Save me, Dally

Chapter 3: The Nightly Double and Blending In

"We're gonna get in trouble." I cried, as she pushed me to the other side of the diner for a smoke.

"Oh, relax." She said, lighting up one of her cigarettes with a match. She was old-fashioned like that. "Wanna smoke?" she asked.

I nodded as she passed me the pack. I lit my cigarette and leaned up against the restaurant. I looked at Sandy and she looked at me.

"Are you going to tell me what happened, or am I going to have to force it out of you with a meal of pancakes and bacon?" she asked me jokingly.

"The food would be nice; I didn't have enough time for breakfast." I said to her honestly.

"Well then, I guess we'll be spending our break here today." She said, taking another drag.

"I guess so." I whispered, more to myself than her.

"So what the hell happened, Tina?" she asked curiously, throwing herself onto the walkway.

I sat down with her and put out my cigarette. I promised Robin that I would quit.

"Well he told me I should've run away." I told her.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard that. Just get to the end. I missed what he said before he left."

I sighed heavily, wishing I kept that cigarette.

"He said 'That's not what I meant'." I mimicked his cold, mysterious voice. "What does that even mean?" I asked desperately.

"I ain't got a clue darling." She said, blowing smoke in my face. "But that's alright, cuz he's probably long gone now." She said reassuringly.

The thing is, I'm not sure I was very reassured.

·

After my shift, Sandy and I went to the double feature together. Stacey spent the whole night trying to pick up some guy in the car in front of us. Quite honestly, Stacey has probably slept with more guys than I've ever cared to know about. But that doesn't make her a bad person, or at least it shouldn't.

As I leaned back in the passenger seat, Stacey tapped on my window. I turned my torso over and rolled down the window.

"I was wondering if you wanted some Coke." She said through the window as a stranger groped her from behind. I couldn't tell who he was, but I honestly didn't really want to know.

"You know what, I'll get some." I told her, trying to ignore the faceless man. "How many?" I asked.

"Make it two please." She said as the stranger began to tug her arm.

I nodded and split the scene pretty fast. Watching your friend getting together with a stranger is quite an uncomfortable sight. As I waltzed over to the concession stand, I wrapped my cardigan tighter around my work outfit. It was getting pretty chilly, and the concession stand was packed. I knew I had to wait a while in line, so I took a seat in the empty bench next to a boy with a leather jacket.

"May I bum a smoke?" I asked cautiously. I knew I had promised to quit, but what's one gonna do. I'll just have to add a tally to the chart when I get home.

"Get your own damn pack." snapped the stranger, who completely turned the other way.

"Well excuse me Mr. Happy-Pants." I said rolling my eyes. God, are people rude, or what?

I crossed my legs and straightened my back to make me look taller. As I did so, the stranger turned around, and he instantly wasn't a stranger anymore.

"Hello Dally." I said icily.

I was still slightly annoyed with him for what he said in the diner. That's not what I meant. Then what did he mean? I've been racking my brain all day and I've come up with nothing.

"Tina." He said just as coolly.

He looked uncomfortable, and he squirmed a bit. I looked him in the eyes and they softened a bit, but almost instantly they became concrete barriers. I kept looking at him though, I felt confident I could get him to say something.

"What are you looking at, huh?" he scolded me, turning away.

I kept searching the side of his face intently, willing him to look back at me.

"I'm trying to figure you out." I said more to myself than to him. That's when he looked back at me.

"Well cut it out, would ya? And you might want to get in line before I take your spot." He snapped at me. He shot up off the bench and trudged away behind the concession stand.

I knew I was acting weird, but he just confused me. I didn't like him or anything, but he was a mystery that needed to be solved, and I really wanted to be the one to click this puzzle into perspective.

After I purchased two Cokes, I made my way back to Stacey's old, beat- up Pontiac. Just as I was about to open the door, I stopped. Stacey was in the back seat with the stranger, making-out. Or at least that's what I hoped. I checked my watch, and found that it was nine o'clock at night. I knew how dangerous it would be to walk home, but there was no other option. I checked the pocket in the cardigan Stacey lent me for a switch-blade, and I was relieved to find one shoved in the bottom of this white, baggy sweater. I had to get home at some point and I wasn't going to wait for Stacey to, um... finish.

I placed her bottle of Coke on the hood of the car and rushed out of the drive-in. My house was only three blocks away, but the only way to get to my house was to pass the biggest beer-blast of the summer, which just so happened to be hosted by none other than a gang of obnoxious Socs. I began wondering where Dally went, but I decided not to question it. He was the kind of guy who'd get drunk, bang a girl, and forget about it in the morning. Glad I wasn't that girl.

As I passed the beer-blast, I tried my hardest to blend in with the crowd. I stumbled and laughed, until I got past the bushes. I thought I was safe as I rounded the corner onto my street, but boy, was I wrong. A set of hands grabbed my hair while another covered my mouth. I screamed and bit, and tried to reach for my switch, but it fell out of my pocket as the people dragged me into the alley.