Trouble |The Outsiders|

07. The Girls

"I've been waiting for this day for five years,"  Evie yelled from booth number four, "just wait till the girls hear about this!"

As they were known, the girls included Abigail, Evie, Kathy Mcgonigal, Sylvia Bates, and Angela Shepard. They befriended each other back in elementary school, but their bond only grew as the years dragged on. There was rarely a time you caught one of the girls on their own, most weekends they wandered the town, peeking into the windows of shops they knew were too expensive. Kathy was the eldest of the group and was currently going steady with Two-Bit, her eyes were bright and her blonde hair was thick and frizzy. She was in her senior year.

Sylvia also had blonde hair, but that came from a bottle. She and Dallas could be found in his bedroom at Buck's, but neither of the teens considered themselves "together." Her eyes were a light brown and constantly glowed this curiosity. Everyone in town knew Sylvia would have died years ago if she didn't have good friends to keep her in line. Her fierce temper and wicked tongue are what drew Dallas Winston in, but was the same thing that got her in trouble more often than not. She was also the reason Abigail had a jar under her bed labelled "bail money" since she was thirteen.

Evie was the third oldest in the girl gang, she was older than Abigail by only thirty-six days. The youngest was Angela Shepard.

She was a spitting image of her brothers. The same vicious blue eyes and pointed jaw, dark curly hair cascading down her back. She always had her nails painted the same vibrant red as her lips, she was terrifyingly beautiful. Part of her charm was her lingering gaze, watching for just a moment too long before she vanished. Angela was always there but never belonged to anyone. Like a violent wind no man could ever tame.

The five girls all came from different homes, none of them particularly good.

Kathy's parents are cheating on each other behind their backs, each thinking Kathy doesn't know. Sylvia's stepdad is an asshole, but constantly gives her money so they can be "a happy family",  Evie's mother is still mourning the loss of her husband, even after eleven years. Angela's mother died a few years ago and her father is never home, so it's Tim's responsibility to keep her and Curly out of foster care. That's obviously difficult when both her brothers are in a gang.

They were five confused little girls who met the cruel world far too young. They grew up together, cried together, laughed, drank, and smoked, they were much more than just friends. They were sisters. And Abigail wouldn't trade them for the world.

"Cut it out," Abigail huffed as she placed the filthy dishes on her plate. "I don't even know if it is a date, Soda an' I haven't talked in a while now."

It was three o'clock, October eighth, Sodapop Curtis's seventeenth birthday. The diner was slowly filling as the week crawled to an end, mostly obnoxious kids slid into the empty booths, talking about the latest gossip. Abigail and Evie walked around, occasionally catching bits and pieces of who kissed who.

 Soda was on the other end of town, sitting behind the counter at the DX. Work was no way to spend a birthday, but if it meant not going homeless or hungry, he could get by. Besides, no one was home anyway. Darry was at work, the rest of the gang was at school. Dallas, on the other hand, was busy doing God only knows what. But none of that mattered. By four-thirty, he'd be off work and headed to the Dingo with the gang for his birthday dinner. After that, it was time to set up the date. All he had to worry about was not screwing it up.

"Afternoon Abigail, how're you?"

Mr. Richardson, Will, smiled at the waitress from his booth. He was a fairly handsome man, a chiseled jaw and kind smile, dark hair brushed back. He moved back to Tulsa near the end of the summer after going to university in Oklahoma City. Ever since then, he'd come to the Dingo and sit on Abigail's side. She didn't mind at all. In fact, Abigail enjoyed the friendly banter and jokes. Even more, though, she enjoyed the generous tip he left her every time. "I'm doing alright," she smiled as she passed the booth. Will nodded silently but shot her a smile before turning his gaze back to the newspaper on the table.