20 days later. Exactly. Don't be surprised by spaces between updates. School is stressful and doesn't leave me enough time to focus on writing.

The Mechanic

Three

Steve and Soda finally had to retreat inside when the heat became too unbearable by midday. The work day got slower; open windows were no longer good enough to chase the heat out of the cars.

Sandy and Evie had left to seek refuge in the slightly cooler air in the house of another friend of theirs, leaving the two boys to their own devices to keep themselves busy. For awhile, they had simply complained they were bored, and then asked each other what they should do.

But Steve got sick of that rather quickly.

“I already told you I don’t know what I want to do,” Steve said irritably, after Soda had questioned him for the fifth time.

Soda frowned slightly, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling, before he looked back at Steve with a grin on his face. Steve gave him a skeptical look, wondering what thought had struck his friend. When Soda remained silent, Steve chanced a glance to the ceiling.

Rotating slowly was an old ceiling fan, one the owner of the DX had bought when he had heard about how they were supposed to use less energy, and cost less to use. It barely made a breeze, and Steve glared at it.

“What?” he asked finally, looking at Soda. Soda’s grin widened as he grabbed a page of an old newspaper, balled it up, and tossed it at the ceiling fan.

The paper hit a blade and bounced right back off, sailing across the room.

There was a long moment where neither boy did anything, before they each grabbed another page, balled it up, and tossed it up at the fan, watching them bounce off in different directions.

They quickly designated points for certain places in the room, and were soon playing a rather competitive game.

“What are you talking about? You said that one was worth ten!”

“No I didn’t. The one next to it is ten. The place where mine landed was worth twenty.”

“You’re a cheat, Soda. I don’t know why I play with you.”

“I don’t need to cheat,” Sodapop said confidently, tossing another ball of paper at the fan. “I’m just that good.”

“Bull,” Steve grumbled, looking at the clock. “Look, our shift’s almost over, so let’s just clean this up before we get in trouble.”

“Aw, come on. That’s boring. I don’t wanna clean it up.”

“And I don’t wanna tick off the guy that pays me,” Steve replied, picking up the balls of paper that littered the floor around him. Soda joined in with a heavy sigh, but turned it into another game by tossing them into the garbage can from across the room.

“Hey, did Evie mention a party when she talked to you?” Soda asked curiously as he held the door open for Steve so they could leave.

“Yeah. She said she figured it was the one Carol was begging to go to. I said I’d take her.”

“Carol?”

“No. You were there for that little conversation. Her ass isn’t going to that party. I said I’d take Evie.”

“Sandy hinted at wantin’ to go too,” Soda said as they walked away from the DX and to Steve’s car. “Guess we can go there together.”

Steve only nodded as he and Soda got into the car and drove away. Soda didn’t seem to mind the silence at first, but he became restless after a few minutes and finally started up the conversation again.

“Do you think it’ll actually be worth goin’ to?”

“Maybe. Most parties are. We haven’t really been to a dull one yet, have we?”

“Nah, I guess not,” Soda agreed. A frown crossed his face as he stared out the car window. “Hey, Steve, why’re you so hard on Carol?”

“I’m not hard on her.”

“Bull. You’re just as bossy as Darry is with Ponyboy.”

“Hell, that kid needs a talkin’ too sometimes. He’s pretty dense.” Steve glanced at Soda, who was giving him a hard look. “What? He is. Not all the time or nothin’, but enough that a talk can’t hurt,” he said defensively. “Carol deserves what she gets.”

“But you’re just her brother Steve. And she’s not actin’ any different than you did when you were younger.”

“She’s a girl.”

Soda raised his eyebrows. “So that’s why she was wearing that skirt the other day.”

“Shut up.”

“Really, Steve. She’s not actin’ any different than we did, or how the other girls act.”

“Well no one said she had to act that way,” Steve said, giving him an agitated glance. “She’s a pain in the ass, that’s all there is to it. And I can’t really beat it out of her, now can I?”

Soda sighed, shaking his head slightly. “No, you can’t,” he said solemnly. “Look, do ya think you can drive me an’ Sandy to the party too? Darry can’t let me use the truck ‘cause of that new job of his.”

“We’re goin’ to the same place, so I don’t see why I couldn’t,” Steve said, shrugging. He was still gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly. “You just better be ready to go,” he added, stopping in front of the Curtis house so Soda could get out.

“Yeah, yeah. Hey, you better watch out for shoes or something, if Carol’s actually home. Evie won’t be too happy if your face is bruised up.”

“I think Evie’s more worried about whether I’m taking a shower before I go,” Steve said, frowning. “I’m serious Sodapop, I ain’t waitin’ around for you when I come to get you and Sandy.”

“I know. Go home and take a shower,” Soda said a bit dismissively as he walked into the front yard. He disappeared into the house as Steve pulled away.

Hopefully Carol would be happy with sulking, instead of dragging their dad into the mess.

Suddenly, Steve wasn’t in the mood to go anywhere; not home, and not to the party. But he’d told Evie he’d go. And going home wasn’t really an option, as much as he’d like it to be.