Chapter 4
The blowout from the previous night left Virginia on a tight schedule for the rest of the week. The only three places that saw a trace of her were school, the crowded bus, and then home. It rained nearly every day that week too, and the girl counted herself lucky that at least the days she was cooped up weren't ones she would have rather spent out in the sun. And in a similar regard, at least school was interesting that week.
Between sessions of moping over turning down opportunities to get a soda after school or watching the last Roper's baseball game of the season, studying kept Virginia busy. Finals were quickly approaching, and with it an impending knowledge that in under three weeks it would be the end to her junior year. And then, in a few months, she would be starting her senior year.
What would she be doing in a year's time? Prom and graduation would be the two major events. Those, and then life.
She tried not to think about it too much during the assembly that Friday. Principal Knight had announced they'd have a special guest for the end of the year and introduced Johnny Crawford to the stage, who sang while a student accompanied him on guitar. Virginia had only ever seen him in 21 inches of black and white, when he was still just a kid on The Rifleman. He didn't look all that different now, she admitted to Barbara in the auditorium seat beside her.
After the bell rang, Two-Bit caught Virginia waiting for her bus. He invited her out to cruise that weekend but she didn't know if her grounding officially ended after today or after that weekend, or after the 8th. In addition, she had to remind him Sunday was Mother's Day.
"Shit," he scrunched up his face, "I better get the old lady something. Thanks for the heads up."
Mother's Day was always a disaster. Maybe not a Hindenburg level one with the lights and explosions, but it still wasn't normal. Her mom only got a card last year, along with a husband who went into work on the day off. Virginia had planned on turning a bouquet of flowers and a nice new vase, bought with her paycheck money, into a gift. Instead, she never had the chance with the way she had been kept in all week.
Two-Bit had written down his phone number on the back cover of Virginia's math notebook and said to give him a call if she was free Saturday night. Unfortunately, Saturday came and went with her riding to and from work in her father's car and Sunday passing by with no gifts given. She cooked dinner (porkchops, green beans, and potatoes) for everyone at least, so her mother didn't have to slave away one day of the year. She wished she could have done more than that and a hug.
Come Monday, Virginia was free though. It was a breath of fresh air, both figuratively and literally. Summer was coming soon, you could feel it in the breeze. She didn't need to wear tights under her skirt anymore and could swap out her sweaters for shorter sleeves.
That night she risked a phone call while her father was still at the store and her mom was preoccupied with the washing machine. Two-Bit's line rang and rang to no avail, but he made it up to her at school the next day.
"Gonna meet up with some buddies at Ronnie's for lunch," he caught her in the hallway that led to the cafeteria, "wanna tag along?"
Ronnie's Diner had a reputation for good food and tough customers. It was popular among bikers and late shift factory workers.
"Can you get us there and back in time?" Virginia asked. The school let students leave campus for lunch, so long as you had a car to get you there and didn't miss your next class. Ronnie's wasn't exactly a quick drive down the block, though.
"Can do," he announced. "Figure you don't want to get in trouble again after your stint in solitary confinement."
God, wasn't that the truth, which is why she wasn't keen on the idea of going, especially with the knowledge that his car didn't always start.
Unexpectedly, the De Luxe booted up without a hitch. Ten or so minutes later, they pulled up to a building Virginia had rarely visited. It was long and skinny with a dozen or so square windows all around the outside. A bell chimed overhead when the pair entered.
Sodapop was sitting in one of the big booths wearing his messy DX uniform, confused expression on his face when he saw them. He also wasn't alone. As she and Two-Bit approached, Virginia got the sneaking suspicion that this wasn't just "meeting some buddies" as he had originally put it, but more so showing up unannounced to an already-in-progress double-date.
There was another boy and two girls present on opposite sides of the booth, all roughly the same age. One of the girls sat beside Soda, snuggling up against him even. She was a blonde haired, blue eyed doll with a soft smile. Her and Soda looked like they were a couple plucked out of a Hollywood magazine, like some kind of American dream.
Across the table was another boy, wearing a matching DX cap that couldn't contain a dark, Clark Kent style curl. He was taking a sip from one of two straws in the glass in front of him and his face scrunched up when he looked at Two-Bit, making the fact that his nose had been broken once or twice before all the more evident.
Working on a plate of fries next to him was a girl with dark, dark skin, bright red lipstick, and smokey eyes. Virginia wished she was talented enough to do makeup like that. Her hair was pressed and styled up. She nudged the boy hard in the side, maybe to try and wipe that look off his face.
"Steve, Soda, ladies," Two-Bit greeted with a drawl, "got room for two more?"
They didn't. The booth was full but that didn't stop Two-Bit from pulling over a pair of chairs from a nearby table and setting them at the end of this one.
Like at the Curtis's house, Virginia worried she was putting people out, showing up unannounced at Two-Bit's whim. Sweet Sodapop found a way to quell this for the time being. He patted the chair placed closest to him to invite her to sit down. Two-Bit was still on his feet until he successfully waved over a waitress.
"Hi," said Virginia after getting comfortable. She struggled to get it out of her mouth at more than a whisper. She gave her name and learned everyone else's in turn: Steve, Evie, and Sandy.
Sandy looked sort of familiar, like a girl who once upon a time went to the same school but had moved away last fall. Steve too. She'd seen him before in a gym class, except back then there was no reason to make the connection to "Soda's buddy" Steve Randle. Evie was completely new, though. There was only one black girl in all of Will Rogers High and it wasn't her. She also didn't look too happy about the pair who showed up unexpectedly, but she didn't say anything about it.
Two-Bit ordered them a basket of chicken and fries. "Might as well since they've already got the fryer going," he said, and passed the time talking to the other boys about some fight down at the drag strip. Virginia listened in to that and the girl's additions, about how Gloria, whoever that was, dumped Walt, another unknown, for blowing out all four tires on his car. She joined in when the topic switched to complaining about English teachers and end of term tests.
"You do okay in school?" asked Steve.
"I do okay," Virginia responded. She wasn't on the honor roll but she wasn't failing anything either.
"If you're gonna be stickin' around, think I could copy off you for math? I'm supposed to be graduatin' this year but they won't let me walk unless I get the grade up."
Virginia had the misfortune of telling him that she had no idea what they were teaching the Seniors or else she would have done her best to help.
When the chicken basket arrived the subject changed.
"This place is okay," said Sandy, "Boots has got the best chicken around though."
"Where's that?" asked Virginia.
"On Peoria," answered Evie. "You ever been up to the Ribbon?"
"Not at night. I heard driving gets too crazy."
The Ribbon was a long strip of road near the highway that wasn't of any note in the daytime. It was lined with drive-ins, grocery stores, bowling alleys, and ice cream parlors. Virginia had heard it was always bumper to bumper traffic. It was full of teens getting in accidents because they were too busy staring at the lights and other teens.
"Too many socs," Two-Bit added in, mouth half full.
"They'll leave you alone if it's just you and your girlfriends," said Sandy.
"We'll take you up there sometime," Evie told Virginia. "You get all dolled up before you go and see what kind of fellas want to take you home. It's a blast." Steve didn't say anything but shot her a look. "If I ever get my car back that is."
"Thought you was getting it back next week," questioned Steve.
"Daddy said I'd get it back 'as soon as he was done teaching Jerry,' and now Jerry's refusing to learn stick. I don't know what the problem is. He ain't learned how to drive without it so it's not like he's switching over. I did just fine on my first try."
Virginia never would have listed 'jealous' as one of her personality traits. She figured she got along alright and it wouldn't do well to dwell on the things other people had that she lacked. Hearing about Evie's dad though, one who'd made an effort to teach his kids to drive, and probably other things in life, made her a little green. That all matched with the fact that she'd been watching the girls a little too intently over lunch.
Sandy spent the whole half hour tucked up against Soda's side, arm draped across his stomach, ignoring the grease stains that littered it. On the other side of the table, Steve hung his hand around Evie's shoulder, looking like a dog who'd bite if anyone got too close.
Virginia wanted that. She wanted to be doted on and protected and loved in public. To be with someone that everyone for miles could look at and say "aren't those two so cute together?"
Unfortunately, the person she wanted all that with was the same one who made a point of bumping shoulders with the highway patrolman who was walking in when they were heading out. Two-Bit made a big show of bowing in mock apology and mouthing off, "So sorry, m'lord," in an accent. Virginia's heart beat out of her chest during the whole interaction. Luckily, he dragged her along out the door before anything could come of it.
Virginia couldn't bear to bring any of that up to Two-Bit though, even when he made mention of wanting to spend time with her over the break.
"You got any plans this summer?" he asked on the ride back.
"Probably lots of working," Virginia lamented. More free time meant more time she'd be left to tend the store. "Hopefully he'll give me nights and weekends to do whatever. What about you?"
"I'll be bumming around, like usual. We'll see if I can sneak into the fair whenever it comes around. Wouldn't have to if they didn't keep raising the prices.
"Or my birthday's in June; I'll get up to some kind of trouble then." Two-Bit then put on the silly, posh accent again. "Might the lady be interested in accompanying me to one of those elite social gatherings? I'll make it worth your while."
Virginia rolled her eyes at the absurdity of it all.
"I suppose you leave me no choice."
They were twenty minutes late when they got back to school. Two-Bit tried to sweet talk the secretary and blame it on traffic, or at least blame him and let Virginia off the hook for his bad driving, but that didn't do anything to stop their lunch privileges from being taken away for the rest of the year.
"Great…" Virginia muttered on the walk to her locker. It didn't matter too much in the grand scheme of things. At least it wasn't a detention. At least it wasn't something that would get back to her parents.
Two-Bit followed along behind her. He leaned on the lockers on the other side of the hallway while she collected her textbook and pens. When Virginia turned back around to head to class, he looked like he was thinking real hard about something.
"This period's mostly over anyway," he said, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "You wanna cut and go talk somewhere?"
She hated that so often she found herself turning him down when she wanted to do the very opposite.
"We've gotta get to class," she lamented. She was always playing it safe.
"You gotta live a little sometimes," he told her.
"I know," she said. And then a sigh came over her. "You getting bored of me yet?" She regretted asking it.
"Wouldn't dream of it," he said. It sounded as sincere as it possibly could. "This summer, though, you're gonna start saying 'yes' to me more often."
Through thinking too hard and lingering on every word he said, Virginia realized he had slowly but surely filled the gap between them.
"How 'bout you call me tonight?"
"The last two times I've tried no one picked up." Her pulse was suddenly beating in her ears and she couldn't hear if her voice was still playing it cool like she wanted it to.
"I'll be home tonight, scout's honor. Just imagine me waiting by the phone with my feet kickin' back and forth, readin' my Tiger Beat mag, sipping on a-"
"-Okay, okay, I get it." The mental image was enough to get Virginia laughing.
He pointed at her, as if to hold her to it, and then turned towards the basement stairs to shop class, whistling all the way.
Lucky enough, Virginia's parents were out late that evening. Around five, she dragged the telephone into her bedroom and dialed the number Two-Bit had written down. It chimed too many times for her nerves and then it clicked. He had picked up, as promised, and she hesitantly greeted.
"Hey, baby," Two-Bit chimed.
That was the last word Virginia ever expected to come out of his mouth. He could have been joshing; pulling out the phrase to get a rise out of her. It was his specialty after all.
She decided to carry on like it never happened, even if it meant preoccupying her thoughts by twirling the phone's cord over and over again in between her fingers.
The two talked for a few hours that evening.
They talked about music.
Elvis was about to start working on a new album, except it was one of the more "Jesus-y" ones so neither of them were too interested.
They talked about fights.
Even after everything that had happened to the gang last year, two west-side guys tried to jump Ponyboy a few days ago. Two-Bit had run them off. Sometimes all it took was flashing his pocket knife to get people heading for the hills, or so he said. He'd get into a fair fight, one-on-one and just fists, for the hell of it if they were willing to take him on. This time they weren't.
They talked about finals.
Virginia had to triple check that Two-Bit was going to do okay on the tests.
"Don't you wanna get outta there?" she asked when he sounded rather noncommittal. He didn't quite give an answer.
They didn't talk about them, like Virginia secretly wanted. Maybe this was just what it was like going after a greaser boy in the mid 60's. They already didn't listen to the rules so why would rituals of formally asking a girl to go steady or for her to wear your jacket mean anything to them? Instead, maybe if you talked and acted like a couple, you were a couple, nothing else to it.
Was it even fair to say they were that far along yet?
They talked on the phone again Thursday night.
They talked about friends.
Virginia learned that Barbara and her family would be going out of town for a month as soon as Summer started. The one female friend she wanted to be around would be gone until halfway through June. That stank. At least she promised to send a postcard.
They talked about parents. It started with Two-Bit bringing up the gang.
"Darry's gonna give everyone a talkin' to tomorrow. Next year everybody but Pony'll be over 18 and well," he paused, "things get more serious then. You don't get in and out of the cooler after a night if they start tryin' you as an adult. He already hollered at me about it last year. He doesn't want anyone with more of a rap sheet than they can help; doesn't want anyone going away for a long time.
"Don't think there's one good father figure between the lot of us. If Darry doesn't say stuff like that, no one will."
Virginia agreed but didn't say anything about it. She didn't have to. Two-Bit was smarter than people gave him credit for. He could read her mind on the matter, loud and clear.
Two-Bit didn't bring up his dad, he never had aside from collective assumptions about all fathers like this one. His mother on the other hand, "salt of the Earth" he called her. Maybe she would meet her one day.
When Virginia hopped up the courage to change the topic to them, Two-Bit said to hang on. He had to fix up some soup or other canned goods for his sister and Johnny, another victim of the people who raised him, for dinner. She heard the closing of cabinet doors, sink water spilling over, and pots and pans clanging, all until her own front door was opened and she had to hang up before saying goodbye.
The week after, they talked about school again. They'd passed their exams, some subjects better than others. Steve was planning a celebration since he would officially be graduating.
"He's planning on draggin' a bunch of folks down to the river. I'll probably go and see how boozed up I can get. Little Rosie Byfield asked me to be her date," he rattled off, "like a bunch of kids fooling around under a bridge is something that qualifies for a date nowadays. Figure she's alright lookin' so might as well."
Virginia didn't know Rosie Byfield but her existence made it all the more difficult to ask Two-Bit about them.
The little green monster had returned.
"Arthur and Connie are hosting an end of the year party on Friday. I'll probably be there and help them set up and everything," she cut in. She'd actually only been invited in passing, a "come if you want" style offering. She guessed she would, or at least she'd tell Two-Bit that.
"Be sure to tell me what town looks like from the third floor," he said. "I've never had the pleasure."
Arthur drove the girls home with him on the last day of school, along with one of his buddies. Rick was in the backseat passenger side and Virginia felt like he was practically breathing down her neck since she was in the middle seat, all to appease Joann.
They stopped at the store to buy snacks and later rolled into the driveway. Virginia had never been to Arthur's house before (not that she ever wanted to). Her eyes were already wide from gazing at the rest of the houses in the neighborhood, but this one took the cake. It was pristine, had lots of room for parking, and the number of white columns on the front porch was gaudy.
She didn't belong here. Maybe she could have wormed her way into the good graces of a family like this at some point, but that was long gone by now. She realized she had chosen a side, as unintentional as it was.
It became all the more apparent when guests arrived. The chess team was there, along with some of Arthur's friends from church. That year's Miss Will Rogers showed up, a few members of the basketball team in tow. They all happened to be dates of some of the Girls of the Month. No normal, average people, like Virginia had thought for so long her group was.
She lingered around the punch bowl for too long, managing a few helpings before it was inevitably spiked.
How much more could they change throughout their upcoming senior year? Or, was this something that was all on her? Virginia thought long and hard about it without coming up with an answer. In the very least, it did well to drown out the Beach Boys records someone had put on.
She wondered what girls like Evie and Sandy got up to on a Friday night. Right now they were probably stood around a fire on the banks of the Arkansas as their boyfriends made fools of themselves. What went on in a normal day for them? Did they watch movies and read magazines together? Did they talk about which celebrities they liked best and get dressed up for only themselves to enjoy? Man, Virginia wished she could look like that.
Or did they stay in, keep to themselves, because they didn't particularly have much in common, or because their parents kept them there?
Virginia hated having more questions than answers. There probably wouldn't be an end to that in sight, she lamented. They kept her busy most of the night while she people watched and mingled with strangers who didn't fit her tastes.
After the sun went down, Connie got wasted despite all her holier-than-thou talk over the last couple of months. At some point Arthur had lost his leash on her and she approached Virginia. She talked (slurred was more like it) her head off, saying how great this house was, and how nice all the people there were, and how lucky she was to have a boyfriend who treated her like she really was something.
"You just need to try harder," she said, which really struck a nerve.
"Why don't you mind your own damn business, like I've told you to a million times," said Virginia. Her mood got the better of her and she slammed the plastic cup she was drinking from onto the punch table. It was empty, which must have lessened the effect, because it didn't change Connie's tune in the slightest.
"If you're gonna make it this hard on yourself, I'll set you up," she said, unphased.
Virginia was going to give Connie a piece of her mind, she decided. It was happening then and there. All the negativity that had been building over months, maybe years even that she had been blind to, was coming out in the open. Sure, it would be embarrassing to hash it out in front of so many people from school, but they'd have a whole summer to forget it ever happened.
She opened her mouth to spit out a definitive statement. A "I've had enough of this," or a "If you ever want to speak to me again you're done talking to me like this," but it never came.
Connie had covered Virginia's mouth full on with her hand.
And then worst of all, she dashed away and dragged Rick back over by the sleeve of his plaid button-up, practically throwing him on Virginia. She'd scurried away and left them alone after that, but Virginia wasn't sure if that was better or worse.
Rick held his party cup in a tight grip, possibly having overheard the commotion. He awkwardly shifted back and forth on his feet.
Virginia couldn't see what was supposed to be better about this guy compared to any of her choices. In perfect lighting he might have been cute enough, acne scars and all, but it wasn't likely. The lights overhead the kitchen sink didn't do him any favors, causing him to appear sallow and like his collar had him in a chokehold.
"I don't have time for this," spat Virginia. She rolled her eyes and went to push past him. If she didn't get to let off steam like things had been leading to, she was just going to leave.
Rick grabbed her by the wrist.
"You seem like a nice girl, Virginia," he said, trying to keep her in place. "Want me to go grab you another drink?"
"I'm leaving," she demanded. "Wanna get your hands off of me?"
He did but was still lingering for her attention.
"Come on, it's still early!"
She successfully shoved past him this time and flipped him off as she made her way out the front door.
It was a long walk home.
AN: I had originally set what I thought was a reasonable goal for myself of one chapter a month, but it turns out May - August is my busy season in real life and that put writing on the major back burner. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer (in the Northern hem, at least!) and thank you for checking in and being patient!