The Outsiders: Before My Time Sequel | Sodapop

Hello Again

It was the first few days without Soda that were the worst. It was difficult to keep myself from calling him, or planning to pick him up to drive somewhere. To drive anywhere. All I wanted was Sodapop Curtis to be in the passenger seat next to me, making me laugh as I drove. I was craving him next to me. I wanted to talk to him, but he wasn't there, he was never going to be there.

It's cheesy, but at least I know that we were still wishing on the same stars, and looking up at the same moon. He's here, somewhere. He has to be.

I did not know where he was, he said that he would find me but it had not happened. It was driving me crazy. Something difficult I had to come to terms with, was that Soda probably fell in love with a gorgeous girl from the sixties. Someone that was wonderful for him. I could imagine him with kids, and grandkids. Maybe even great grandkids. He probably has a giant, loving family, and a beautiful wife he has spent decades with. That's probably why he hasn't come yet: he has forgotten all about me.

Lillian and I did visit two members of the gang, the only two that we knew where they were at. And that was Two-Bit, and Steve.

First we visited Steve. Lillian and I drove to the Grease Monkey gas station together and asked for the owner, Steven, when we got there. Jenni didn't come with us, because she didn't really care for him. I think their age difference kept them from becoming good friends. Plus, Steve and I were not too close either. He was my boyfriends best friend, and part of the gang, so it's not like I never saw him.

We asked the cashier if we could speak to the owner. He said, "one second," and he went into the back office.

"What?" I heard a raspy voice ask from the back room.

"There are two girls here asking for you," the cashier said in a monotone voice.

"Gah," Steve groaned. I heard him throw a paper down and he walked out, I assumed it was newspaper. "What do you girls want?" He asked when he got to the main part of the store.

As soon as he saw us, his face lit up like the Fourth of July. His grumpy demeanor completely flipped to an attitude that was more like Steve: happy, childish, and fun.

"Bri? Is that you, kiddo?"

"It's me."

"I never thought y'all were gonna come," he said with a smile on his wrinkly face.

He looked just about the same. Although, his hair was thinner, and grey, his muscles were still strong. His aged skin was tan but wrinkly, and he was sporting some grey stubble on his chin.

"We promised we would," Lillian said.

"Get on back here." Steve smiled. Lillian and I walked around the counter, all three of us hugged. I knew it was Steve, because I recognized his arm eagle tattoo he got when he was a teenager. He had a few more tattoos on his arms that joined it throughout the decades.

"How are you?" I asked after we separated.

"The DX was trying to close this location down. I ran the numbers and decided to buy the joint myself. Too many memories, you know? And the owner gig is a lot better than I thought it was gonna be. That's why I stayed," he said, probably remembering our last conversation when he told me that he was hoping to leave before that happened. "Oh boy, it's great to see you two again. It's like a small part of the gang is back together."

"It's good to see you too," Lillian said. "Was I part of the gang?"

"Well..." You could hear the uncomfortableness in his voice. "Not the 60's gang."

In other words, she was not part of the gang. She was rarely with the gang anyway. All of her free time was dedicated to the Time Machine. Steve did help her work on the Time Machine a lot, which I think sped up the process and bonded them.