Deep breaths, I said to myself. Really deep breaths, Charlie. I started hyperventilating. I was standing outside my house. My dad's car was in, meaning he was in there, drunk and probably beating my mother. I'm gonna suffer the same fate.
"Yo, Charlie," Kenickie yelled. "Whatcha waitin' for?"
'Shh!" I turned abruptly to him, putting my finger to my lips.
"What?" Kenickie shrugged and lit his cigarette.
"Hey, uh, Kenickie," I asked. He turned his head to me, telling me to go on. "Can we just go to school?"
"Your folks will wonder why you weren't home, Princess." He looked at me like I was a privileged. I shook my head.
"They're not that type," I looked down.
"Huh, I know how that feels." Kenickie said. "We can go to the orchard again tonight."
"Wait, really?" I asked, face lifting. "You'd do that?"
"Of course, you're a Pink Lady." Kenickie opened his car and turned the engine on. I climbed in, looking at the console for the radio. I tuned it to a rock and roll channel and Kenickie and I sped off.
I was bobbing my head to the music and singing along once in a while. Hound Dog by Elvis Presley came on and I turned it on louder.
"You ain't nothing but a hound dog!" I sang loudly. "Crying all the time!"
I laughed and rolled the window down in delight. I was so engaged in the music that I didn't hear or see the Scorpions car speed next to us. I looked at the blond straight in the eye and I yelped and shrunk down in my seat. I turned the radio off and closed my eyes, images of last night flashed through my head.
"Is this your Thunder Road?" The blond stretched out from his window, yelling at Kenickie.
"You bet your Crater Face ass it is!" Kenickie yelled back. He sped forwards and cut Crater Face off, veering off to the road where Rydell High was.
I must've had a look of shock on my face since Kenickie asked a "Hey, ya alright Mamba?"
I nodded, sitting back up. I held my head to keep it from hurting with all of my memories of what happened last night. I shivered, not wanting to think about it anymore, but my mind wouldn't let me have any peace and quiet.
We arrived at school, Kenickie and I wearing the same thing as last night. I just hoped that no one noticed. I smoothed my wrinkled clothing and popped a piece of gum into my mouth while stepping on my cigarette.
I closed the car door and Kenickie did too, bringing attention. Marty, Jan and Frenchy turned to look at us.
"Hey! It's Charlie and Kenick!" Jan exclaimed, coming over to say hello. Frenchy smiled and rushed over while Marty took her last drag of her cigarette before dropping it on the ground and stepping on it on her way over. Rizzo turned around, looking at me with the most menacing glare.
"What are you doing comin' to school with Kenickie?" Frenchy asked, smiling. Jan and Marty shoved each other each way and that to get a better position in front of me.
"I didn't go home last night, I just slept in Kenickie's car." They all looked at me, speculating. I laughed and shrugged my shoulders, "What?"
"Was Kenickie in the car with you?" Marty asked. For some reason, it clicked that I shouldn't be blabbering about all of this stuff.
"Well, no." I scratched my ear and folded my arms, giving off a nonchalant look. Jan took a step closer at me and looked me straight in the eye. I leaned back a little, startled at her actions. I looked at Frenchy and Marty and they just stared at me.
"Well," Jan stood down, turning back to her fellow Pink Ladies. "It would be a shame for me to lie to Riz so that you could keep your head on. Believe me, I like you like a sister now, but lying to Rizzo is the last thing I would like to do."
"Wait, I'm concerned that Kenickie left you alone in his car," Frenchie said.
"Yeah, and why is he in the clothes I saw him wear last night?" Marty asked, not really seeming like she cared.
"I honestly have no idea, I crashed as soon as we got to the orchard." I said. As soon as those words left my lips, I clamped a hand over my mouth.
"The orchard?" Marty exclaimed.
"Shh!" Frenchy put her hand over Marty's painted lips. Marty swatted her hand away, but didn't say anything else.
"Well, yes." I said shyly.
"Charlie! If Rizzo found out..." Frenchy trailed. "Oh God! I don't wanna lose you!"
"You ain't losin' me hun," I said, hugging all three girls.
The bell rang and I pulled away. I turned on my heel to the front doors of the school. Rizzo stepped in front of me, cigarette poised in her hand and a look of disapproval clear in her eyes.
"You slept with Kenick?" Rizzo asked. Well, it was more of a statement, like she wanted me to confess to something she knew I didn't actually do.
"No, Riz, and you know that." I tried to side-step her to get to chemistry, but she moved in front of me again.
"Admit it, you fancy him." Rizzo took a drag and blew in my face. I blew a bubble from my gum and popped it.
"No, I don't." I tried to go around her again.
"Yeah, well just because I let you in doesn't mean I like you. I know you want him, Charlie. You need to be a true Pink Lady for him to see you like you want him to." Rizzo got into my face, trying to make me scared. "You're just a newbie. Not even pastel."
She left me there, walking the other way and making sure she hit my shoulder. I couldn't move. I know it sounds silly, but her words meant a lot to me and for her to say that really hurt me. She was the one who said I was a Pink Lady yesterday! I know she knows that I would never sleep with Kenickie when he's with her. I don't know, but I'm sure there's an unspoken rule that you can't sleep with a T-Bird that's already taken by another Pink Lady.
I didn't walk to my chemistry class, I was really late anyways. Instead, I walked to the bleachers where I was sitting at lunch with the gang. I went underneath, making sure I wasn't seen. I dropped my things and fell to the ground, crying. I know I'm no good at all. I lie, I steal on desperate occasions and I fake a lot of my life. But, I'm not a whore. I know I'm not. I would never hurt another girl like that. I wouldn't make them feel like a fool for thinking that they were all that their man had.
Kenickie was the type of guy who wouldn't cheat. I remember what he said to me last night, how he wouldn't give me anything since he was with Riz. He's loyal. He's compassionate. He respects Riz and he respects me and the Pink Ladies. This isn't his fault. It's mine. I forced him to help me when I should've just gone home, take a beating, and leave it at that. Now, there's all of this drama.
I hate relationship drama. I never trust a guy with my heart. Kenickie was too pretty to pass up though. But, I don't think I'd ever date him. Now that I sat down and thought about this, I shouldn't affiliate myself with him.
No, this is Rizzo speaking for sure. This is what she wants...right? For me to never look at him again? Now I'm making myself go mad. Sure, she's the leader of the Pink Ladies, but she isn't the leader of my life.
I hear the bell ring, meaning that first period is over. I didn't get up to go to second. Or third. Too done to deal with any stupid teacher or classmate, I stayed under the bleachers, emptying my tear ducts. My stupid feelings got the best of me. Even in my beatings with my father, I would force myself to not shed a tear. But, I am over Kenickie and the Pink Ladies. What was going on with me?
[EDITED]