Chapter One
It was a few months after I'd turned in my theme to Mr. Syme, and after the new school year had started. He was a little shocked when he saw how big it was. I told him it felt real good when I had finished, and he said he thought it would, and smiled at me. The rest of the class had gotten theirs graded and given back the last day we had in class, but Mr. Syme wanted to keep mine. He asked me if it was okay, and I told him it was.
Friday afternoon I'd gotten out of school and I was with Soda and Steve at the DX. A bunch of girls from my school were there too. Soda didn't give them much attention, and I could tell that they didn't like that much. He missed Sandy, and even though he didn't tell nobody, we could tell. Steve was working on a nice little Corvette Sting Ray, like the one that I remember Cherry Valance had, and Soda was working the cash register. I stood outside the station smoking a cigarette when Two-Bit walked up.
He didn't look real great. He hadn't looked real great since before the night Johnny and Dallas died. His eyebrows were set in a firm, thin line, and he had a determined look to him. He looked like he was aiming to do something serious, something he wasn't used to. I pulled the cigarette out of my mouth and huffed out a smoke ring. He shook my hand when we got close enough.
"How you doing, Two-Bit?" I asked him, as he passed into the station. He shook his head, looking real tired and old.
"Been up to a lot lately, kid. Soda," he said briefly, seeing my brother and leaning over the counter to talk to him. "Pony, could you get Steve in here for a minute? I want to talk to him and Soda 'bout some things." I nodded, and backed out through the door, sucking on my cigarette. Steve had rolled himself under the car, and was doing some manual labor.
"Steve?" I called out real soft, and he rolled out from under it, giving me a questioning look. Steve didn't look the same either since that night. He and Evie called it quits and a real greasy girl named Brittany was trying to get in his head. He didn't talk to her none. "Two-Bit's inside. He said he wanted a word with you an' Soda. He didn't look real happy about it neither." He bit his lip, and walked with me back inside. They were talking in real hushed tones, like I wasn't even there. I slipped my cigarette into my scowl, until Soda said my name.
"Pony, let's go outside," he said, leaving the register to go outside with me. He looked the same as Steve and Two-Bit, tired and sad and old. Once we were outside, I knew something was wrong. "Can I have a cigarette, Pony? You and me gotta talk." I handed him one, and lit it for him. This wasn't gonna be good. I had an awful sick feeling in my stomach.
"What is it, Soda? What's wrong?" I asked him, as he pushed the cigarette into his mouth and sighed out a cloud of smoke.
"You remember that call we got a few nights ago that Darry didn't want you to know about, Ponyboy?" I nodded. He fiddled with his belt loop on his blue jeans. "Well, me and Steve and Two-Bit...we're leaving." I opened my mouth to holler at him: How could they do that to us? Hadn't Darry yelled at me about letting my life get sucked into a vacuum? Why wouldn't Darry be mad at Soda for this? He just shook his head and said yes when Soda was explaining this, this whatever-it-was to him. "No, don't say anything, Pony. I know it ain't right for us to be leaving at a time like this, but me and Steve and Two-Bit–we can't help it. There's a war going on in Vietnam and...they need us, Pony," he squeaked, and I couldn't help but notice the tiny droplet of water that had leaked out of the corner of his eye.
"War?" I whimpered, and Soda hugged me. Soda couldn't go to war. Two-Bit couldn't go to war. Hell, I didn't want Steve to go to war. They wouldn't be able to last there. There would be killing going on, and dying. People would be dying, and Steve and Soda and Two-Bit would all be in the middle of it. I pulled away from my brother. "Why you?" I begged him at last. "Why did they pick you and not–not–?"
"Why did they pick me and not Darry? Not you, not Tim or Curly? I can't say, Pony. Maybe it's something that can't be helped–you know, like fate? I know it sounds crocked, but it is what it is. Steve and Two-Bit and I got picked. We're the ones that have to go. I leave in two weeks for training and then they're going to send me to 'Nam. I have to fight for my country, Pony. You understand that, right, kiddo? You understand why I have to go?" I held my tongue tight in my mouth.
"Yeah, I understand," I lied to him, and I felt awful about it. I never lied to Soda. Nobody ever lied to Soda. "But Soda?"
"Yeah, Pony?"
"Promise me you ain't gonna be a hero. Promise me you're gonna stay safe and don't hurt nobody." He nodded at me, and his eyes were serious instead of laughing for once in a long time.
"I promise, Ponyboy," he said, but I was sure he was lying to me, too. And it confirmed my worst fears: nobody around here could be trusted anymore.