Summer Nights // Sodapop Curtis

Three

I followed Sodapop and his friend, Steve, outside. We stopped in front of all of those smoking boys who had been standing out front.

"Want a smoke?" One of the guys asked me.

"Don't bug her, Dally," Sodapop said.

"Sure," I answered the boy, Dally. I thought that smoking was a disgusting habit, but I wanted to impress these guys, and they were all smoking, so I should too.

Dally lit a cigarette and handed it to me. I didn't know what to do with it, so I watched the other boys and tried to copy what they were doing.

"Let's go to the drive in, the movie already started," Sodapop said.

We starting walking down the street, away from the nice side of town. The farther we got, the worse the town looked. The houses got smaller and there were more people walking around smoking. It made me really nervous, and I was thinking that I should have just stayed at the bowling alley with Amy and her friends.

I dropped the cigarette I was holding on the ground and crushed it with my foot as I had seen one of the other guys do.

"Hey, Callie, we never introduced you to the rest of the gang," Sodapop said.

I looked around, they didn't seem like the type of gangs that hang around in the bad parts of Chicago, they just looked like a group of friends out to cause some trouble.

"This is my little brother, Ponyboy," Sodapop said, ruffling the hair of one of the boys.

"Hi," Ponyboy smiled politely at me.

"That's Two-Bit," Sodapop pointed to a guy in a leather jacket with his hair slicked back.

"Hey baby," Two-Bit grabbed my hand and spun me around. I laughed and smiled at him.

"There's Dally," Sodapop gestured to the guy who had given me the cigarette. "And next to him is Johnny." Sodapop pointed to a boy who was talking with Dally. "Now you know everyone."

"What movie are we seeing?" I asked Sodapop.

"I don't know," he answered.

"It's probably some beach movie again," Ponyboy said.

"So, you're not from Tulsa, are you?" Sodapop asked.

"No, I'm from Chicago," I said.

"Ah, a city girl," he said.

"And what's wrong with that?" I asked.

"Nothing, it's great," Sodapop said. "So, you got a boyfriend back in Chicago?"

"No," I laughed, I was seventeen and I still didn't have a boyfriend, it was almost embarrassing.

"How come a pretty girl like you doesn't have a boyfriend?" He asked, laughing.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" I asked, changing the subject.

"No," he said proudly, and I began to feel excited.

"And why not?" I asked.

"I was waiting for the right girl to come around, but I don't know, I might have found her," Sodapop said. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, was he talking about me? I hoped he was, but a guy as cute as him probably has a million girls chasing after him.

We arrived at the drive in about a half hour after the movie had started. We sat in an area with metal chairs set up, and I sat in between Ponyboy and Sodapop. A beach movie was playing, but none of us were paying attention.

"Does anyone want to come with me to get some popcorn?" Ponyboy asked, standing up.

"I'll come," I said, "does anyone want anything?"

"Get me some popcorn," Steve said, tossing me a quarter.

"I'll take a Coke," Sodapop said, handing me some more change.

I followed Ponyboy to the food area, where there was a Greaser and a Soc in a fight, but we just avoided them.

"So, Ponyboy, how old are you?" I asked him as we waited in line to get our food.

"Fourteen," he replied. "How old are you?"

"I'm seventeen," I said. "So, what do you do for fun around here?"

"I like to read, but mostly I just hang around with the guys, and we see movies a lot," Ponyboy explained.

"That sounds fun," I said.

Once we were at the front of the line, I grabbed a bag of popcorn for Steve, and Coke for Sodapop, and a small bag of candy. Ponyboy grabbed a bag of popcorn, and then we both paid for everything.

"Why did you move out here?" Ponyboy asked.

"My Dad wanted to be closer to family," I said, not telling him that we hadn't actually moved to Tulsa, but we were only staying for the summer. I figured that if people knew I wasn't staying for long, they would treat me differently.

"Well, we should get back to the movie," Ponyboy said, and we walked back outside to our seats.

I tossed the bag of popcorn to Steve, and handed Sodapop his Coke.

"Hey!" Steve yelled, after I had tossed him the bag, most of his popcorn ended up on his lap.

"Sorry," I laughed, and I sat down next to Sodapop.

"Don't be sorry, he deserved it," Sodapop said softly, leaning towards me.

I opened my bag of candy, and poured some into my hand, but before I could eat it, Sodapop grabbed the chocolates from my hand.

"Thanks," Sodapop said, with a mouth full of my candy.

"You're welcome," I laughed, I couldn't get mad at someone as cute as him.

The movie ended, and we all got up to leave.

"You guys want to go to a party at Buck's?" Dally asked us once we were outside of the drive in.

"I'll go," Two-Bit said, but everyone else said they didn't want to go.

"What about you, Callie? Wanna go to a party?" Dallas asked, slinging his arm around my shoulder.

"I can't," I said. "I should get home."

"I'll walk you home," Sodapop said.

"See you guys later," I waved, and Sodapop and I walked toward the direction of the bowling alley.

"So, where exactly do you live?" Soda asked.

"I'm not sure," I laughed, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"You don't know where you live?" He asked.

"I'm staying with my cousin," I explained. "I think if we go to the bowling alley, I can find my way back home."

Sodapop and I walked to the bowling alley, and from there, somehow I found my way back to my cousin Amy's house.

"This is it," I said, stopping in front of the house.

"You live in a nice place," Sodapop said, his eyes were wide as he looked up at the house.

"There's no way my parents could ever afford this," I said. "We're so lucky to have family who will let us stay with them."

"When did you move here?" Sodapop asked, turning away from the house to look at me.

"We just got here today," I said.

"Well, I hope to see you around tomorrow," Soda smiled at me. That smile could win awards.

"I'll see ya," I said, and I ran inside.

I quietly shut the door behind me, and ran over to the front window. I pulled the curtains open and looked out. Sodapop was still standing out front, looking at the house. I smiled and closed the curtains before he saw me. Tonight was amazing, maybe this place wasn't so bad after all.