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The Curtises were known for leaving their front door open for anyone who'd like to rest for the night. But luckily, from the top step of the attic ladder, Virginia could see exactly who it was without giving herself away.
After brushing her teeth and making sure Sodapop had a towel around his waist when he got out of the shower, Virginia noticed surprisingly Tim Shepard and his younger brother Curly on the couch. It's been a while since any of them saw Curly Shepard. It seems like he was just released from the reformatory. The time spent away didn't fade the grim and bitter smile from his face or the dangerous gleam in his sapphire eyes. Virginia wasn't close to them but she talked to the youngest, Angela, on rare occasions when her gang and the Shepards came into contact. When she was little, Curly scared her but Ponyboy used to play around with him. One time, she even threatened to knock the living daylights out of Curly when he and Ponyboy used to play chicken by burning each other with their cigarettes.
Curly always disliked Virginia since then for letting a little girl speak to him like that.
Now, Tim flipped through their morning paper while Curly twirled a cigarette around his fingers, spewing spirals of smoke into the air around him. He bounced his leg like adrenaline was coursing through him.
"Hi, Tim. Welcome back, Curly," she greeted a little coolly. She lowered her tote onto Darry's recliner, shoving her fists into her jacket pockets and offered them a sensitive but strained smile.
"Hey, kid," Tim replied, glancing up from the newspaper briefly.
Curly gave her a little nod, keeping his eyes lingering on her for a second. Virginia couldn't tell if it was because of her tight shirt and shorts or him recalling their childhood incident but either way she moved her fists together, bringing both sides of the jacket close and gave his eyes no access.
"You two eat already? Darry's in the kitchen now, any requests?" she asked, jerking a thumb behind her.
"No, we're good, kid. Thanks for the offer," Tim spoke.
Virginia certainly didn't want to sit in the living room with the quiet Shepard boys so she waited at the refrigerator for Darry to finish frying up a few eggs and some bacon at the small stove. Quietly, she grabbed the two slices of bread Darry toasted on the pan and layered on a tomato slice carefully.
"You say hello to Curly?" Darry asked, quickly glancing at his sister.
He took the rag draped over his shoulder, tilted the frying pan over the plate and scraped the eggs and strips of bacon onto a plate. He used the same cloth to lift the lid off a small saucepan filled with boiling water and Ponyboy's two eggs.
Virginia hopped up on the short counter by the sink, kicking her legs a little as she glanced past the dining table to the couch where the Shepards sat.
