"Crack!" I heard the gun shot and took off like someone lit a fire under me. It was the first track meet of the season, and I had trained hard for this moment. Right now, I was glad to be me. I was just Ponyboy Curtis running in the first track meet of the season.
My thoughts drifted, as they often do while I'm running. It had been almost a year. Almost a year since Johnny and Dally had died, and I nearly got taken away from Darry and Soda. Boy, howdy, how things had changed. Yet, somehow, things were the same, too. I had practically quit smoking. After I fully recovered from my concussion, weed just lost its flavor. Then when the coach told me I was getting slow, I just quit. Now I only smoked to look tuff. Cigarettes don't calm my nerves anymore.
Me and Darry get along real well now. Even though I was beginning to grow into a man, I was still his baby. I liked it that way. Sodapop and I still got along just like we used to.
Only, we stopped sleeping in the same bed. Soda said I kicked too much, and I didn't have enough room anymore. We were still in the same room, though, so every now and then I would crawl next to him. Soda will always look out for me.
Two bit and Steve were still around. Two bit finally made it to his senior year. He actually was working hard, hoping to finish high school. Steve was a Senior that year, too. He hadn't changed much, except that he stopped treating me so much like a kid. Sure, I was still Soda's kid brother to him, but I was also a tough little sucker who was beginning to pack a good punch.
I made it around the first lap, and that brought me back to reality. There were four runners in front of me, but I knew I could pass them easily. I had another whole lap to do it in, too.
The concrete was firm, and my feet bounced off it easily. I had spent a week during the summer helping my English teacher clean out his basement to earn new shoes. Right now, they sure were worth all the dust in the basement. I increased my pace slightly. I was gaining on the guy in fourth. When I passed him, I noticed he was already panting for breath. "Poor guy," I thought, "He's already tired." I started feeling confident when I passed the next guy. It sure felt good to run. I had done a lot of running after Johnny and Dally were gone. It helped me to calm down and think more rationally. At that moment, I wasn't even breathing hard. When there was half the track to go, I began sprinting. I could feel the rhythm of my feet hitting the pavement. Only two more people to pass. When the guy in second was behind me, I pushed even harder. Fifty feet to go, and maybe only five feet between me and first place. The distance decreased with every step. Right as I approached the finish line, I was sure I had him.
If the finish line had been a foot further, I would have won. I was happy with second place, though. As the other runners finished, I stood there and caught my breath, which I had lost as soon as I stopped running. Funny how I could have gone on forever, and only when I stopped did I realize my lungs were screaming for a breath. Soda and Darry were cheering wildly from the stands. I had to grin. Those guys were crazy.
When I got up to the bleachers after a pat on the back from my coach, Soda greeted me by thumping my shoulder. "Boy howdy," he said, "I'd say we've got ourselves a champion runner here, don't you think Darry?" Soda was grinning and his eyes were dancing. "I think you sure are right little buddy." Darry said, "Good job, Pony. I'm awful proud of you."
I just stood there and stared at my brothers for a second. Darry had taken off work to see my first meet. He said we was proud of me. I still didn't hear that enough.
"Thanks you guys," I said, wrapping my arms around Darry's waist. "Hey!" Sodapop exclaimed, "What's with this? Superman gets a hug, and I get left out?" "Oh, wait your turn," Darry said, smiling. "Here you go, Mr. Impatient," I tackled Soda to the ground. We wrestled for a bit, until I realized we were about to run into a girl. I said uncle and we went back up to sit with Darry.
"Welp, I guess running doesn't take a bit of energy out of this kid," Soda piped. "Guess so," I said, taking a swig of water. We sat and watched a few races before leaving. My team didn't do that badly. The new girl, Brie, took first place in her race. Brie was a Junior who has just moved to Tulsa. I didn't really talk to her, but she seemed nice. When she crossed the finish line, the girl Soda and I almost rolled into cheered. I assumed she knew Brie or something. I wasn't sure if I had seen her before.
For a second, I studied her. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail that swished when she cheered. I noticed that there were tiny braids on either side of her head. That girl's hair was pretty long, too. I tried not to look lower, but caught myself noticing how curvy and skinny she was. Yet, she didn't look frail. I could tell by just looking at her that she was a tough little chick. She wore blue jeans and a loose t-shirt that seemed to fit everything about her perfectly.
Soda caught me looking at her and smirked. I punched him in the shoulder to keep his mouth shut. Girls still made me uncomfortable, but in a different way than before. If I ever told Soda, though, I'd never hear the end of it. So what if I realized that girls weren't all that gross? And what does it matter that now I actually think they might be worth hanging around? I guess Cherry Valance helped out with that. She seemed to avoid me now, but I was sure that there was still a part of her that dug sunsets. I wondered if that girl dug sunsets too...
I felt sort of quiet the rest of the day. Maybe it was because I was tired. Maybe the thoughts of Dally and Johnny triggered painful memories. Whatever it was, it made me want to sit out on the back step and think. So I did.
Johnny was my best friend. Why did he have to die? He had so much left to do. He didn't want to die. And why did Dally have to break at Johnny's death? He was so tough. He had seen lots of death before, too, right? It didn't add up. Why did he love Johnny? Dally didn't love anyone or anything except Johnny. I though long and hard, and forgot the rest of the world. That is, until I heard the back door open, then slam shut. That door always slammed, no matter how soft you tried to shut it.
I only half noticed it, though. Then Soda came and sat down beside me. The sun was setting, and I remembered how Johnny told me that the way I dug sunsets was gold. Was I staying gold like he said to?
"Whatchya doing?" Soda burst my bubble of thought. "Huh?" I said, startled. I had already forgotten he was there. "You've been out here all by your lonesome for hours. What gives?" Soda knew me too well. I hadn't just sat doing nothing for a while. "I'm just thinking," I stated, hoping that would satisfy him. It didn't. "What about?" he asked intently. "Why do you want to know so bad?" I snapped. Thinking about Dally and Johnny always made me snappy. I wanted to run and never stop just then. I sat tight, though, because I couldn't do that to Sodapop. "Hey, kid, listen. You're worrying me. You were doing real good for a while. I don't like seeing you so lonely...." Soda trailed off. I didn't want to say anything, because I knew I would start bawling, and I don't bawl anymore.
After a few minutes of silence, Soda spoke again. "Well, it's time for dinner anyway. That's why I came out here in the first place." I looked at him indignantly. "I'm not hungry," I stated with finality. "I don't care," he retorted, "You're going to eat, and you're going to like it too. No brother of mine is going to be a skinny shrimp just 'cause he didn't eat when I said to." I could tell Soda was messing with me, trying to get a smile, but it just wouldn't work. Especially because I refused to look at him, knowing that if I did, I wouldn't be able to keep a frown on my face.
Soda did make me eat. Even when I just sat there playing with my food, he was all over me. Darry left me alone, knowing Sodapop would get down to the root of the problem. Soda just sat right next to me and literally shoved the food down my throat. That kid can be really persistent when he wants to be, and I guess he wanted to be. I finally just ate it all so he would quit bugging me.
Later that night, the rest of the gang came over. They turned the radio up real loud, and turned the TV on, and played cards. I didn't get why they liked so much noise. Watching them play poker helped me forget about all the stuff that was bothering me for a while. I just can't help but grin when I can see that Two bit is totally bluffing, and Soda and Steve are buying it. I probably could have beat all of them if I played, but ever since Windrixville, I haven't played poker. I was glad when they finally settled down.