The Sweetest Trouble Maker (The Outsiders FF)

Ch. 4

A week passed by and Lola got into little to no trouble. An occasional hiccup, but nothing too bad. She was really happy it was the weekend because that meant she got to play with her best friend Andy (Andrew) Eden, a little boy who lived a few houses away from her. Andy moved in when Lola was about three and they've been inseparable since. He was just like Lola; very intelligent and creative. The problem is, when they get together, they always stir up some trouble. Darry knew that and Andy's mom, Carol Eden, knew that as well. They always kept a close eye on the two. Andy was just moved into the same class as Lola at school. Sometimes she would play with him after school since Andy had three older brothers, Rich (Richard), fifteen, Bill (William), sixteen, and Joe (Joseph), fourteen, and an older sister, Tina (Christine), twelve. Rich and Bill went to the same high school as Ponyboy, so Lola and Andy would walk together and often get into mischief. Andy had a knack for swiping tomato's and peaches outside the super market. He often encouraged Lola to do the same, but she knew Darry would be awful sore at her if she did. Darry didn't like his sister having any encouragement to misbehave. Dally was already encouraging Lola to get into trouble by the stories he tells her before bed about his days growing up in New York.

This particular Saturday, Lola spotted Andy playing outside in the front yard of the old abandoned house while his brothers occasionally looked behind their shoulders at him as they smoked their cigarettes.

Ponyboy started to put on his jacket before heading to the living room. Darry looked up from the sink as he was just finishing up the dishes from breakfast. "Where you off to, Ponyboy?" He asked. Ponyboy half turned to look at his brother. "Rich, Bill, and Joe are outside. We were gonna walk downtown for a bit."
Darry nodded. "Alright then. Be careful and don't get into any trouble."
"I won't." Ponyboy said walking past the couch that Lola sat on.
"Hey Darry, can I go out and play with Andy?" Lola asked quickly running towards Darry who was still in the kitchen. "Please, please, please?" She jumped up and down while holding down on the kitchen counter as she did so.
"Hey, I've told you not to do that. I ain't got the time or money to be fixin the kitchen or any bones of yours."

Lola huffed and rolled her eyes. "Can I go, please?"

Darry sighed "Okay, but Ponyboy will have to keep an eye on you." Lola and Ponyboy both made a face, showing that neither of them want to spend the afternoon together while they're with friends. Ponyboy was always so bossy and Lola was always so stubborn. "Don't go anywhere else and please stay out of trouble."

"Okay." Lola sighed, giving Darry a quick hug around the waist and then sluggishly walking out of the door.

"Be back for lunch!" Darry called after his little siblings.

"We will!" They both yelled back. Darry watched Lola as her attitude changed as soon as she saw Andy. She ran over to him and gave him a hug, which he tolerated for about half a second and wriggled out of it. Lola didn't mind. She was just happy to have someone to play with. They took each other's hands as they began to walk with the other boys.

Darry smiled fondly as he watched them skip behind Ponyboy and his friends, playing some sort of game that resembled Cowboys and Indians. It was nice that she got to do innocent kid stuff and just play. She was often stuck with the gang and with nobody to play with. Although, sometimes the gang would oblige and play house or whatever. Not all the time though. These were tough, teenage greasers and as much as they loved Lola they weren't always available for a tea party, even if the tea was secretly poison.

Lola and Andy had skipped the entire way to the corner stores before Bill and Ponyboy told them to knock it off. "Why?" Andy asked innocently. "We're just playin around."
"It's annoying." Bill said bending down and getting into his brother's face.
"Well..." Andy had nothing clever to say like he usually would so he kept his mouth shut.
"Well what?" Rich asked, who was just as annoyed.
Andy shook his head. "Nothin."
The older greasers scoffed at the little boy and continued to walk.
Andy stayed back with Lola with his head hung low. "I can't wait until we're old enough to go out on our own." He told Lola as they started to walk again.
Lola just shrugged and fiddled with the lint in her skirt pocket. She knew it was best to keep quiet while she's out with Ponyboy and his friends. She learned that a long time ago at the drive in.