Meeting The Parents

"Hey, Dal, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Dallas wipes the grease off his hands and looks over at Darry. He stands against the wall, hands in his pockets and eyebrows furrowed.

"What's shaking?"

"I got a call from Ponyboy's school. They said he got into a fight."

"Pone? Nah, man. Whoever picked a fight with him deserves to get their ass whopped."

"It's not just that…he's on probation; he already barely made it past this semester. If he gets suspended again, he might lose his free ride to his Senior Year and it could cost him his college scholarship. I don't know what to do."

"Relax, Darry. I'm sure the fight was justified."

"They said he got into a fight…defending a girl. Bless his pure heart, but that girl could've cost him his education!"

"Stop worrying, man. Let's go down to the school together and straighten this out, okay?"

"Okay."

"Curtis! Winston! Get back to work!" their boss hollers over the machine. Dallas rolls his eyes while Darry makes his way towards his work station.

"I'm telling you, Darry. Rob got no business harassing her; what kind of idiot pours chili and milk into a girl's hair? I thought we were grown-ups here!"

Darry is pinching the bridge between his nose, sighing deeply while Dallas tries to bite back his smile. Ponyboy always is a gentleman, true and blue.

Ponyboy is sitting in the waiting room, nursing a swollen jaw and a blackening eye; Dallas can't wait to see the damage on the poor bastard that tried to ruffle the kid's feathers.

"Ponyboy," Darry begins with a sigh, "I know that was a nice thing you did, but you can't lose your shot at a better education all over some girl. Some battles aren't meant to be fought."

"But Darry…"

"No buts, Ponyboy! You have to understand that the girl you saved could've cost you your future! What about going to college and being better than those Socs? Better than me, even?"

"Darry, it was justified. I'm positive the principal will see that and straighten everything out."

"I hope so. Who's the girl? Maybe she can vouch for you and make sure you get out of trouble."

"This cute girl in my science class. She's really smart. And her name is Janine."

"Mr. Curtis?"

It's the principal.

Darry stands at attention.

"Yes, sir?"

"I want to see you and your brother in my office." Darry nods at Dallas, grabs Ponyboy's hand, and makes their way into the principal's office and closes the door.

Dallas sits on the chair, watching the clock tick by. It feels so strange, sitting in school; he hasn't been in school since his brief time in Junior High. He supposes when he kept getting himself thrown into jail, his dad stopped caring about his education and just stopped caring in general.

He regrets all the time lost in school; three meals a day, you get people who invest in your future more than you do, you get to see some cute girls walk past in pretty skirts and long hair bouncing with every step. Sure, the homework, annoying teachers, and geeks make it unbearable, but it doesn't hurt to get a little smarter. Read a few more books, ask a few more questions, finish school and make it with a diploma so he can do something with his life.

He doesn't want to work in a toy factory forever.

"Unbelievable!"

He jolts out of his thoughts. He hears the booming echo of Darry's voice. He pricks his ears to listen in clearer.

"Mr. Curtis, I'd appreciate it if you kept your voice…"

"Principal Vernon, you can't suspend Ponyboy for fighting for what he believes in. He defended someone from a racist! Instead of you punishing the bully, you're punishing the victims! How is that fair?"

"Mr. Fisk has said he'd done nothing wrong except trip and spill his lunch on Ms. Jones. Ms. Jones seems to have instigated the altercation with Mr. Curtis and…"

"All she did was sit down and cry! How is that instigating anything! He poured his lunch on her and called her a nigger! Does that sound like he did nothing wrong?"

"Ponyboy, I'd prefer if you keep quiet and let me speak with your brother like adults."

"Look, Mr. Vernon. You and I go way back. Can you please, just overlook this one thing. Ponyboy is a good kid, you know he's a good kid. Compared to that…Fisk kid, Ponyboy is a saint. He is on the track team, has straight A's, and has written a groundbreaking novel that's won awards and has put Tulsa on the map. Why punish the star pupil?"

"Darrel, I know Ponyboy is a good kid. I know that he's the talk of the town and has won many accomplishments for his merits to society. I'll…bend the rules a little bit. He'll get two weeks detention instead and has to write an apology letter to Mr. Fisk. But this is because Ponyboy is a good kid and he's come from the best of families."

"Thank you, Mr. Vernon. I promise, this will not happen again."

"I hope not. This is your final warning, Mr. Curtis. I expect you to stay out of trouble for the rest of your Junior Year."

"Yes, sir."

"Okay then. See you in two weeks."

The door opens. Dallas bolts back to his sitting spot. Darrel gives a deep sigh of relief while Ponyboy fidgets with his hands.

"How'd it go?" Dallas asked.

"I just talked him out of suspension. Ponyboy, next time, don't be the hero." Darrel then storms out of the office, with his brother trailing after.

Dallas tears into a juicy burger while Steve sips on a chocolate shake and Two-Bit flips through a German dictionary.

"What's this word mean?" Two-Bit asks, pushing the page in Dallas's face. The sentence, have you seen my coat stares back at him in familiarity.

"Word or sentence?"

"This word that says, uh…M..Me…"

"If you can't read English what the hell makes you think you can try German?"

Two-Bit slams down the dictionary in a huff. They were engrossed in conversation when the door to the diner opens and Dallas sees Shirley out of his peripheral vision. Right on time.

"Sorry I'm late, Dallas. I got caught up in…" Shirley stops herself.

"Hey, Shirley." He beams up at her. She bites her lip.

"You know her?" Two-Bit asks.

"Yeah, she's my— "

"—Lovely weather we're having!" Shirley blurts out. Dallas quirks an eyebrow.

"Shirl, what the hell're you— "

"—Dallas, can I talk to you, alone?"

Ignoring the questionable looks from his friends, he nods his head.

They walk to the side of the diner. Dallas lights up while Shirley fumbles with her coat pockets.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"You didn't tell me you're going to bring your friends."

"I wanted to introduce you to my friends Steve and Two-Bit, Shirl. They're good people."

"Dallas, you don't understand. People can't know about us. People talk, you know."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Dallas," she groans out, "We're already breaking a few rules…"

"I don't give a fuck, Shirley." He holds her close.

"People got a lot of shit to say about things they don't know. You're my girl and I want everyone to know it."

He kisses her.

"What the fuck…?"

They pull away.

There, with shocked looks on their faces, are Two-Bit and Steve.

They got some explaining to do.