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I woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs and hoped it was Darry making breakfast. Soda isn’t bad, but he makes the eggs too runny. Pony makes them too hard, but Darry does it just right.

Oh, I forgot – I’m Lollipop Curtis, Sodapop’s twin. Sometimes I wish our parents had named us something normal like they did with Darry, but most of the time I like it okay. No one ever forgets me, that’s for sure.

I got up slowly and made my way into the kitchen, glad to see it was Darry at the stove.

“Hey, Loll,” he said. “Eggs and bacon?”

“Toast, too,” I said. “I wanna get to school early.”

Darry looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Why early?”

“I’m meeting Sissy, Tex and Rhianna before classes,” I said. “Tex is still suspended, but we have a lot to talk about. That Soc bitch Malina got me detention.”

“Loll, you remember what I said about getting in trouble in school!” Darry said sternly. “I don’t want you getting in anymore fights, even if they’re with Socs. You could get taken away from here in a heartbeat if you act up.”

“Aw, come on, Darry,” I said. “I never get in trouble. It was just that once, and it wasn’t even my fault.”

“I don’t care if it was or not, you can’t risk it,” he said. “Hanging around with Tex and Sissy is messing with your head.”

“They’re my best friends!” I cried.

Texas Winston was Dallas Winston’s twin. I didn’t like Dally much – he was always so mean to me – but Tex was alright. She was lean, but with a nice figure – and trust me, the boys pay attention. She has icy blue eyes, like nothing I’ve ever seen in the world, not even like her brother’s. She has a sharp face just like Dally, but she’s really beautiful. Sometimes I think Dally is jealous, because she looks so good and he looks so hard, but I think it’s all his own fault. He gets in a lot of fights.

So does Tex, for that matter. She has a hair trigger temper, and she gets in a lot of fights herself – she always comes out on top, too. The cops have a sheet on her a mile long, and Darry is always warning me not to get into trouble with her. She rides in rodeos, and she’s been busted up a dozen times. Darry hates the way she dresses – kind of slutty. But she’s got the body for it, and if I looked like her, I’d wear those micro minis and low-cut tops, too. She’s as tough as nails, and even though she can be a real bitch when she wants to, she’s a real good friend.

Sissy Cade is fourteen, but you wouldn’t know it. She looks sixteen at least, and she acts a lot older, too, so we don’t mind hanging around with her. She’s thin, with gorgeous caramel coloured skin. I’ve even heard the Socs at school talking about how beautiful her skin is. She reminds me of a beautiful bronze statue. She has a slender face, and wonderfully pouty lips. She always looks like she’s in deep thought about something really cool.

She has deep chocolate eyes that flash with different colours, depending on her mood. She has stick-straight hair and side-swept bangs, which make it hard for people who don’t know her to read her mood. Her eyes are always a good indicator, and she knows it.

You’d think being so thin and sweet looking that she’d be a pushover, but Sissy is as tough as they come. She has to be, living in that house with her parents. She always looks like she’s paying attention to everything, like she’s sizing them up.

Sissy is always on the lookout for people that might hurt her or her brother Johnny. Sissy might be a bit of a tough nut to crack, but Johnny has her wrapped around his finger. She’d do anything for him, and when people try and hurt him, she’s just like a rabid dog. She’d take the whole world on to keep him safe, even taking a beating for him.

She’s quiet, but she’s not shy like Johnny at least.

The last of my group is Rhianna Randle. She’s Steve’s little sister, only fifteen, but like Sissy, she’s really mature for her age once you get past her airheadedness. She gets beaten real bad by her dad, so she’s always sneaking in and out of the house. She stays over here a lot because of it. Well, I also think she stays over here because she has a crush on Ponyboy, but I’d never say that to her face.

Rhianna’s really tiny for her age, only 4’11” or so, and she could blow away in a strong wind she’s so light. She’s lucky though, she has a great rack. Trust me again when I say the boys really pay attention because of it. She has a cute heart-shaped face and paper-white skin with striking onyx eyes. Her hair is jet black up to her waist, with flame-red streaks through it that make her stand out in a crowd.

Ree-ree is our social butterfly. Being so pretty and social, she has a huge network of friends. She’s even nice to the Socs that can get her somewhere in life. She can be a real bitch if you’re not up to her standards, though.

Rhianna’s biggest obstacle is Steve. That boy doesn’t let her get away with anything. He’s always bitching at her about the boys she’s dating or stuff like that. He makes Darry look like a relaxed big brother.

Last but not least is Michelle Mathews – or Mickey as we call her. Well, I should say it was Two-Bit that started calling her that. She used to hate it, because Soda used to make horse jokes about her, since that was his horse’s name. But she likes it now.

She’s the youngest – only 13 – and her mother won’t let her hang out with us too much, so she gets left out a lot. She’s only in middle school, too. But she’s really funny, and her deep red hair reminds me of the fire of a ruby. She has grey eyes just like Two-Bit and truth be told, I think she’s funnier than Two-Bit. At least I get her jokes. She doesn’t drink as much as her brother being only 13, but she brags that she can have three or four drinks and not even feel drunk or hungover the next morning.

“I don’t care if they’re your best friends, they could get you in real trouble,” Darry said, handing Ponyboy a plate with his eggs, done hard, and some toast and bacon.

“You hang out with Dally,” I said.

“That’s different,” Darry said.

“No, it isn’t,” I said disdainfully. “You’re so sexist. Tex and Sissy haven’t been in trouble for ages, and Ree-ree is always an angel.”

I heard Ponyboy snort from beside me. I’d never tell Ree, but he totally knows about her crush. He kind of can’t stand her. I don’t know why, because she’s always wearing the cutest outfits, and she’d totally put out for him. He says he’s not into girls yet. I’m waiting for it to change any day now.

Oh, I almost forgot me. I already told you my name. I’m about five and a half feet tall – I’m tallest after Tex – and I’m pretty thin and have long legs. Everyone says they’re my best feature, but I think it’s my hair. It’s long, past my butt, and a silky golden brown. It lightens in the summer, just like Soda’s. My eyes are cool, icy blue, just like Darry’s. No one can ever decide whether I favour Darry (and Mom) because I’m pretty serious, and I try to be responsible. But I’m also really forgetful and scatterbrained like Soda, and I love to read and do well in school like Ponyboy. I guess I’m kind of a mix.

I don’t get in too many fights, but growing up with three brothers I’ve learned how to defend myself. People don’t want to get into it with me, and I don’t blame them.

Us girls are like our own gang (although we never call ourselves that when Darry’s around, because he’d flip). I guess Tex is the official leader, since she’d pop anyone who suggest otherwise. I think I’m the most level-headed out of everyone, but I don’t want to go up against Tex.

The thing we bonded over the most a few years ago, was when we found out each others’ middle names. We all have awful middle names – you think Lollipop is bad as a first name, try living with Hortense as a middle name. Tex wouldn’t admit what her middle name was, but we got Dallas drunk one night and he told us it was Bertha. Tex won’t confirm it, so we’re pretty sure it’s true.

Sissy ended up saddled with Mildred, which is definitely ugly, and Rhianna is going to change her middle name to Emily, since she hates Hester.

No one outside of our families and each other know our middle names. If they ever find out, I’m pretty sure we’d stomp them good.

I grabbed my school bag and headed to the door. Darry stopped letting me ride with Tex after he found out she boosted a car every morning to take us, so now I have to get a ride with Two-Bit and Mickey, along with Pony. It kind of sucks, but what can I do? Darry’s word rules around here, even if I do think it’s pretty unfair.