The Outsiders: A Girl in the Gang

Chapter 7

        "What do you think you're doing?!" Dally yelled at me when I slammed the truck door on the passenger side.

        "Planning to get mugged," I grumbled sarcastically.

        "You think you can just do whatever you want now, huh?" he shouted.

        "And why can't I?" I broke in.

        "You're only fourteen!  Tulsa isn't like New York, you need to watch out for yourself here, cause I can't be there all the time.  And you need to listen to me when I tell you to do something!"Dally shouted, jabbing a finger at me.  I had been staring out the window, but now I turned to look at him, a scowl on my face.

        "Then why'd you say I could come here in the first place?  Obviously you wanted to look out for me, which I don't need you to do, but now you're saying you can't.  I can take care of myself, I've been doing it all my life.  The only reason I'm putting up with you is cause I can't pass as an adult yet!" I screamed back angrily.

        The truck jerked to a stop as Dally slammed it into park, and he glared at me.  His icy blue eyes were blazing, I could almost see the sparks of anger flashing out at me.  He raised his hand threateningly, but I only blinked, expecting a slap.  Instead he jabbed a finger at me and growled, "Stay here," before getting out of the truck.

        And again he was making me stay somewhere I didn't want to be.  With a huff, I crossed my arms over my chest and put my dirty Converses up on the dash, glancing over the grayish-white toes and out the window.

        We were parked at the curb, the Curtis house up ahead to the left.  Dally strode across the garbage-strewn lawn, and, through the open window of the truck, I heard him shout up to Darry who was at the top of a ladder leaning against the house.

        "Hey Superman, your stuff's in the back of the truck," he called up to him.  Superman.  That was an interesting nickname, but I suppose it suited Darry, muscles bulging under his tight T-shirt.

        "Mind staying for a while?  I could use some help," Darry asked.

        "Sorry, I gotta take Tara home," Dally objected.

        Wow, make me sound like an 8-year-old why don't you?

        "Can I take your truck?  We'll be back early tomorrow morning to help," Dal asked.

        "Yeah, go ahead," Darry called down from the roof which he had now climbed up onto.

        With a sigh I got out of the mill truck and headed across the lawn, Dally was already climbing in the Curtis's red Ford.  He had seen me, and started the engine when I climbed in.  Not another word was said on the way home, and I spent the rest of the night in my room.

        The next day at eight in the morning, we were at the Curtis house.  I was almost glad to be helping them fix the roof, because even if Dally was there, at least I wasn't stuck in the house all Saturday, like last week.  Though last week Saturday hadn't been so bad, considering I was too sore from my Friday night beating to do anything.

        By now all my cuts had faded to scars and scabs, and my bruises were either gone completely or a fading yellow-green mark.

        I was set to picking up shingles and chunks of roofing with Johnny that the guys chucked down from the roof, because apparently we were the smallest and couldn't do any heavy lifting or something.  Darry, Dally, and Two-Bit were on the roof, ripping off old shingles and rotting pieces of wood.  I was actually really surprised to see both Dally and Two-Bit working because, besides the fact that Dally had gotten a job at the mill, him and Two-Bit were the laziest of the whole gang.  Soda and Steve were running up and down the ladder carrying supplies, and Pony was on the ground handing up bigger things.

        By 11:30, my hands were sticky with tar from picking up the shingles melting in the hot sun, and my T-shirt was stuck to me like a second skin I was sweating so much.  Half of the guys were shirtless, or they had taken their jackets off long ago, and all of their skin was shiny with sweat.  Except for Two-Bit,who had stopped working half an hour ago and was now sitting on the roof.

        There was a shout of surprise from Darry, and then he swore.  With a bit of grunting and banging, he moved something around on the roof and then headed for the ladder.

        "You guys stay away from that hole.  A beam's rotten through, if you get too close it might cave in," Darry warned.  He went in the house, probably to check the damage from inside.

        I went back to picking up the worn-out tarry shingles from the lawn, but then a loud CRAAACKKK tore through the air, followed by a, "Whoaaaa," from Two-Bit as he fell through the roof.