Krystal Curtis| Dallas Winston and Johnny Cade

The Grade.

A Few Weeks Later...

On the days that Two Bit actually went to school, he would drive us home. And today happened to be one of those days. Pony got into the back of his car and I got into the front. Soda was at work.

Soda has been skipping school a lot recently. It's concerning to say the least, but I'm gonna let him do his thing. He doesn't need Me and Darry on his back.

That's another thing I'd like to mention. Ever since our parents died (which was about a month and a half ago), Darry has been pressuring Pony and I into doing well in school. He checks our homework daily and makes sure to look through our schoolwork for any grades we may have not told him about. Soda is nearly failing every class, but Darry never mentions it.

"How was school today kiddos?" Two Bit asked, stepping on the gas once we closed our doors.

I let out a small chuckle. "It was great," I said.

"What's the plans for tonight?" He asked, putting a toothpick in his mouth.

"Johnny and I were gonna go to the drag race. Wanna come?" Pony asked Two Bit.

"Hell yeah. Haven't been to one of those in awhile," Two Bit began, looking at Pony through the mirror. Then he looked at me. "What about you? What ya doing tonight?" He asked.

"I'm going out with one of my girlfriends," I said, fixing my earring.

That was a lie. I wasn't going out with one of my friends. I was going out with my boyfriend Bryon. But I could never tell them that. They'd beat him up. Especially because Bryon has dated tons of girls in the past. But I don't mind because he really seems to dig me.

"You got friends?" Two Bit asked, laughing his ass off.

His stupid joke made Pony giggle like a fool in the back.

"Ha ha," I said dryly, a smile forming on my face.

"You gotta admit that the joke was good," he said.

I looked at him. "Get some new material. And maybe I'll laugh," I said.

He put his hand over his heart and gasped like he was hurt. I laughed and looked out the window. We were almost home.

When we reached our house, Two Bit stopped and let us out.

"I'll pick you and Johnny up in an hour, okay?" Two Bit yelled out to Pony.

"Sounds fine!" Pony exclaimed.

We both walked into the house. Darry and Soda were on the couch. Soda was watching a cartoon about a mouse and Darry was reading a newspaper.

"Hey guys," I said, putting down my backpack and sitting on the couch.

"Hey Krystal," Soda greeted, not looking up from the television.

"Hi," Darry said, turning the page. "What's the plan tonight, Pony?" He asked.

"Two Bit, Johnny and I are going to the races. There's supposed to be a few good racers," Pony said, picking up his book.

"Interesting," Darry began, looking up at me. "What's your plans?" He asked.

"I'm going out with a girlfriend of mine," I answered, avoiding his eyes.

"Wrong. You're staying in to study," he said.

"What?" I questioned, my eyebrows raising.

"I found your latest test in Spanish," He said.

He held up a piece of paper. I recognized it immediately. The test I took yesterday. In big, red letters it said:

59- SEE ME AFTER CLASS

"What's this about?" He asked.

"I was just tired-" I began.

"Truth?" He asked.

I looked over at Soda and Pony. They weren't even looking up from their entertainment.

"I didn't study. I was out with Steve and Soda," I responded.

Soda looked over at us at the mention of his name.

"Don't bring me into this," he said with a mouthful of cereal.

"We're not. It's not your fault she didn't study," Darry said, then turned back to me. "Is the teacher allowing you to retake it?" He asked.

I nodded. "She said that I have never done this bad on a test so she'll let me retake it tomorrow," I said.

"Great. Cancel your plans with your friends. You're staying in," he said, looking back at his paper.

"Aw cmon Darry. I'll get home early enough to-" I began.

"Stop. Your grade in Spanish is the only thing keeping you from being on the honor roll," he said.

I sighed. "Fine. If I do good tomorrow, can I go out then?" I asked.

"Yes," he responded shortly.

You may be wondering why I didn't protest. And the answer is: there's no point. I'll be staying home to study no matter what. No amount of fighting will change his mind.

About twenty minutes later, Johnny came through the door.

"Hey Johnny," I said.

"Hey Krystal. How's it going?" He asked, sitting down next to me.

"Pretty good. Though I have to stay home tonight," I said, staring at Darry.

Johnny smiled, but very softly. "What did ya do?" He asked.

"Failed a test," I responded, smiling at him.

"What did you get?" He asked.

"A 59," I said.

He chuckled a little. "My folks would congratulate me if I got a 59," he said.

I laughed. "Apparently I don't get that treatment," I said.

"Nope," Darry said, popping the 'p' loudly. I rolled my eyes.

Johnny, Pony, Soda and I just sat and talked for the next hour and a half. Darry just read his paper.

There was a loud beep outside. Johnny and Pony stood up and grabbed their jackets.

"Bye guys," I said. They returned the goodbye and walked out the door.

Darry stood up as well. "We gotta get going too," he said.

Soda got up and bear hugged me like he always did.

"Bye K," he said. He walked barefoot to the door and put his shoes on as he walked out.

"We'll be back at 8:00. And when we do, I'll quiz you," he said.

I nodded. "Sure," I said.

"See you later, K," he said and walked out the door.

"Bye Darry," I said.

I sighed as I heard the car pull away from the house. The relationship between my brothers and I haven't been the same since our parents' death. It feels like we're distancing from each other in a negative way.

I sat down at the kitchen table and did some Spanish homework. I studied Spanish words by using flash cards. I did this for about thirty minutes before I heard a tapping at the window in one of the bedrooms