Small town girls: life in the 1950s (for RussianBunny)

[Renton]

Becky was already fond of this new girl. She wasn't stuck up at all, nor was she a shrinking violet. She seemed like a quiet, down to earth girl who appreciated having people pay attention to her. Becky's mercenary plan to turn the meek pastor's daughter into a debutante was already on its head; she could see herself getting along with this girl, and her fashion was irrelevant to that end. But she didn't mind that her friends were busy talking hair with her either; if Olive was open to fashion pointers, Becky was more than happy to help in that regard.

She also realized that her mother was going to love this girl. The pastor's daughter would be a perfect addition to the League, maybe the head of a special teen chapter. Becky wouldn't mind having someone to talk to on League outings who didn't have to be dragged along (Tammy and Lizzy were taking an inventory of everything Becky made them do for her and she knew the debt would have to be paid in full soon).

Becky rolled her eyes at Tammy when she made the comment about her mother. "Tammy has a funny way with words, Olive," she said, smiling. "What she means is, there's something about pin curls that you just can't get with curling irons. I use pins sometimes when I just need that extra bounce," she said turning her head and demonstrating how thoroughly bouncy her red locks were. "Of course, Lizzy here is a wizard with the iron. Her hair could start a war. How about we stop by her house this week after school, give you a taste of her brand of magic?"

Damage control done, Becky glanced back at Tammy and Lizzy. "By the way girls" she said, a bit sheepishly (perhaps playing her "regret" up a little), my mama is helping set up the League's after-church luncheon after school, and I was wondering if you two could help me?"

"Help me" was Becky's code for "I'll be bored to death without someone to talk to" and while she could count on her friends to be there for her, this was a request she had made before. Many, many times before.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

"That would be so much fun!" Lizzy said with a grin when Becky mentioned all of them coming over to her house one afternoon. She would need to talk to her folks, first, but after that, all should be well.

"Okay," Olive chirped with a grin. It was nice to be included in a group, and she could feel herself relaxing a bit in their presence. Her daddy was right: making friends wasn't that hard! And they seemed so nice!

Tammy and Lizzy did their best to not make a face when Becky asked for help. While they loved their friend, truly they did, these League meetings were just no fun at all. Especially since their mothers would be eying them like hawks the whole time.

"I actually can't," Tammy said, looking sheepish herself. "My dad found out about me kissing James Fisher, and he's really angry at me. He said I can't leave the house except to go to school or he'll give me a whipping. And he hasn't threatened that since I was 10!"

Lizzy shook her head. "My brother's got chicken pox, and since dad has to work, I have to watch after him when the maid isn't around." And she rolled her eyes, like it was the maid's fault for giving her brother chicken pox and being unable to take care of him because of her life outside of work.

Olive tried not to look uncomfortable. While the luncheon was technically in honor of her father, it was partally for her, and it felt odd, having a party for yourself when it wasn't your birthday. And hearing Tammy talking of getting a whipping (other than his hand, her father had only used a hairbrush and a slipper), and Lizzy about a maid, made her feel a little anxious.

"I... I could help," Olive said, with a small smile. "I live next door, and I'm sure if I ask my Daddy, he'd say yes." Not to mention, maybe Olive and Becky could walk over together. That'd be nice!

[Renton]

Becky's best attempt at puppy dog eyes did nothing to dissuade Tammy and Lizzy, and she was ready to resign herself to a long afternoon of boredom. Setting up the luncheon and attending the meeting after was not how she envisioned the day playing out; she was hoping to take Tammy and Lizzy and whichever hangers on who wanted in on her circle that day out to the ice cream parlor, and maybe the movie house. Something nice to commemorate the beginning of senior year. She pouted miserably, before Olive quietly spoke up.

"You will?" she said, suddenly remembering her mother's many long talks about "how wonderful it would be if the new pastor could live closer to this side of town, maybe in that big old house next to it". "That would be wonderful, thanks! It's just nice to have someone I can talk to around, is all," she added. "Want to walk over after school? My mother will be here to pick me up, but I'd like to walk, it's a beautiful day!"

"All right girls, you're off the hook," Becky said to Tammy and Lizzy. "And Tammy, you really can do better than James Fisher. Bobby Bellamy is mad about you. Just give him the time of day and he'll be wrapped around your little finger!"

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

"That would be lovely!" She didn't want to say that it was silly for her mother to pick her up and drop her off at the church that was a few blocks away (because, after all, she didn't know where Becky lived; it could be on the farthest side of town!), and Olive looked happy to have someone to walk home with. Even if it was only three blocks.

Tammy rolled her eyes as they started digging into their food. "I don't even like Bobby, Becky! He's... well, he's not ugly, but he's so boring! And also, James' older brother is in a rock and roll band! How cool is that?" When Lizzy looked confused, Tammy scoffed: "They play only the newest music! James said his brother was this close to meeting Elvis Presley when he went to an audition in Dallas."

"But Dallas is so far away..." Olive said, wondering why someone would travel so far without the guarentee of a job. But that was drowned out by Lizzy's squeal.

"Elvis? He almost met Elvis?!"

[Renton]

Becky shook her head, albeit with a friendly smile. "He plays upright bass. That's like, the least sexy instrument. He's the brother of a guy who plays the least sexy instrument in rock and roll band who sing songs by other rock and roll bands." By that point, Elvis had been name-dropped and Lizzy was in full fangirl.

Even Becky had to admit, almost meeting Elvis was pretty cool. She glanced up at Olive, who seemed only able to glean "Dallas" from Becky's sentence. "Not a fan of Elvis, Olive?" she asked. "No worry, of course, rock and roll isn't for everyone," she added, taking a moment to realize that perhaps Jordan didn't permit rock and roll in the house. Elvis was certainly controversial, what with reports of his... dancing during his concerts and televised shows. Becky knew that that was something she would very much like to see herself (she'd tried to get tickets for a nearby show, but they sold out within minutes), but she doubted many of the town's parents would approve. She'd heard he was going to be on the Ed Sullivan Show sometime soon, and she wondered if that was going to be a topic at a League meeting soon.

"All right, looks like lunch is over," she said, glancing up at the clock. "Meet you after school out front, Olive?" she asked, genuinely looking forward to getting to know the new girl.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

"I..." Olive bit her lip and shrugged when Becky inquired if she liked Elvis or not. Truth be told, she had never heard any of his music. She hadn't had time over the summer to go to the local hangouts and listen to the jukeboxes playing new, popular songs, and every time Elvis - or any kind of rock and roll band - had been mentioned on the radio to be "coming up next", her father had changed the station. (She had caught the final couple of bars of Hound Dog once when they turned the radio on in the car, and she had liked it. And she had to admit, Elvis was rather handsome.)

"That sounds swell," Olive said, taking her lunch tray when the bell rang and putting it away for the lunch women to handle it (they gave her a small nod when she handed it over), before heading to her next class. The rest of the day was rather boring, although a few girls in a locker near theirs were mentioning how gorgeous Elvis looked on a recent girls' magazine, and a boy in her Calculus class kept pulling on her pigtail until she turned around and said, very firmly and loud enough for everyone to hear, "Stop pulling my hair" and the teacher intervened. After all, her mother had taught her that, while violence should not be a first response, to never allow someone to bully her for any reason - especially if they claimed it was because she was pretty or a girl.

Olive was actually one of the last few kids to exit the school, due to many kids rampaging out as fast as possible (and her not wanting to get trampled). Once she got out into the courtyard, she saw Becky right away and scooted over to where she was standing next to a rather nice car. "Hello," she said with a grin.

[Renton]

Becky was waiting outside for Olive, holding her favorite pair of pink cat-eye sunglasses in her hand. She couldn't wear them on school grounds; sunglasses had joined the long list of banned clothing and accessories, as part of Principal Silver's ongoing quest to rid the school of trendy fashion (as Becky saw it, anyway). Wearing them at school might even be a paddling offense if the principal was in a bad mood. Becky been paddled a few times over the years, usually for fashion related offenses. That was the risk she had to take if she wanted to look stylish with a dinosaur for a principal, a man who would make all the girls wear full-length frocks if he could, as far as it seemed to her anyway.

She was chatting with her mother, having already informed the woman that she had a new friend she'd like Jennifer to meet.

She glanced up at Olive and grinned. "Olive!" she said, waving her new friend over. "Olive, meet my mother, Jennifer," she said. "Mama, this is Olive, Pastor Driver's daughter. I'm gonna walk over to the church with her if you don't mind," she said, walking up to Olive and linking arms with her.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive was rather surprised to see Becky's mother in such a nice car! It looked relatively new, and it took a second for Olive to remind herself that not all families came from the same background as her and her father: some had a lot more money, especially to spend on new items.

"Becky Simon," Jennifer scolded her daughter, regardless or not of whether it was in front of her new friend, "You do not refer to your mother by her first name. It's disrespectful."

"Hello, Mrs. Simon," Olive interjected before anything could get more awkward, and she stuck out her hand. Thankfully, Mrs. Simon shook it. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Jennifer turned back to Becky. "Of course you can go walk with Olive over to the church! Are you sure you two don't want a ride instead?"

That seems like a terrible waste of gas, Olive thought to herself, but instead she said, "No, I have to let my Daddy know where I'll be anyway, Mrs. Simon, and I can introduce him to Becky. Is that okay?"

"That's fine! I'll just head on that way, if it's alright with you girls, and I'll see you then," Jennifer said, before she slowly rolled away in the car, and the girls waved goodbye.

"Your mom seems nice," Olive said, as they slowly headed towards the Driver residence. "She talks a little fast, though."

[Renton]

Becky rolled her eyes at her mother's scolding. "I'm just telling her your name moth... she said... sorry mama. Won't happen again," she finally said, deciding not to argue this point. She knew that to friends, parents did not have names. They were only "Mister and Mrs." One of many things that Becky thought was archaic but that mattered to her parents.

When her mother offered to drive then, Becky locked her arm with Olive's. "It's a really nice day, mama," she said. "It's not a long walk, we'll be there soon."

When Jennifer took off, Becky began to walk with Olive, putting on her sunglasses as soon as they were off school grounds. "She's good people," Becky said. She didn't always get along with her mom, but even with their most ardent disagreements Becky knew her mom meant well. "And she likes you, I can tell. She talks fast when she likes someone. It's when she slows down that you want to be careful," she said. "Like when she goes 'Becky Simon' like she did back there. If I ever get a 'Rebecca Margaret Simon', with every syllable accentuated? I know I'm in for it then. Or my bottom is, anyway," she said, lightly shaking her head.

As they walked, Becky tried not to talk Olive's ear off, but talking fast and at great volume was something she had inherited from her mother. She instead asked questions and let Olive answer at her own speed. "What do you like to do in your spare time?" she asked. "Do you have plans for the future, after graduation?"

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

"I like your sunglasses," Olive said as Becky pulled them out. They had rhinestones, which were all the rage right now, and they were very fashionable. And her mother did seem nice, she couldn't deny that. It was always a little awkward, though, to listen to someone getting scolded when you weren't in trouble too, especially when you just met them.

"My Daddy's the same way... Well, he doesn't talk too fast, but he likes to talk a lot, and he can get loud when he wants to. Especially when I get in trouble..." Olive added. Then she thought about Becky's question for a moment. "Well, I haven't had much free time over the summer, from the move and all... but I like to read. And write. And scrapbook. I also got two camera for Christmas." Olive was especially giddy about this. "But I haven't used the film one yet; I took some Polaroids of my Daddy when he was unpacking boxes, to see how they came out. They look good, but he doesn't know I took them just yet." After all, his expressions had been rather comical, and Olive hid it in her scrapbooking stuff.

"I... I want to be a writer. Or a photographer," Olive answered honestly. "And, well, Daddy is helping me make sure that I go to college after graduation. I know a lot of people think it's odd, but I'm excited!" After all, college! That was a great thing! She just hoped Becky didn't think she was weird for wanting to go.