𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖍𝖊𝖗, ponyboy curtis

chapter seven.

   "I can't believe you invited a complete stranger into our house, Sodapop!" Darrell 'Darry' Curtis, lightly scolded his younger brother, Sodapop Curtis, who only shrugged.

"She's not a total stranger, Dar," Sodapop scoffed right back at the older sibling. "Dally and Buck know her."

All eyes snapped over to the particular brooding teen boy, who was standing silently next to Johnny Cade in the corner of the room. Dallas' head slowly looked up, a bored look on his face. 

"What?" he shrugged. "I only met her once or twice. She lives across the hall from me."

"She lives at Buck's? As in Buck Merrill?" Darry raised a brow. "Aint his place crawlin' with weirdos? What's a girl doin' livin' in a place like that?"

Dallas shrugged. "Dunno. She just showed up one day, sayin' she got here from California or somethin'. Buck gave her a job on the spot apparently."

"Are we talkin' about the same Buck Merrill?" Steve Randle, another good friend of Sodapop's, snorted out. "The same Buck Merrill who gave me a big ol' shiner across the face because I asked to get a free beer?"

"Same one," Dallas murmured out, shaking his head. He didn't quite know either how the young girl seemed to have struck Buck's soft spot.

   "You said she came here from California?" a previously silent Ponyboy Curtis, the younger brother of Soda and Darry, asked. His eyes were wide with confusion. "Why would anyone wanna come down here instead of California?"

"Dunno," Dallas shrugged once again. "Beats me. But I think I'm goin' to figure it out. There's something off about her. . ."

"Don't bother her too much, Dally." Johnny Cade, Dallas' best friend and Tulsa's renowned 'hero', shook his head. "You remember what happened with Cherry Valance, right Dal?"

This caused Dallas' expression to go completely blank. "Screw Cherry Valance and her screwed up Soc life," he muttered under his breath, suddenly finding the floor more interesting. "All I liked 'bout her was the way she—"

Ponyboy cleared his throat abruptly, not wanting to hear more. He stood up from the couch, looking at Sodapop. "What time is she supposed to arrive?" he asked.

  Personally, he didn't mind someone new coming over for dinner. He was curious, and a little bit excited. He got sick of the gang sometimes, so maybe a new friend was something they all needed.

"I think at 7 o'clock. . ." Sodapop trailed off, leaning over to peer at the small clock in the kitchen. Then, his eyes went as wide as saucers. "Holy moly, she's gonna be here in ten minutes!"

  Darry's eyes went wide as well. "Well, damnit Soda,why didn't you tell me it was so soon?!" he exclaimed, rushing into the kitchen. "I've gotta make my chocolate cake!"

  Keith 'Two-Bit' Matthews perked up suddenly from where he sat, smack-dab in the middle of the television, previously being entranced by Mickey Mouse. "Chocolate cake, you say?" he grinned slyly.

  "Yeah," Darry's voice piped back up from the kitchen, along with the sounds of cabinets opening and slamming shut. "And you're only having one slice, Two. Have some manners when we have guests over."

  Two-Bit hunched over in defeat. "Okay, fine." he mumbled out, grumbling a few curse words under his breath before tuning back into Mickey.

But then, a soft—almost inaudible—knock rang out through everyone's ears. Curses emitted immediately from Darry's direction, and more cupboards slammed open and shut. Ponyboy immediately sat up on the edge of his seat, his curiosity piquing. Besides Sodapop's description of her being young and gentle-looking, nobody else in the gang (besides Dallas, sort of) knew what the girl was like.