𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕. ♡ 𝒋𝒐𝒉𝒏𝒏𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆.

xiv

november 1965
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"and then mrs. davis completely lost her mind on the kid in the middle of the lesson, ain't that right trish?"

"..."

"trish?" jahanna repeated. jahanna and the rest of the gang that were listening to her story looked over to see trish wasn't paying attention to the conversation at all, but instead was staring out the curtis' living room window.

"hey what's so great out there that's better than that kid charlie finally getting what he was in for during biology class?" jahanna inquired while tapping on the girl's shoulder. trish jumped and whipped her head around to see their faces staring at her questioningly. embarrassment tickled at her cheeks and she awkwardly laughed under their gazes.

"no, no! that part of class was great, um... sorry," she apologetically smiled. she quickly glanced outside. "do the trees always get this colorful?"

"huh?" ponyboy tilted his head.

trish realized how weird she was about to sound but decided it was too late already to back out.

"i mean, out there! back in jersey the trees around my town weren't as nearly as bright by this time. they were all gray and dull, y'know?" she nervously elaborated. there was a moment of silence among the group, the simple clanks of dishes in the kitchen being washed by darry and the murmur of the television filling in the gap, before steve spoke up.

"well, i guess they're pretty colorful here," he shrugged.

"wait a minute," jahanna interrupted, "what month is it?"

"two weeks ago was the beginning of november," sodapop replied.

"already?!" jahanna asked, shocked, "when's thanksgiving?"

"next week," dallas nonchalantly grunted. jahanna groaned in agony.

"no! that means my relatives are visiting! ew, i'm gonna have to eat my grandma's weird black bean casserole," she shuttered. the others snickered.

"i'm sure it's not that bad," trish refuted. jahanna gripped the girl's shoulders.

"no, trish, it's bad," she insisted. trish rapidly nodded her head under jahanna's cold and serious stare and she let go.

"can't be as bad as darry's carrot-stuffed artichokes," two-bit laughed. the faucet was heard being shut off.

"i can hear you!"

"no, no, no— the worst was steve's pot pie last year!" sodapop argued, his laugh amplifying throughout the living room. steve gave a blow to his friend's side, which led to a brawl between the two.

  while the rest of the gang watched in enthusiasm, trish couldn't help but to drift off at the scene that lay outside the window once more. she stared out with glossy eyes and a small sigh escaped her lips.

  "do you miss jersey?" johnny abruptly inquired next to her. trish spared him a solemn look before replying,

  "of course, it's like everything and everywhere i go now reminds me of it. yeah, i miss my old friends and... my old lifestyle. but this place is nice, very homely. especially now that i have you guys to be around. it's made moving here, just that much easier."

  johnny lit a cigarette,

  "i'm glad it has."

  "i thought i said no fightin' in here," darry came into the living room sternly. the towel that was used to dry off his hands from washing the dishes was whipped over steve's and sodapop's heads. after he had successfully ended the fight, darry say down on the couch with the rest of them.

  "so where will y'all be thanksgiving this year?" he asked.

  "i gotta help ma with dinner. let's hope nothing catches on fire this year!" two-bit laughed.

  "same here," steve said.

  "except you'd probably pull off the catching-on-fire thing," sodapop chuckled. steve glared at his friend.

  "probably gonna stay at buck's and get trashed. if they did it a hundred-somethin' years ago than i can too! that there ought to be somethin' to be thankful for," dallas smirked.

  "and you girls?" darry asked. both jahanna and trish broke out laughing, shaking their heads.

  "oh, your parents working on thanksgiving?" darry worriedly asked them.

  "most likely," trish answered with a shy smile.

  "no question," jahanna sighed.

  "well, want to come over and help?" ponyboy suggested. sodapop beamed.

"why that's a great idea ponyboy!" he slapped his younger brother on his back, congratulating him on the wonderful proposition with a bubbling laugh.

"i can teach you some of mom's old recipes," darry added warmly. the two girl's faces looked slightly stunned.

"y-you really mean it, darry?" trish asked. darry nodded and smiled, his eyes crinkling at their sides.

"i'm free to learn new recipes!" trish chirped, lightly clapping her hands in her excitement, urging chuckles from the rest of them.

  "and i'm free to eat them— i mean, help. yeah help, help peel potatoes! or... something..." jahanna followed up.

"the curtis door is always open and welcome for visitors!" sodapop exclaimed. "oh and, johnnycake! you're welcome for the holiday too, as always."

johnny nodded in acknowledgment.

"you'll be there right?" trish turned and asked him. johnny looked up at her, seeing the immense anticipation on her face. it almost made him chuckle. but at the same time, he had never wanted to accept a holiday invitation to the curtis house so much then.

his smile was lopsided and he ruffled her hair.

"sure thing."