Brother's Best Friend | The Outsiders

Chapter 02.

Nobody knew why Bradley loved school so much. Her brothers all deemed her as weird and a nerd for loving the 40 minute classes. They all just thought she was a goody-two-shoes to her parents, trying to show them how perfect she was. Oh, how they were wrong.

Bradley wasn't the eldest out of the four Curtis children, but she was the oldest, and only, daughter. That role in and out of itself was complicated and exhausting. Darry was the first son. He threw the football over 100 yards in games and got a full ride scholarship to one of the top colleges in Oklahoma. Sodapop was drop dead gorgeous. He was the one were everyone's eyes fell. Ponyboy was the baby. He was a little genius from the moment he was born, topping his class and skipping a grade with his intelligence. That left Bradley. The one kid that didn't really shine like the other three. So, Bradley worked day and night in school and at home to have her parents even notice her. She never got hit as a child and she definitely didn't live a bad childhood, but somethings aren't always perfect even if they seem to be. Bradley saw things no one else saw.

"Bradley Curtis." The teacher read.

"Here!" Bradley smiled, raising her hand.

"Hey, Bray. You still coming over tonight?" Delilah asked, leaning over to Bradley's desk.

"I can't. I have to help Pony out with his English homework." She responded, turning her head to look at her friend.

"Oh, okay. Tomorrow?" Delilah asked.

Delilah knew Bradley would do anything and everything for her brothers and the gang, no matter the affect it had on her. It's just how she was ever since the two met in first grade.

"Yeah, that works!" Bradley smiled, tapping her pencil on her notebook.

"Delilah Richards." The teacher interrupted.

"Here." Delilah said, smiling at Bradley before looking down into the book she was reading.

"Alright, class. Today I will be handing out copies of The Great Gatsby. You'll have the rest of class today and tomorrow to read up to Chapter Three. We will discuss these chapters on Friday and a quiz will be delivered on Monday." Mrs. Klemens explained.

Bradley sat on the edge of her chair waiting for the book to hit her desk. She had read it many times before, but it never got old to her.

"Now, I want you all to enjoy this book. This book was one of my favorites when I was your age. I'm not going to have you write notes as you read, but please try to understand and think about what the author is writing. It's not just words on a page, it is it's own form of art. How you see the art, is up to you." Mrs. Klemens explained, causing Bradley's face to break out into a wide grin.

Bradley loved her English teacher. She was the person who finally made her realize what she wanted to be after she threw her cap in the air. Bradley wanted to be a teacher and go to Oklahoma State University (OSU). She was a Junior after all, it was almost time to apply and she was on the edge of her seat waiting for the letter, even though she hadn't even written the application.

At the end of the day, Bradley accompanied Ponyboy and Johnny on their walk to the house. She was listening to the conversation but not fully engaged. The autumn breeze whispered as though it was a song begging for everyone to listen, and Bradley was listening. She was absorbing every gust of wind, hands wrapped around her stomach.

"Bray." Ponyboy said, waving his hand in front of his older sister's face.

"What's up?" She asked, looking over at the boys.

"You still helping me?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course." Bradley smiled, opening the gate to the house.

"Okay, thank you again." Ponyboy answered, smile painted on his face.

"No problem." She said, walking inside.

"Hey, Two." Bradley announced, dropping her backpack by the door and unlacing her Converse.

"Hey, Bray. Want to watch Mickey?" Twobit asked, looking behind his back at the girl.

"I can't, Two. I'm helping Pony with his English homework." She answered, taking off her high tops and walking into the kitchen.

"Alright. Can you grab me another beer?" He shouted from the other room.

"How many have you had today?" She called back, taking out a Pepsi.

"Below our limit, Kid." Twobit answered, shaking his head slightly at her actions.

Bradley had always been concerned about Twobit's drinking habits. She loved all the boys (except Dally, maybe) and wanted them all to be safe, and Twobit was the exact opposite. She made him pinky promise that he would only have three beers a day. Sounds childish but one time Sodapop pinky promised her he wouldn't tell Steve she liked him. When Bradley figured out he knew, Sodapop's pinky was in a cast for two months.

"Alright, here." She smiled, handing her friend the bottle.

"Okay, what are we confused on, Pone?" Bradley asked her little brother, sitting down on the floor across from him.

The two siblings sat on the floor for almost two hours doing Ponyboy's study guide. Ponyboy believed Bradley was magic in that moment. She was explaining everything perfectly and he was grasping it without even knowing.

"Thank you, Bray. That really helped." Ponyboy said, hugging his sister.

"Yeah, of course." She smiled, opening her backpack and taking out her notebook and History book.

"Hello, Miss. Goodie-Two-Shoes." Dallas announced, leaning against the wall.

Bradley rolled her eyed, glaring at him through her eyelashes. He smirked at her, knowing that always got her riled up.

"Hello, Mr. Hood." She smiled, saluting him.

"You really know how to charm a man, y'know Doll." Dallas chuckled, winking at the girl.

"One of my talents, Winston." She smirked, looking back down to her book.

Just as Dallas was about to spit something else at Bradley, he was stopped by the door opening and boots clicking on the floor - Darry was home. If you looked close enough, you could see the split second of fear flash in Dally's eyes like lighting. Every time Darry opened the door and walked in with his heavy boots, Dallas thought of his dad - he couldn't help it. Correction: he couldn't stop it.

"Dal, lay off her. Will ya?" Darry said, smacking the boy on the back of his head.

"Yeah, yeah." Dally responded, rubbing his head and glaring at Darry.

"How was school, guys?" Darry asked, looking at Bradley and Ponyboy.

It wasn't a rare occurrence to see the two siblings sat on the floor, in front of the couch, doing homework. The pair were quite close and they relied on each other for comfort throughout their highschool years. They were the only two siblings left to fully finish their schooling and they weren't going to let their parents down, even if they weren't really there.

"It was good." Bradley smiled, jotting a few different notes in her notebook.

"Yeah, pretty good. Bradley helped me with some Romeo and Juliet for English." Pony said, smiling at his sister, which she gladly returned.

"That's good. How does pizza sound tonight? I'm not in the mood to cook." Darry said, taking a seat in his recliner.

"Good for me!" Bradley said, eyes lighting up with joy. She loved pizza because it meant Darry got a raise.

Darry never liked to announce or tell anyone of the gang when he would get a raise, but Bradley knew. They tended to always get pizza, or some form of takeout, and the wrinkles on her older brother's forehead would fade, due to having enough for bills. Bradley couldn't help but smile at Darry. She was so proud of him and everything he'd done for her. She'd never be able to pay that back with one cheeky grin, but she could try. Needless to say, everyone enjoyed the pizza, especially Darry and Bradley.