Living out on the streets is tough. No food, clothing, money, home, ect. But that's the life I chose. I mean, I didn't want to go into foster care, who would? My solution was running away from my friend's house; they were kind enough to let me stay with them while everything was legally arranged since my parents left no legal guardian for me in either of their wills. Both were killed in a car crash three months ago, in November.
Right now, I think I'm in Oklahoma, Tulsa sounds right. I'm on some bench in some park, with nothing but the clothes on my back and this pen and notebook I managed to swipe from some store a couple blocks from here. Everyone else in this park, from little old ladies to rough-looking teenage boys to families with little kids are staring at me and giving me dirty looks. I don't understand it; I don't know why. I'm just another pers
My journal writing was cut short by some guy with white-blonde hair and
icey-blue eyes. He came up to me, grabbed my journal right out of my lap, and stood there without a care in the world reading it. My journal; my personal thoughts. "Excuse me!" I exclaimed, trying to get his attention. He didn't even pause for a moment, so I stood up and tried to pull my notebook out of his hands without much success. He just pushed me back onto the bench, without even looking up. "That's my journal!" At that, he smirked. This guy was officially starting to piss me off and I wanted to punch him, but I wasn't at the top of my game and this guy looked really dangerous. I know, I'm a wimp sometimes, but I hadn't had a good meal or adequate sleep for three months and I wasn't gonna try anything stupid.
After a few long minutes, he scoffed and tossed my journal back into my lap. Quickly, I closed it and tried to get up. Once again, he pushed me back onto the bench. I was confused, so I looked at him; might as well figure out what he wants, right? He was glaring at me with pure, unfiltered hatred in his eyes. If looks could kill, I would've been dead right then and there. "So who's payin' ya to come down here and spy on us?" His voice was deep, threatening, and it wasn't a question; it was a demand.
After another moment of silence, he hit me. I don't know why. It might've been because I looked confused or because I didn't answer, probably the second. The only thing I know is it hurt like hell. My jaw dropped as he smirked. Like I would really tell him anything now, even if I knew what he was talking about. Luckily for me, he explained a little bit more with his next question. "There is no reason a Socy girl like you would be here on the East Side in greaser teritory, unless she was spyin' for someone. So give it up, who ya spyin' for?"
I looked this guy directly in the eyes and said as defiantly as I could, "I don't know what the hellyou are talking about." For that, he hit me again and glared. I glared right back at him this time. It's a park, who is he to tell me I can't be there. We stayed that way for several minutes and I guess it made him a little madder that I didn't say anything else, because he rose his hand to hit me again. I braced myself this time, but some other guy grabbed his arm.
"Don't hit the lady, take her home." I rolled my eyes at this new guy's comment and the first guy rose his eyebrows.
"Hey, Two-bit," The first guy said, reluctantly putting his arm down. This new guy, Two-bit, who names their kid Two-Bit? was taller than the first. His hair was reddish-brown, almost a rust color, and his deep grey eyes scared me. I now knew that there was no way I could escape if they tried to hurt me. They could do anything they wanted to do to me, and I couldn't stop them. I was so terified, I started shaking. The first guy smirked, he tended to do that alot and I was beginning to wonder if he could actually smile. Two-bit looked thoughtful.
"Lay off her, Dally. She's scared to death. She ain't gonna say nothin'. Let her go." Dally, the first guy, glared at Two-bit, was took a step back. I was grateful for the breathing room. Two-bit looked at Dally for a moment, then gave me a cheesy smile which I had to return.
"Just go home, kid." Dally's voice was harsh and he was now glaring daggars at me. A moment later, he invaded my personal space by slapping me again when I didn't move. I'm sure my face was red from both the hits across my face and sheer embarassment. "Go ahead, kid. Go home. Scram. Get out of here."
"One: My name's Eilana, not 'kid'. Two: Go Where?" The venom was obvious in my voice, I hadn't lost the defiance, either. "Dally, you read my journal; you know I'm a runaway." Two-bit looked suprised by that piece of information, but Dally looked at me with contempt. "I was planning on staying here tonight."
"But it's gonna be freezing tonight!" I was suprised Two-bit even cared. I shrugged and looked down at my feet. "Come on." Two-bit's voice was softer now. I slowly looked up to see his hand outstretched to me and an appalled look on Dally's face. I took Two-bit's hand and stood; Dally didn't even try to push me back down this time.
Two-bit started leading me away from the bench, but Dally got it our way and addressed Two-bit. "But she's a Soc." His voice was almost pleading. Two-bit shook his head and I was confused once again. He led me around Dally and we continued walking. I could've sworn I heard Dally say, "She's one good actress," before turning and following us.
"Where are we going?" I asked Two-bit. I wasn't a huge fan of going places with strangers, especially strangers that scared me. Two-bit didn't scare me very much anymore, but Dally sure did. He was still sulking behind us and I could hear him muttering as we went. I can assure you it wasn't pleasant.
"Our friends' house." I knew he meant he and Dally's friends and that frightened me a lot, enough that I stopped, making me a target. Apparantly, Dally wasn't watching where he was going very well because he hit a patch of black ice that both Two-Bit and I missed. He went sliding, hit me, and sent us both to the ground.
Two-bit looked down to see why my hand left his and immeadiatly burst out laughing. Somehow, I had landed on Dally's lap, but we were both glaring at eachother and I was mad. I pushed myself up off of Dally and hit the back of Two-bit's head. This wasn't too hard since he was doubled up laughing. I hit him hard enough to make him shut up, rub the back of his head, and look at me with a confused look on his face. Dally looked up at me with a mix of hatred, respect, and intrigue.
"So what friends are these?" I asked Two-bit as we continued walking, leaving Dally behind in the snow.
"Wait for me!" Dally snarled. Two-bit and I took this as an order, so we stopped for a moment to let Dally catch up. I looked over my shoulder with laughter in my eyes and a grin on my face. He quickly caught up to us, not sliding into me this time, thank God, and walked on my other side. He wasn't talking or looking at us, but he wasn't being a complete and total jerk, either.
"Well," Two-bit said, answering my question. "They are three orphaned brothers, but don't worry, they're really nice. Their names are Darry, he's the oldest and legal guardian, Soda, then Pony, he's the youngest." I nodded and smiled, but on the inside, I was worried sick. If these boys were like Two-bit, I'd be fine, but if they were anything like Dally, who knows what could happen?
Dally took his eyes off the ground for one moment and he slipped on the ice again, grabbing my arm. Of course, I fell along with him, so we both ended up with our butts in the cold, wet snow again. At least I didn't land on his lap this time. Two-bit found this hysterical, as did several boys down the street having a snowball fight. I looked over at Dally and saw him blushing. I shrugged my shoulders and helped myself up, brushing snow off my clothes as I stood. Dally got up, too, still blushing and I smiled at him. Truth is, I was about ready to burst out laughing like Two-bit and those guys down the street, but I held it in successfully.
Dally glared at the boys down the street, "It really wasn't all that funny!"
A golden-haired boy stopped laughing for a moment to yell back, "Yeah it was! You took a Soc with you!" That confused me again. What was a Soc? Dally used that word a few times. And why was I one?
"I doin't think she's a Soc," Two-bit commented to no on e in particular. "She sure don't act like one." With that, he grabbed my arm and pulled me down the street to the snowball fight.