I was walking home from the movies with nothing on my mind but Peter Pan. I enjoy watching movies alone. I kinda wished I was Peter Pan. I don't want to grow up. I want to be a care free kid. I'm still a kid but I've had to grow up too fast. My brother Ponyboy likes movies too but we like watching alone sometimes. I like a lot of things my family doesn't understand. Soda tries but he just doesn't understand. Pony and I like watching sunsets, reading, writing, drawing, and movies. I alone like singing, dancing, and acting. I've got brown hair with some natural red and blonde highlights and brown eyes. I'm the youngest in my family. I'm 12 turning 13 real soon. My brother Pony is 14, Soda is 16, and Darry is 20. Darry seems not to like my older brother Pony. Sodapop, Ponyboy, and I have to keep out of trouble or not get caught cause If we do we'll be sent away. I'll go to a girl's home and Ponyboy and Sodapop will go to a boys home. We can't be split up! And the worst part of that is I would never see any of my brothers again! I mean Pony and Soda would have each other but I would be all alone! Anyways, now I had to worry about how I should get home. It's not safe for me to walk home alone but I didn't really have a choice. I would have called someone in the gang to pick me up but I didn't have money for a pay phone. I was just walking when a blue mustang started chasing me. I started running knowing the guys in the car were socs (short for Socials pronounced S-O-SH-ES). I ran until they caught me.
"Hey, what's a little greaser girl like you doing walking alone?" One asked a bit too sweetly
I was too afraid to respond. I had never been jumped but it looked like it was gonna happen now.
"Looks like we need to teach her not to walk alone," another said
I finally got the nerve to say "How about you leave me alone,"
"I don't think we want to though," one said
"Go pick on someone your own size," I told them
"Oh, but that's no fun," another told me
They started a fight, a fight that I was obviously losing. Four against one. They looked to be 21, 20, 18, and 17. They threw me to the ground. They were punching and kicking then one took out a knife. I started yelling.
"SODAPOP! DARRY! PONYBOY! JOHNNY! ANYONE! HELP!" I yelled
They then took out a cloth and gagged me. One was sitting on top of me pinning me down. I had gotten loose and started running until they caught me and pinned me down again.
"SODA!" I screamed
The guy was on top of me again with the switchblade pointed at me. I realized they could kill me right then. I was real scared. They cut me a little. Just then my gang came up and chased them away. I'm part of a gang but the only reason I haven't been kicked out is cause I'm Soda and Darry's kid sister. There's Darry, Two-Bit, Dally, Soda, Steve, Johnny, Pony, and me. Johnny is the gangs pet, everyone's kid brother except me. I'm the youngest so he's just another big brother for me. I'm the only girl in the gang but I don't mind. Johnny is pretty skitish and quiet and Ponys pretty quiet too. I talk all the time but I keep my mouth shut good when I need to. For someone who talks all the time though I still have my share of secrets. Pony and I are not violent like others in the gang. If you handed either of us a weapon we'd never use it. My best friends in the gang are Johnny, Pony, and Soda. Mostly Soda though. Sodapop came running up to me.
"You ok Milkyway?" Soda asked me
I was shakin' I was so scared
"Did they pull a blade out on you Milkyway?" He asked worried
I nodded
"Well they ain't gonna hurt you no more Milky," He told me "Come on, let's go home,"
Soda then helped me up and we walked home together. When we got home though Darry started getting on to me.
"Milkyway, you can't walk home alone like that! It's not safe for a girl! Especially a little 12 year old one without a weapon!" Darry said
"I know, I tried to call someone in the gang but I didn't have any money for a pay phone," I said
"Well you need to carry money on you," He told me
"I wasn't thinking and forgot to bring money," I told him
"You and Pony never think," He said
"At least she was thinking more than Pony," Soda mumbled
"I was only walking home from the movies, I wasn't expecting to be jumped," I told Darry
"Well, at your age you always have to have someone go with you," Darry told me
"When I'm 13 can I have more freedom?" I asked
He just shrugged and walked away.
That night when I went to bed the scene of me getting jumped kept playing in my mind. Pony and I sometimes have bad nightmares. Me more than him. So, we sleep with Soda. Soda just makes everything better. That night though I had a nightmare. Pony and I usually wake up from them sweating or screaming. It had started as a normal night. I fell asleep fairly quickly. I sleep on Soda's right and Pony on his left. I'm next to the window and always fall asleep watching the stars. When Pony and I have these dreams we never remember them. I slowly closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
I woke with someone shaking me.
"Milky! Milky, wake up!" Soda was saying
I then realized I was sweating and I didn't feel to good. I opened my eyes.
"Soda?" I asked
"Yeah Milky, It's me," he said
"I had another nightmare didn't I?" I asked
"Yeah, and a fit too," he told me
You see sometimes very rarely I have what we call fits. I'm not awake but I sleepwalk. I cry and scream. I don't know it's happening of course but I wake everyone up. When I was little I walked to mom and dad's room and woke them up. Darry now sleeps in their room so when I have fits I go to him. The worst part though is seeing the boys faces after because when I'm having a fit I call Darry mom and/or dad. Our parents died in a car crash a few months ago though.
"A fit?" I asked
"Yeah," Soda told me
"But this time was different," Darry told me
"Yeah, you wouldn't leave him alone. When he tried to tell you he wasn't mom or dad you responded," Pony told me
I never respond when in a fit, I'm always in my own world.
"Yeah, you kept trying to say I was," Darry told me
"And you just kept saying 'ask Soda, ask Pony. They'll tell you'," Soda told me
"I think we need to go to the doctor," Darry told me
"Why?" I asked
"Cause your fits have gotten worse since mom and dad died. The last time you had them before they died was when you were 8," Soda told me
"Well, I don't wanna go now. I don't feel good and I wanna go back to sleep," I told them
"That's why we need to go now, so they can see how you are after," Darry told me
"But I'm sleepy," I told him
"You can sleep on the way," Darry told me
We all got into the car. I sat next to Soda in the backseat. I fell asleep but it wasn't a peaceful one. I had a nightmare. I relived the car crash that killed my parents.
Someone was shaking me again
"Milky, Milky wake up. We're here," Soda told me
I then got up and walked with them into the hospital. Darry told the guy at the desk what we wanted and we were taken to a room. We talked to a guy. He talked to Darry the most. He told Darry that it was just losing mom and dad and that a therapist was a good idea but when Darry told him we couldn't afford one he just told them to keep an eye on me and talk to me about it. We then went home.
The next day I was talking to Johnny and Pony.
"How come you never hang out with girls?" Johnny asked me
I shrugged,
"Well, the greaser girls don't like me and I don't like them. They're too edgy and mean. The soc girls are stuck up and dramatic. Above all both are obsessed with boys! Once I tried hanging out with this girl and all she talked about was which of you guys were cuter and who I should end up with. Man, Pony you're older than me and you don't date so why should I? Also they all think I'm weird cause I only hang out with guys," I told them
"Well, I'm glad you hang out with us. I don't think you should ever have to be like them," Johnny told me
"Thanks Johnny," I told him
They then went with Dally to the movies. I didn't feel like going so I just went home. No one was there so I just went to my room. I like writing songs so I wrote one then. I sang it once I was done. Sodapop then came in. I knew that he liked my singing even if he wasn't that musical. I never really sang to him unless no one else was around. No one else really knew I loved to sing. Darry only thought it was some easy elective I took. Soda convinced me to sing it to him and I did. He really liked it.
I decided I would go see if the movie was any good. When I got there I payed the fee of a quarter. I knew Dally hadn't payed. It's not like he didn't have the money he just liked to show he didn't care if there were rules. He just tries to break them. When I found Pony and Johnny they were sitting behind two girls. One had long red hair and looked really mad and the other had short brown hair. It wasn't hard to see why she was so mad though. Dally was up to his usual tricks. He was trying to embarrass the girls by talking nasty and stuff. He put his feet on her chair and she got highly annoyed. She yelled at him. I didn't quite hear what they were saying but I could tell she was mad. Dally left and came back with cokes. He gave one to each of them. The redhead threw hers in his face. I laughed quietly to myself. Dally then started getting all up in her space. Johnny said something and Dally left. I then went up figuring it was safe.
"Are you gonna start on us too?" The redhead asked Pony and Johnny
"No," Pony said
"You don't look the type," she said
"Yeah, we're young and innocent," Pony said
"Not innocent your just not dirty," the girl said
"Uh, hi," I said aquardly
"Milky?" Johnny asked
"Yeah, I thought I'd stop by," I told him
"I thought you didn't want to come," Pony said
"I just didn't feel like getting in a car Dally was driving," I told them
"Dally's driving is pretty bad," Johnny agreed
"Yeah, I think I'd rather get in a car Pony was driving than Dally," I said
"But I don't know how to drive," Pony said confused
"I know," I said
We all laughed
"I'm Sherie but my friends call me Cherry because of my red hair," the redhead introduced
"I'm Marcia," the one with brown hair told us
"What are your names?" Cherry asked us
Oh I wish she hadn't asked that. Pony and I don't nessecaraly like telling people our names first off.
"Johnny Cade," Johnny said
"Ponyboy Curtis," said Pony
"Milkyway Curtis," I said
I waited for a comment but Cherry just said
"Those are original names,"
"Our dad was an original person," Pony said
"Yeah, we've got a brother named Sodapop and it's even written on his birth certificate," I told her
"Your brother, Sodapop, he works at a gas station?" Cherry asked
"Yeah," Pony said
"I should have known you were brothers, you look alike. And you, I should have known your his sister, you two look alike too. He sure is a doll," Cherry said
I knew Pony didn't believe Cherry when she said he looked like Soda but he really does. They don't look exactly the same but they sure do look like brothers. As for me I do look like Sodapop's sister.
"How old are you?" Cherry asked
"14," Pony said while Johnny said "16,"
"I'm 12, but I'll be 13 soon," I told her
"Funny, I thought you were both-" Marcia started
"16," Cherry said
We all knew Johnny looked 14 and it bugged him.
"I thought you were 14," Cherry told me
I knew I looked 13 though.
A bit later Two-bit came up. Cherry, me, and Pony went to get popcorn. I didn't go for popcorn though, I went for m&m's. We talked in the line. Cherry asked about Johnny. Pony and I told her about when he was jumped by some socs. It had been horrible. I had been in the house with Darry when we saw the gang outside.
-flashback-
I was watching my favorite show I love Lucy on TV and Darry was making dinner. During a commercial I got up to see what Darry was making. On the way to the kitchen I saw the gang out the window. They looked concerned though.
"Uh, Darry," I said
"Yeah," he said
"The gangs out in the lot," I told him
"So?" He asked
"I think something's wrong," I said
"Let's go check it out," he said
So we walked up to where the gang was. We they were all crowded around Soda who was kneeling next to Johnny but Johnny was beaten up badly. He looked horrible. I ran over to Soda and Johnny and dropped down on my knees.
"Johnny," Soda said
Johnny didn't respond
"Johnnycake," I said shaking him
"Milky?" He asked without opening his eyes
"Yeah," I said
"You're gonna be ok," Soda told him
"Soda?" Johnny asked
"Yeah, you're gonna be fine, just don't talk," Soda said
But Johnny went on telling his story anyways. He was told us that one guy had a had a bunch of rings that cut Johnny and that they had threatened him. He tried to cuss but just started crying. Johnny is bested up by his dad and never even whimpers so if he was crying it was serious. From then on Johnny who was the least violent and most law following of all of us except me carried a 6 inch switch blade and if he was ever jumped again he would use it.
-end of flashback-
Cherry told us that not all socs are like that but I left after I had bought my m&m's. When I got back I sat beside Johnny and we shared my m&m's. We all watched the movie. It was one of those beach movies with no acting or plot just girls in bikinis and some cool songs. I don't really like this kind of movie but it was ok. Two-bit came up and freaked both me and Johnny out. He and Marcia hit it off real well. Cherry, Pony, Johnny, and I just watched the movie. As I said I didn't really like it so I started reading a book. I could have talked to Johnny but I didn't feel like it. I'm the only one that can ever get Johnny to participate in a long conversation and I'm quite proud of it. I don't go around bragging though. Sodapop says he doesn't know how I do it and the gang agrees. At school some of my friends are the shy kids but we get along just fine. I get them to try things they never would have tried and they end up loving it.
When the movie was over Two-bit offered to drive the girls home. They said no and I was glad. I only trust Darry to drive me anywhere. We then offered to walk them home but they said no too. After a while they agreed to let Two-bit drive them home. I was not happy about that. Johnny knows I don't trust anyone but Darry when it comes to driving so he offered to walk with me.
Just then a blue mustang drove up. Two guys hopped out. They were not happy about the boys being with they're girls. Me, they didn't notice me, or care, one of those. A fight was about to start. Two-bit gave Pony a broken bottle but Pony wouldn't use it. Cherry then stopped the boys. She said she hated fights and agreed to ride home with the soc boys. One of them was her boyfriend. The reason he hadn't been with her at the movie was because they were drinking and she did not want to be around drunk people.
Two-bit drove to wherever and Johnny, Pony, and I walked to the lot. Johnny's parents were fighting again. When we got to the lot I told them I had to get home because my curfew is earlier than Ponys. I went home and on my way I realized Darry wouldn't be happy that I walked home alone. When I got home the only person there was Soda luckily and he agreed not to tell Darry.
A while later when Darry got home Soda and I were sitting on the couch. I was writing a story. Soda was reading it over my shoulder. He said it was good.