Southern Hospitality

I trudged down the sidewalk, dragging my feet as slowly as possible and still be moving. My faded pack hung from one shoulder and bounced with each lagging step I took. I knew I was going to be late for my first class, but there was too much on my mind right now for me to care. For once, I was glad Two-Bit couldn't get his rust-bucket running to pick me up for school. The walk to school would give me time to sort a few things out inside my head about the happenings over the weekend that I wouldn't be able to do if I had to ride with the Mouth of the South.

The conversation with Desmond in the ice cream parlor was still playing in my head, and I was curious to know what was going on between him and Darry. Sodapop had tried to broach the subject of our new neighbor with our brother a few times over the past couple of days, but Darry had refused to be baited into revealing anything more than he already had. Every time Desmond's name was mentioned, he would suddenly remember some chore that needed to be done or an errand he had to run. It was weird to see my usually composed and in-charge brother rattled like that.

"Get off my fence, you hooligan!"

Jerking my gaze from the sidewalk in front of my feet, I raised my head in time to see a blond kid about my age do a back flip off of the wooden fence that surrounded one of the yards ahead of me while a dour looking woman watched him from the porch of the house with a dark expression on her face. The boy seemed familiar to me for some reason, but I couldn't quite place where I had seen him before. It was more the impossibly white-blond hair that struck a memory inside me than anything else about him.

He landed on his feet and spun around to glare right back at her, a mutinous set to his features. "Push off, lady," he snapped at her. "I ain't hurtin' the damn thing."

I stifled a giggle when he made a rude gesture at her before spinning around to face me, his pale, blue eyes meeting mine and widening slightly. My mind shot backwards to the first morning I'd saw Desmond at the house across from us, and I realized within seconds that this was the boy who'd climbed up onto the roof to retrieve the football. "You're not gonna make any friends round here talking like that."

When he shrugged and fell into step beside me, I voiced the question that was spinning inside my head, "You live with Desmond?"

"Yeah." He sidestepped a little to kick a discarded can down the street in front of us. "He's my stepdad."

Glancing at me, he kicked the can in my direction as we reached where it had landed. "I'm Sidney," he offered in a friendlier tone, his eyes shifting to me for a few long seconds before turning back on the block ahead of us. "Sidney Austin, but most everybody calls me Spook."

"Ponyboy Curtis. I live across the street from you." I kicked the can with the inside of my sneaker so it veered back across into his path. He had the same strange accent as Desmond, but his words weren't as clipped as Desmond's and were drawn out on the vowels a little more. His hair hung loose in his face without any grease in it, and was longer than the guys around here wore it.

I wondered vaguely if maybe him and Desmond were part of the Hippie Movement, but dismissed it quickly when I remembered about the murder. The Hells Angels popped into my head again, and I dismissed the hippie label without another thought. Maybe he was being groomed to join whatever gang Desmond ran with as soon as he was old enough. He seemed like an okay guy. A little on the mouthy side, but okay otherwise.

And Sydney looked to be about my age, which was a plus considering there weren't very many close to my age on our street. Would Darry consider it disobeying if I walked to school with Desmond's stepson? Or did he just mean for me to stay away from Desmond himself?

"Ponyboy, eh?" When I nodded, Sydney's face scrunched up thoughtfully. "I think Des said something about you the other night."

He shrugged and punted the can back over to me. "Never know with him. I usually don't pay much attention when he's rambling."

Desmond had mentioned me? For some reason, this made me feel elated even though I had no idea why, but it also made me feel slightly scared.

"What grade you in?" I asked in an effort to change the subject. "Maybe we'll have some classes together."

"Ninth grade for the second time." He snagged the can deftly with his foot and sent it spinning back toward me. "What about you?"

Second time? Why would he be doing another year in the same grade? He doesn't seem to be stupid, but then looks can be deceiving. I mean, look at Two-Bit. He was making a career out of high school. I was dying to ask Sydney about his comment, but instead I replied, "Ninth, same as you."

Quickly doing the calculations in my head, I realized that he would be fifteen-going-on-sixteen since he had been held back a year, and I had been moved up a year. This was a little surprising because he looked younger than fifteen to me, but he acted a lot older. It's the environment, I told myself. Some people just have to grow up too fast like Darry had to do when Mom and Dad died.

By this time, we had reached the school and our conversation ground to a halt. There was a look of apprehension on Sydney's face as he stared up at the imposing brick building across the street from us with an expression of resignation in his eyes. "I hate starting a new school. It's always the same no matter where I go."

This statement surprised me a little because it made it seem like he'd been in a lot of schools before moving here. "We're not much different from other schools," I assured him as we trudged across the street. "It's just a matter of knowing who you can hang with and who to avoid."

"Hey, Pony! Over here!"

Two-Bit was motioning me over to where he and Steve were propping up one wall of the building near the front entrance, a wide grin on his face that widened even more when Sidney and I approached them. "Who's your buddy, kid? Don't think I know'em."

"This is Sidney Austin." I hid a grin as Sidney studied Two-Bit intently, wondering what he was going to thing of the wisecracker in our group and the long, red sideburns being cultivated carefully on each side of the grinning features. "Sidney, this is Two-Bit Mathews. He's a good friend of the family."

Motioning to Steve as he watched us with a bored expression on his face, I added, "That's Steve Randle. He's also a family friend."

Sidney nodded to both of them, but didn't say a word. His attention drifted back to Two-Bit for a few seconds, and I knew he was wondering about the inane grin that was still on the older teen's face. Two-Bit could be a little overpowering upon first exposure, and I hoped he wouldn't do anything embarrassing to run the prospect of a new friend closer to my own age off into the sunset.

"Hiya, Sidney," Two-Bit greeted in his usual exuberant way, his gray eyes sparkling as he studied the boy standing beside me. "You're new here?"

"Of course he's new, Two-Bit," Steve answered sarcastically while pushing away from the wall at the sound of the first bell ringing right above us. "Pony wouldn't have introduced him if he wasn't."

He flipped his cigarette to one side with his unreadable gaze still on Sidney. "You were at the DX with Desmond yesterday getting gas."

Sidney raised both eyebrows at him and swiped at the hair falling into his face, his eyes growing shuttered. "Yeah, he's my stepdad."

Steve's gaze hardened a little as it shifted to me, and I could almost hear him asking me what the heck I was doing with Desmond's stepson, but the sound of the second bell stopped him from voicing anything that would've started anything between us. "That's the warning bell, guys. Let's move."

Turning to Sidney, I asked quickly, "Who's your homeroom, Sid? I can help you find it."

Digging in the front pocket of his jeans, Sidney unearthed a wrinkled piece of paper that looked like it had been wadded up and chewed on by some possum. He unfolded it and squinted at the writing on it. "Cooke."

"That's my cue," Two-Bit interrupted quickly, snagging Sidney's arm without warning. "Same homeroom as me, kid. We can walk there together, and I can show you a little of the school as we go."

He looked back over his shoulder at me while yanking a startled Sidney around the corner of the front steps. "Get your ass in gear, Pony, or you're gonna be late. I'll look after your buddy."

Somehow, his words didn't comfort me any. Knowing Two-Bit the way I did, he would probably show Sidney where the best places to ditch class were, and where he could get by with smoking inside the school on rainy days or worse. Before my mind could conjure up the bad things Two-Bit could teach Sidney, a hand slapped my upper arm none too gently and brought me back to reality.

"Move it, kid," Steve ordered in a strange tone as he turned me around and shoved me between the shoulder blades in the direction of the steps. "I don't wanna be late cause of you and your daydreaming."

Shooting him a dark glare over my shoulder, I swung around the corner of the steps and headed up them toward the front door where I could see Two-Bit and Sidney disappearing into the building. Two-Bit was running his mouth as usual, but I couldn't see Sidney's face to see how he was taking the sudden barrage of words. Maybe he'd fit in here better than he thought he would. It would be nice to have a friend again after everything that happened with Johnny and Dally.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

I didn't see Sidney again until the start of my last class. There had been some rumors running around school about a new kid causing some trouble in the cafeteria, but I hadn't been able to get up with Two-Bit to find out how true they were, or if it was Sidney they were talking about. Rumors tended to be exaggerated around here as they spread from mouth to ear, so I wasn't going to believe anything unless it came from a reliable source. Not that Two-Bit was all that reliable with his tendency to embellish details for shock value, but he was about as close to a rumor mill as I got anyway.

I was staring out the window at the courtyard below while I waited on our teacher to make an appearance when I heard a low murmuring from the kids sitting around me and felt someone slid into the seat beside me at the lab table. Usually I sat alone in science class since it was comprised mostly of Socs and middle class kids who considered me beneath their notice, so it was enough to draw my attention from the sunny day outside when the chair beside me creaked as it was rocked back on the rear legs.

Turning to look beside me, I was a little surprised to find Sidney sitting there with his gaze on the kids that were staring at us, his elbows resting on the front of the table behind us. From the cold expression in his pale eyes as he stared the other kids down, I gathered that he'd not had a very good first day. "Fancy meeting you here," I quipped, smiling faintly when his icy eyes shifted to me and warmed a little. "Bad day?"

He dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement and let the chair drop down onto all fours with a loud thud. "Horrendous."

His eyes moved back to the others briefly. "What's up with these people? They act like they've never seen a new kid before."

"It's a fear of the unknown." I flipped my science book open as Miss Chapman entered the room and shut the door behind her. "You'll be old news before you know it."

Sidney laughed softly before slouching down in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. "Hope so. I don't wanna be thrown outta this school. Des would kill me if that happened again."

Again? Did that mean he was expelled from his last school?Before I could ask him about it, Miss Chapman started calling names from the attendance sheet, and I resigned myself to wait until class was over to satisfy my interest. Mom had always said I was too curious for my own good, but Dad has countered her by saying I'd never learn anything if I didn't ask questions.

"It looks like we have a new student with us," Miss Chapman said, raising her head from the sheet she was reading from to scan the classroom. "Sidney Austin? Where are you Mr. Austin?"

Beside me, Sidney sighed tiredly and raised one hand. "Here, ma'am."

She smiled warmly at him and propped one hip on the edge of her desk. "Welcome to Tulsa, Mr. Austin. Would you mind telling us a bit about yourself and where you're from?"

From the expression of boredom on Sidney's face, I gathered pretty fast that this wasn't the first time he'd been asked to give his life story to the whole class. Stifling a grin, I ducked my head and focused on the open book in front of me.

"I'm from Virginia," Sidney stated in a fast rush as if trying to get it over with as fast as possible. "I moved here with my stepdad because he wanted to come back home after Mom died."

"Ah-m fr-uh-m Ver-gin-E-uuuh," a low voice mocked from the other side of the room, followed by giggles from the others.

Sidney turned in his seat to glare across the room, his eyes icy again as they searched the faces that were turned to us. "You gotta problem with my accent, asshole?"

I felt a small thrill of satisfaction when the others suddenly found the tops of their desks to be fascinating and refused to meet Sidney's hard gaze. It wasn't often you got to see a whole room full of Socs intimidated like that. He was definitely going to enliven this dull class up some. If he didn't get thrown out.

Shaking herself a little, Miss Chapman slid down from the edge of her desk. "That will be enough of that kind of language, Mr. Austin."

She slid the attendance sheet into the drawer before straightening back up to fix him with hard, brown eyes. "We do not condone the use of crude words in this school."

Banging the drawer shut loudly, she turned her back on us and grabbed a piece of chalk from the tray hooked to the front of the chalkboard. "Open your textbooks to page sixty-two, class. We'll continue our discussion where we left off on Friday on the functions of the major organs."

There was a fluttering of pages as Sidney opened his textbook and flipped through it. "Uptight bitch," he muttered in a low voice that only I could hear. "She needs to get laid."

I was torn between shock and amusement at the way Sidney had acted, but I kept my mouth shut and stifled the mirth that was bubbling up inside me. The last thing I wanted to do was draw attention to myself for talking during a lecture. Darry was very strict on proper etiquette in school and respecting the teachers for the job they do every day. He would kick my butt all over the house if I got in trouble for not paying attention or for being disrespectful.

Questions would have to wait until school was over, and we were on our way home. If Sydney still wanted to walk with me after the way he'd been treated by the other kids.

Sorry for the delay in posting, but life has once again interrupted my muse. I'm back home now, and I will be updating more regularly now that I have steady internet access. Thank you for the reviews and interest in my story. I hope you will continue to read and enjoy it.