My Uptown Girl

A Secret about Sandy

"Johnny, care to explain why everyone's in my house again?" Shirley rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she glared at the seven Greasers who had taken over her entire living room. It was only nine in the morning and it was Shirley's first day off in a month, so she was trying to catch up on some much needed rest. Things didn't go according to plan when loud chatter woke her up. Thinking Johnny was in trouble, she rushed out of bed (forgetting that she was in her nightgown) and ran to where she heard the noise from.

Low and behold, it was just her friends who decided to crash at her place for breakfast. Darrel had already taken over the kitchen. Everyone else was in the living room.

"I wanted to come see you for breakfast," Jonny replied nervously as he kept an eye on the very tired girl, who looked like she was about to murder the entire group. "They decided to come along after I announced I was leaving to go to your place."

"One day. I just wanted one day to sleep in." Shirley groaned and made her way back to her bedroom, changing into something more appropriate. After she was done, she reentered the living room and flopped onto the couch, sitting in between Sodapop and Ponyboy.

"You could've just gone back to sleep." Ponyboy inquired, noticing the dark circles under Shirley's eyes.

"I'll be fine. I work the dinner shift tomorrow so I'll just sleep in then." Shirley placed her head on Ponyboy's shoulder and turned her attention to the television.

Since it was considered "early" in the morning, the only few channels on were kids cartoon, a 1920's movie, and a few television shows that sparked Shirley's interest.

They all decided on watching the comedy show 'Gilligan's Island' as no one wanted to watch the other options that were available.

"Shirley!" Darrel called from the kitchen. "How do you like your eggs?"

"Sunny-side up, please!" Shirley called back, her entire focus now on the show. She lifted her head up, from where it laid on Ponyboy's shoulder, and got up to get herself something to drink from the kitchen.

"Do you want anything to drink, Darrel?"

"Nah, I'm good for now. Here's your plate." He handed her one of her own ceramic plates and she stared at the meal that was given to her. Eggs, bacon, and toast. Something that Shirley considered might be the only breakfast Darrel knew how to cook.

"Thanks." Darrel called to the other boys to come get their plates and they all sat in their original positions, eating and watching the television show.

"Shirley, slow down. Your food isn't gonna grow legs and run." Dally chuckled at the way Shirley was practically shoveling food into her mouth as she kept her entire attention to the screen. Embarrassed from suddenly being called out, Shirley's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink and she slowed down on her eating.

"Cut her some slack, Dal. She worked a double shift yesterday and could barely stay awake when we were eating dinner. She didn't get to eat much." Johnny stuck up for Shirley, glaring at his friend who quickly stopped teasing her.

"Damn, girly. You need to stop working so much." Steve placed a hand on Shirley's knee and decided to pat on it, trying to comfort her in some way.

"I agree with Steve," Sodapop spoke up, looking over towards her. "You don't need to overwork yourself for some Soc diner."

"I appreciate the concern, guys. But, I'm alright. Working one double shift isn't going to kill me."

"Eh, true." Two-Bit shrugged from where he sat in front of the television box, not taking his eyes off the screen to include himself into the conversation.