award. I just couldn't bring myself to be happy.
Darry tried to cheer us up by teaching us some moves he learned at some course at the Y. Steve, Soda, and Two-Bit got a kick out of it but I just watched them and laughed every time they fell. Johnny was too shy to try and Pony tried the easier tricks. I sat with Johnny, not willing to try either. It took the entire summer just for the boys to master the moves.