Author’s note: The Outsiders are owned by S.E. Hinton. Any descriptions given of characters are based on the movie, not the book, as I don’t have the book in front of me at this very moment.
It’s 10 pm and I wish everyone would go to sleep. I know the house is always up and running with people being thrown around on the floor and constantly breaking something, but this was just getting ridiculous. I have a test tomorrow and I’m laying here staring at the ceiling trying to tune out every sound coming from the other side of my bedroom door.
“Damn it Soda, I know you’re cheating, I just can’t figure out how,” I hear Steve proclaim loudly.
“Jealous?” Soda yells back.
I run to my door to scream at them to be quiet when I see Steve standing within an inch of Soda’s face. As I look around the room I can see Darry sitting in his chair reading and notice the front door is wide open. Two dark figures are obvious behind the screen door. If I had to guess it’s probably Dallas and Johnny and since I can smell cigarette smoke I’m sure I’m right.
“I say we settle this right now. We arm wrestle, right here, right now.” Steve’s still clad in his dingy DX shirt and jeans while Soda’s in his undershirt and jeans. Neither have their shoes on and from the smell of it, both of them seriously need a shower.
Soda looks Steve dead in the eye, “I’m not going to arm wrestle you. I might hurt you, sweety.” Soda lets out a smirk as Steve starts to chase Soda around the kitchen table.
“Can you two hold it down, I’m trying to get some sleep?” I say rubbing my eyes clad only in my jeans.
Steve and Soda ignore me and continue to run around the table. I swear those two never stop acting like idiots, but I have to give them credit, they make me laugh. I decide not to fight it and take a seat on the couch next to Sugar. Even she looks amused. I haven’t seen her smile in a while.
“Sorry Pony, I know those two numb-skulls wouldn’t dare keep me awake on a night before a test,” slowly getting louder with her every word.
“Scared Soda?” Steve spits out.
“Scared? Of you? Hell, my little sister could take you on any day of the week, so why would I be scared of you?” Steve just laughs as he and Soda try to slap each other from across the table. I always thought it was funny how Sugar and Soda joke back and forth calling each other ‘little brother’ and ‘little sister.’ Technically, Sugar is older, but being 5’4” in a house full of men, you are liable to be the smallest.
“What are you laughing about Steve? What, you don’t think I can take you?” Sugar’s face lights up when she sees Steve finally give up going after Soda and gives her this ‘I dare you’ look. Sugar winks at me and heads for the table. She’s wearing a pair of Soda’s old grey sweat pants and a blue t-shirt that matches her dark blue eyes.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that spark in her eye. Sugar used to light up a room when she would walk in, but that all changed after that night. You can tell Sugar and Soda are twins. Same charm and glint in their eyes. Hell, even when Soda couldn’t get a smile out of Darry, the most serious person I know, Sugar could. Darry always had a soft spot for her. Mom would tell us the story of the day they were born. Sugar came out head first ready for the world. When Darry heard he had a little sister he vowed he would always take care of and protect her. Then Soda came out and Darry jumped up and down happy that he would have another boy to play with. My Dad asked Darry why he didn’t vow to always protect Soda like he did with Sugar and Darry’s reply was, “Well, cause boys can always take care of themselves, but little girls are angels from heaven and need special attention. That’s why God made them so pretty, like Mommy.” Even at three years old Darry was too smart for his own good.
Sugar sits down across the table from Steve and she takes the rubber band wrapped around her wrist and puts her hair up into a ponytail. When Sugar means business, she makes sure nothing is going to get in her way, including her hair.
“So Randle, don’t think a girl can put you to shame, huh?” Sugar puts her arm up on the table preparing to wrestle.
“Come on Sugar, you can’t possibly think those puny arms can take on these?” Steve is so proud of his muscles it’s disgusting. I swear he cares as much about those arms as he does about his cars. Steve prides himself on his strength. I don’t see why you need to show off your muscles every 5 seconds. The only time it matters is in a fight. I know I don’t have much, but I can handle myself in a fight.
Steve places his arm up on the table and they lock hands. Soda’s goofy grin is ever present as he pretends to be the ref of the match. As Soda says “Go” Sugar and Steve begin to strain as they try to match strength at the table. I swear, sometimes Sugar just likes to taunt Steve even though she knows she doesn’t have a chance in hell. As I hear the screen door open beside me Sugar leans into Steve and kisses him on the lips. Steve drops his arm and the same goofy grin Soda had spreads across Sugar’s face as she yells “I win.”
Steve shouts, “Damn it, Lollipop Curtis!” as all eyes turn to the door.
As I look back to the table I can see Soda behind her and his grin has already disappeared. ‘Oh no’, I think as I realize who just walked in. Darry gets up from his chair as Dally begins to stampede his way to the table.
“Dallas, now calm down, they were just playing around.” Darry blocks his way. If there is one person that could stop a raging Dallas Winston pound for pound it was Darry.
The whole room was on their feet in a split second. All except Sugar who just sat there and stared at Dallas. Steve began to back up as Soda ran to his side. We all knew what would happen to Steve if Dally got his hands on him.
“Now Dally, she kissed me! We were just kidding around.”
Darry continues to block Dallas as he tries to body check Darry out of the way. I can see Sugar finally rise from the table as she continues to stare at Dally. The spark in her eye seems to have faded to almost a void. I know that look, it is the same one she has had plastered on her face for the past month.
“Dallas, stop. You gave up the right to say who I could kiss when you decided you would much rather lock lips with Dolores Fitzgerald, remember. Now get out.”
I was almost shocked at how lacking emotion her statement was. She didn’t seem angry and she wasn’t yelling. She just stated it as if it were a matter of fact and nothing else. Dally’s attention quickly turns from Steve to Sugar. The fire in his eyes was apparent, but as she spoke he went from being a raging bull to a beaten puppy. I have never seen anyone else able to make Dallas Winston appear so insignificant. If it had been anyone else they wouldn’t be walking straight for talking to him like that, but it is as if she had hit him with some imaginary stick. He stared blankly at the floor and turned to walk out slamming the door behind him. I hadn’t noticed before, but as Dally trailed by him, Johnny stood in the doorway white as a ghost.
All eyes turned back to Sugar as silence spread through the house.
“Steve, don’t call me Lollipop” Sugar stated in the same matter of fact tone as before still keeping her eyes on the screen door that Dally had just exited from.
We all just watched as she made her way to her room and closed the door behind her. As if all in shock, we just stood there staring at her door. Slowly we came out of our trances and took a seat, Steve and Soda stayed at the kitchen table and Johnny joined me on the couch. Darry remained standing.
“I’m gonna go talk to her.”
Soda, almost in a whisper, “Darry, just let it be.”
Darry, seeming to know that Soda was right, sat back down in his chair jamming a fist in his pocket. Another silence swept the room as we all blankly stared into space. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the screen door opening. ‘Oh great, here we go again.’
“Hey guys! What’s wrong with Dally?”
Leave it to Two-Bit to cure an awkward silence.
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