Chapter Thirty Nine

Mrs. Dillard turned her car on to the long driveway leading to Ashford Academy.

In the backseat, my stomach rumbled, but I was too upset to consider eating.

Only fifteen hours earlier I was at home in Tulsa talking and having dinner with my brothers when the call came in to let me know the State had ordered me back to Ashford. I had only a few hours to pack, bid goodbye to my friends, and kiss my boyfriend goodnight for the last time in a long while. Now I was minutes away from the life I hated, that of an Ashford girl.

"Wow! Look at this place," Sodapop said in amazement as he extended his neck to see out the backseat window. "This is the stuff, Scout!"

I looked at my brother; who was dressed up in black slacks, a white dress shirt, and his used tan madras jacket, and I offered him a wide smile to hide my true displeasure for the school.

Soda didn't look back at me as he kept his gaze out the window. "So all these buildings are full of rich, good looking girls?"

His comment drew a smile on my face. "They're not all good looking." I answered and realized I saw the place as a prison and he saw it as a hobby farm.

Soda turned to me with an amused grin, and I was glad he was there with me. I wished my other brothers could have come to see Ashford Academy too, but Darry had to be in court in case Owen finished his testimony before the end of the day, and Mrs. Dillard dictated Ponyboy go to school, to please Judge Carlson and so he didn't fall behind in his classes.

My social worker pulled her car into a parking spot outside of the main building. She pulled the keys out of the ignition and turned to my brother. "Sodapop, would you be sure to get Scout's things from the trunk and I will meet the two of you inside at the Dean's office."

"Yes, Ma'am." Soda answered obediently.

The lady handed Sodapop the car keys, climbed out of the car, and hurried up the sidewalk to the main hall of the academy.

Soda and I looked at each other and wondered what her hurry was. Then we shared a laugh at the fact that the lady was probably hustling off to the bathroom.

While Sodapop fetched my luggage from the trunk I stepped up onto the sidewalk to wait for him. I pulled at the sweater to my Ashford Academy uniform and brushed at my skirt hoping to push out a few wrinkles.

"Welcome back, super woman!" A voice sang out and grabbed my attention.

I looked down the sidewalk to see Jackson Wesley coming at me with a welcoming grin.

The young man stepped close to me. He reached up and tapped his finger on the tip of my nose and playfully asked, "Rescue any one from a burning building while you were gone?"

I stepped back and smiled nervously trying to decipher how he knew that I had done that. I asked, "What do you mean?"

"There sure is a lot about you that you never told me." Jackson smiled, reached around to the back pocket of his coveralls and pulled out a rolled up newspaper. "You and me got a lot of talking to do down by the river now that your back!"

I began, "Jackson, I need…"

"Hi there," Sodapop interrupted as he stepped out from between the parked cars.

Jackson, surprised to find I wasn't alone quickly took a few steps back from me and replied, "Hello."

I looked back and forth at the two boys and then introduced them. "Sodapop, this is Jackson Wesley. Jackson, this is my brother Sodapop."

"Yeah, I could tell that by the name on his shirt," Sodapop wise cracked and pointed at Jackson's dark blue coveralls. "Nice to meet you."

Jackson seemed as if he already knew the young man was my brother. The handyman put the newspaper into his left hand and reached out with his right hand to greet Sodapop, "Nice to meet you too. I recognized you from your photograph in the paper here."

"What are you talking about?" I asked and peered at the periodical in Jackson's left hand.

"You are big news around here this week!" Jackson showed me the front page of the newspaper.

I quickly grabbed it from Jackson's grip, and read the headline to myself. Infuriated, I yelled out, "They weren't supposed to do this. I asked Mr. Fredricks not to write this!"

Jackson ignored my words and grabbed the Ashford Academy Journal from my hands. "Why not? It's a good story." He opened the paper and pointed. "See here, it has pictures of all of your brothers and even one of you and your ex-boyfriend at a dance or something. That oughtta get Lacey's undies in a bunch!" Jackson laughed.

I grimaced and exchanged a glance with my brother.

Jackson notices and questioned me, "What's up?"

I looked at Jackson. "Owen and I are still together."

Jackson looked back at me with disbelief. "What do you mean?"

"I mean the two of us never really broke up," I answered.

Jackson shifted his weigh as if he was preparing for a fight. "I don't understand. What about what he did to you, and coming up here to see Lacey and all?"

"It turns out that was all just a huge misunderstanding." I told the man.

"How so?" Jackson's attitude became heated as he stepped closer to me.

Sodapop sensed the growing tension and stepped between Jackson and I.

"It turns out I was wrong. He didn't come here to see her," I explained.

"But he took her to that dance! She had that photo!" Jackson stepped even closer to me to continue his argument.

Sodapop became protective and pressed his hand against Jackson's chest to move him away from me. "Hey, there's no need to argue about this. Owen is a good guy. So you oughtta just let this go."

Jackson stood silent in frustration for a few seconds then he folded up the newspaper. "That's just great." He muttered, then he turned on his heels and stormed back to his truck.

My brother and I watched as he pulled out of his parking spot and drove off to his next responsibility.

I heard Sodapop laugh a little. I turned to find him with a wide grin plastered across his face.

"Soda! I have really upset him!"

"I know," Soda said.

"So what do you find funny in all of this?"

"It seems Evie was right. You sure have turned out to be a heartbreaker," he said.

"I didn't mean for that to happen," I whined with a little guilt.

Soda let out humored sigh. "Ah yes, that's what all the heartbreakers say! Just another good reason for you to stay here at Ashford. You'll do a lot less damage here."

"I'm not staying here!" I proclaimed, "I'm coming home whether the judge likes it or not."

Soda paused a moment and looked at me with concern. He knew better than to get me riled up, especially since our time together was limited. He nudged me gently with his elbow then he hoisted the suitcase up off the ground. "Come on let's get on inside."

I followed my brother up the walkway to the main building.

"Hey, do you think I can get a copy of that newspaper Jackson had?" Sodapop asked as we climbed the stone steps to the main building.

"How am I supposed to know, I just got here." I answered in a huff and threw my hands up in the air.

Sodapop shrugged his shoulders as Mrs. Dillard came out of the front entrance and held the door open for us. I entered the building and noticed a stack of the school newspapers on a stand by the front door. I figure Soda could take a few home with him before he left. When all three of us stepped inside she quickly grabbed a newspaper from underneath her arm and showed the headline to me. "My, my, isn't this an exciting treat to come back to? You are the big news here this week."

"So I've heard," I said softly, but Mrs. Dillard didn't hear me as she had turned her attention to the Dean of Ashford Academy, Steven Donaldsen, who was approaching us from his office.

"Miss Curtis, welcome back to Ashford Academy," he said with a wide grin.

"It's a pleasure to be back." I graciously lied. "Dean Donaldsen, this is my brother, Sodapop."

The Dean smiled wide and greeted my brother. "Ah yes, Sodapop Curtis. Thanks to your picture on page three of the Ashford Academy Journal you are quite the teenage pin up celebrity around here."

Sodapop and I shared a questioning glance.

Mr. Donaldsen asked for the paper from Mrs. Dillard. She handed the paper over and he then turned through the pages.

"The girls in the journalism class say they had to make the picture this big because they didn't have enough type to fill the spread," Mr. Donaldsen said, "but after seeing more than a few of those pictures cut out around campus I am thinking the size of the picture may have been purposeful." The man lifted the paper up to expose the enlarged picture of Sodapop's yearbook photo reproduced on the page in black and white.

Sodapop looked at the photo and grinned with pride and appreciation of the affection.

Mr. Donaldsen refolded the newspaper and handed it back to my social worker. The Dean turned towards me. "Miss Curtis, the article speaks to all you've endured in the past year, much of which I was unaware of. It takes a great amount of strength and grace to survive all of that. You should be proud of yourself."

"We are all real proud of Scout!" Soda's voice sang out.

I blushed at hearing my brother's words.

"I'm sure you all are," Mr. Donaldsen said. "It is probably a rarity to find a girl as gifted as Scout in your neighborhood."

Neither Soda nor I responded.

Mr. Donaldsen then took a hold of my suitcase, that Sodapop had rested on the ground, and announced, "Well, Miss Curtis, let's go get you settled back in."

Outside we heard the noon bells chime signaling the afternoon break for lunch. The four of us walked out the front door of the building and headed towards the school's most prestigious dormitory, Covington House.

As we walked across the campus the common grounds between the buildings were quickly flooding with Ashford girls in their well tailored matching outfits.

I watched in amusement as Sodapop's head whipped from side to side as the girls past by.

Mrs. Dillard sniffed the aroma of food in the air, and remarked to start conversation. "I bet you are both ready for lunch after that long car ride!"

"I'm not hungry." I said slowly as I noticed many of the girls looking my way and whispering with their friends.

"I could eat." Soda said coolly as he flashed his charismatic smile at a group of girls who walked by and giggled at the attention he gave them.

IHis enjoyment of the situation made me smile.

We reached Covington House and Mr. Donaldsen opened the door to the dormitory. Miss Lemon was out for lunch, so the Dean pulled at the rope to ring the bell to announce that men had entered the building even though the dorm seemed completely vacant. As we climbed the stairs to my room I explained to Sodapop the rules and routines of the house.

Mr. Donaldsen opened the door to my room, but I led the way inside.

Sodapop followed behind me and his head swiveled around as he surveyed the area. "Wow, this is a big room, and it's nice that it is on the corner of the building so you have the extra window."

Mr. Donaldsen cleared his throat to get my attention.

Sodapop and I turned around to look at Mr. Donaldsen who was standing by the door with Mrs. Dillard.

Mr. Donaldsen said, "Miss Curtis, I want to welcome you back, but I expect your behavior to show improvement over the last time you were here."

"Yes Sir." I said with disappointment in myself, and frowned as I noticed the look of question on the face of my social worker. She obviously knew nothing of my wild ways here on campus.

"I am certain you will." Mr. Donaldsen said with confidence.

Sodapop reached out and rested his strong hand on my shoulder to let me know he was confident in me too.

"Everyone is invited to lunch in the dining hall before you leave." The Dean said then he turned to his right. "Mrs. Dillard, could I speak to you downstairs for a moment?"

"Certainly," She replied and looked towards my brother and I. "You two get Scout settled in and then I will meet you downstairs and we will go to lunch." Then Mrs. Dillard smiled and followed the Dean out of the room and shut the door behind her.

"I bet he is going to tell her about my socking Lacey in the mouth."

"Don't let it worry you. It ain't no big thing," Soda assured me then he wandered further into the room and grabbed a newly framed picture off of Lacey's night stand. He studied it for a moment and then he turned to me. He presented the picture. "Is this the photo that started all the fuss between you and Owen?"

"Yeah, that's the one." I said and noticed the fresh copy of the Ashford Academy Journal on my bed.

Soda laughed and looked at the photo again. "I don't see why you got so mad, he's not even happy in this picture."

I looked at my brother and walked over to take a closer look. "What are you talking about, he's smiling isn't he?"

"He's smiling, but not like he smiles when he's with you."

I felt myself blush and asked, "What do you mean?"

Soda stared at the picture and answered. "It's just different when he looks at you. There's like a sparkle or something." Soda noticed how his words seemed silly. "Just trust me, when he's with you and he smiles, you can tell how much he really loves you."

My smile spread across my face. "Don't let Darry hear you say that. According to him we're both to young to be in love."

Soda looked at me. "Yeah, well, just 'cause he's the oldest doesn't always mean he's right."

I laughed and noticed a note taped to the front of the newspaper. I sat down on my bed and pulled the note off to read it.

Miss Curtis,

What a wonderful tale of strength and courage. I would not have expected less from a wise and caring young lady like yourself.

Welcome back to Ashford,

Miss Lemon

Soda tossed the picture frame face down onto Lacey's bed then he stepped back and flopped down onto my bed. "Do you need help unpacking?"

"Nah, I'll do it after you leave. It will help me keep my mind off of how much I miss everyone."

Sodapop nodded his head. He reached over and scooped up the newspaper from my bed into his hand. "Do me a favor?"

I looked down at him. "What's that?"

"Read me the article about you in the paper before I go?"

"Sure, why not." I said with little enthusiasm. I sat down on the bed close to my brother, unfolded the newspaper and read. "Ashford Academy's newest student, Scout Curtis, is the first scholarship recipient in Ashford history, but that's not the only thing that makes her unique from your average Ashford girl. Curtis is not just a groundbreaker; she is a survivor and a hero. Orphaned just fourteen months ago…" After finishing the article I folded up the paper and looked at my brother. "They didn't miss a thing."

"How did they know all that?" Soda asked.

"From articles in the Tulsa newspaper, he has a friend in Tulsa who sent him everything he needed The Journalism teacher had them all before I left. He asked me to talk with the girls for article, but I told him I didn't want to. I asked him not to write the article, but he told me he was going to with or without me."

"Well, I thought it was a great article. It's pretty cool to know you are such a big deal here."

"It's not that big of a deal to be a big deal because you're a poor orphan girl."

"That article said more about you than that!" Soda argued with me, "it said you were a hero and super smart and a good sister and all."

"Yeah, I guess it did." I hesitantly agreed then changed the subject. "I suppose we outta head on down for lunch."

"Yeah, I suppose we better," Sodapop agreed. He stood up from the bed and offered me his hand. I accepted and my brother pulled me up to my feet. The two of us headed downstairs and met up with Mrs. Dillard who was patiently waiting alone for us in the parlor room. For a moment I was tense about the conversation he may be waiting to have with me, but she didn't say anything about what she and Mr. Donaldsen had discussed.

Walking into the dining hall with Sodapop by my side was like walking in with Davy Jones on my arm. Not only was Soda a young man, which is a rarity at Ashford, but he was the newest teen idol for the swarm of girls collected inside.

I felt uncomfortable with all the eyes upon us, but Mrs. Dillard and my brother were oblivious to the amount of attention we were attracting on our way to the lunch counter to pick up our trays of food. Next we collected our glasses of milk and turned to search the crowd for available seats.

I led my company to a table in the back corner of the dining room. It was the same spot where I had eaten several meals in solitude, but today was different. With Sodapop Curtis at my table our lunches and conversation were constantly interrupted with introductions by some Ashford girls I had never met and some I was glad to see again.

"Welcome back, Scout!"

I looked up to see Maria Kinsely and a few of her friends had stopped by to greet us.

I smiled. "Thanks."

Maria grinned and glanced towards my brother. "Hi, I am Maria Kinsley, you must be Scout's brother, Sodapop."

Sodapop flashed his charismatic smile. "Sure am."

Maria and the girls giggled with excitement. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, and it's a pleasure to have Scout as a sister of ours at Covington House."

"Thank you," Sodapop replied and looked towards me for a social cue of what to do or say.

"We'll let you get back to your lunch together," Maria said as she realized the other girls were too shy to bother to introduce themselves. "Again, it was a pleasure to meet you in person, Sodapop."

I think I heard a collective sigh from the group of girls.

Maria looked to me. "Scout, you be sure to sit with us tonight at dinner. Okay?"

"Okay." I replied in agreement as the girls walked away.

"She seems sweet." Mrs. Dillard replied.

Sodapop looked around the room and he whispered to me. "So which girl is your roommate?"

I looked over my left shoulder and pointed out Lacey and her gaggle of girlfriends sitting across the room.

Sodapop's smile grew wide. "She's pretty!"

"Sodapop!" I scolded.

"Don't worry, I'm not interested, but she is pretty good looking." Sodapop said then he noticed Lacey look his way. He waved across the dining room to my roommate with raised eyebrows and a wild grin.

Lacey looked away in disgust and seem agitated with all the attention the newspaper article and my brother had afforded me.

I quietly laughed. More than once I tucked my short locks behind my ear, smiled, and looked her way to find her staring back with a jealous glare.

I ate my food as slowly as I could, but there was no avoiding Mrs. Dillard finally having to say, "We better get going, it's a long drive back to Tulsa."

Reluctantly, after lunch I led my guests across campus to the parking lot. The three of us stopped by the main building again so Sodapop could collect a handful of copies of the Ashford Academy Journal to take back to Tulsa. Then we headed to the car where my social worker wished me luck and assured me she and Mr. Ottavi will do what they can to convince the judge to allow me the opportunity to return to Tulsa if I wished. She also shared her opinion that Ashford seemed like a safe and wonderful place where I would no doubt succeed in life. I smiled and assured her there was no place I would rather be than home. I also thanked her for allowing my brother to come along and see the school. Mrs. Dillard smiled and climbed behind the wheel of the car.

I looked up at Sodapop who was standing next to me on the sidewalk.

Soda looked at me and forced a smile. "I don't want this to be a teary eyed goodbye. Okay?"

I smiled hard to be sure to hold back any sad emotions. "Okay."

Sodapop looked around at the scenery behind me, then he looked at me. "This is a beautiful place. It's everything I could ever wish for you, and you belong here just as much as all the other girls do."

I smiled and nodded to agree with him to make him believe I would be happy here. My brother stepped towards me and gave me a tight hug. Then he walked over to the car and opened the passenger side door. He looked at me and kept a grin on his face as he told me, "I love you, be good."

I kept the fake smile on my face and answered back, "I love you too. Tell Darry and Ponyboy I love them."

"Will do," Soda simply said as he climbed into the car and shut the door. He and Mrs. Dillard waved goodbye one last time through the windshield and then the social worker pulled the car out of the parking spot and down the lane.

I stayed still on the sidewalk and watched them drive away until the car was well out of sight. There was a big part of me that thought they would turn around and return to get me, but they never did.