Katrina breathed in, glad to be out in the fresh air. She was incredibly grateful to her cousins for letting her stay with them, of course, but a girl needs some 'alone' time. She lengthened her long, loping stride. Her walk was unique - it displayed a certain amount of pride, almost a regal quality. But she also had a slouch that was the effect of the slummy streets of NYC. Some greasy hood eyed her from the shadows of an alleyway. She raised her chin and matched his gaze with an utterly cold glare of her own. After a moment, the hood looked away. Katrina smirked. She had won. Taking another cigarette out of her pocket, she lit it and took a long drag. Then Katrina realized she was almost out of cancer sticks. Time to go to the store.
Katrina started walking toward some little grocery store she'd seen earlier. With any luck, they'd have some Kools in an easy place to swipe them. She wasn't going to pay for them. She walked through the door, and an annoying bell jinged. The cigarettes were easy to find, and sure enough there were plenty of Kools. It would look too suspicious to just walk in and walk out without buying anything, so Katrina reconciled herself to wandering around the store aimlessly for a few minutes. Hell, maybe she could grab a piece of chocolate while she was at it. Katrina was a sucker for an occasional sweet.
After walking around the store randomly for a few minutes, Katrina was about ready to leave. She had a few candy bars in her pocket, and had just picked up a few packs of cigarettes. Just then, she heard a raspy voice behind her saying some very dirty things. It was obvious that he wanted her to hear, as he was talking in an unnecessarily loud voice. Kat was quite accustomed to dirty talk. Inner city girl, hello? But now she found it kind of annoying.
She sighed and turned around to face him, rolling her eyes and saying, "Get away from me and shut your fucking trap."
He didn't appear to care. "Who's gonna make me?"
Kat decided not to pursue the point that she could make him. "What the hell do you want?"
He grinned a perverted grin and said, "I think you know what I want, babe."
Well, he wasn't going to get it from her. "Hmm. I suggest you stick a golf club up your ass instead."
That kinda pissed him off. Taking a step closer to her, he said, "No one talks to me like that."
Big deal. "Are you deaf? Because I think I just did."
"Fiery, huh? That's how I like 'em." Handing her a Coke, he said, "This might cool you off, broad."
She took the Coke and gave him an incredulous look. Was he just that stupid? Because he was not getting the message here.
"I wouldn't drink that if I were lost in a desert." And Katrina dumped the Coke all over the greasy blond hood. "That might cool you off, asshole. Now go jump off a cliff and I might cool off, too."
He wiped the Coke out of his eyes and gave a dangerous smile. He was really mad. A normal girl would have beat it out of there, but Kat could handle one pissed off hood. Even if this one did look almost as tough as she was. He took another step closer, until Katrina could smell his breath. It smelled like smoke and beer. She met his icy blue eyes with an unwavering stare. Kat's hand found her back pocket, where her switchblade was. She was ready to pull it if this bastard tried anything.
But he didn't have time. A quiet, timid voice from behind them said, "Leave her alone, Dallas."
Kat turned around. The speaker was dark-haired and shy-looking. He couldn't have been more than about fourteen. The blond hood, Dallas, looked at the younger boy like he'd just sprouted two heads. "What did you just say to me?"
The dark-haired one gulped and turned a shade paler. He managed to squeak, "You heard me. Leave her alone." Dallas looked irritated, but apparently decided that Katrina wasn't worth it, because he stormed out of the store, casting one last hateful look at her.
Katrina looked at Johnny and grinned. She said in an amused voice, "That was Dallas Winston, was it?"
Johnny of course had no way of knowing who Katrina was. He had no idea that she knew about Dally because of the Curtis's detailed descriptions of each of the gang members. Her suspicions had been confirmed when Johnny said 'Dallas.' But being rather shy, he simply nodded instead of asking how she knew.
Kat fixed Johnny with her green-eyed, x-ray gaze, making him turn red and look at the floor. "So you must be Johnny… Johnny Cade," she murmured.
He looked up, surprised. "How did you know that?"
"I'm a government spy. Just kidding. I'm Darry, Soda, and Pony's cousin. I guess they told you I'd be coming?"
Recollection dawned in Johnny's eyes. "Oh, you're their cousin! They said their cousin would be coming, but I didn't know it was you."
"Neither did Dallas, apparently. Unless he just treats everyone like that?" Katrina replied.
Johnny shook his head. "Dally's rough, but he's a cool old guy. He'd leave you alone if he knew you."
She nodded sarcastically. "Oh, so he's only an asshole to strangers! Well, that makes it all better, then."
Johnny looked at his feet, embarrassed. He had only known this girl a few minutes, but he could tell that she was not only quite smart, she was completely no-nonsense. It kind of scared him. Although then again, he should be used to it, living with Dally and all.
Katrina smiled softly. Johnny seemed ok. At least, he wasn't the kind of guy she'd have to beat in order to make him get out of her room or something like that. Darry had filled her in on the abuse Johnny suffered at the hands of his alcoholic father. Kat didn't completely understand why Johnny put up with it, but she guessed it wasn't her problem.
"I should probably get back there before Darry files a missing person report," Katrina said. "Want to come with?" Johnny nodded. Katrina seemed unsurprised, so he guessed that one of her cousins had given her some idea of what Johnny's parents were like. This embarrassed him slightly, but he figured she would find out eventually. Better now than later.
They walked out of the store. Kat tossed him a cigarette. He murmured thanks, and lit up. "You just lift that?" he asked.
Katrina rolled her eyes companionably. "No, I bought it," she said sarcastically. Johnny couldn't think of a response, so he stayed quiet.
A minute later, some Socs pulled up in one of their fancy red cars. There were only three. Katrina surveyed the Terrible Trio with distaste. These were the kind of people the greasers were afraid of? She could beat them blindfolded, with one hand behind her back. Although, they would be much more intimidating in larger numbers.
The Socs rolled down the window. Johnny tensed, ready to run, but Katrina noticed out of the corner of her eye and shook her head slightly. Meaning, Not yet. Let's see how this plays out. One of the Socs called out to them, "Hey greasers, you want a ride?"
Katrina cocked her head in mock thoughtfulness as she took a long drag on her cigarette, and then said, "Nah, we're good. You're welcome to leave and get out of our territory now, though." Her voice had grown low and threatening.
One of them laughed. "You think you can boss us around, greaser girl? Come on. Let's show her how we do things."
The three rich brats got out of their car and started moving towards Katrina. Fast as lightning, Katrina's polished, razor-sharp switchblade was out and open, pointing towards the Socs. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you," she chastised them.
"Or what?" one of them asked.
"Or your guts might end up where your feet should be," she replied. "This knife is so sharp it will cut paper. Want to find out what it will do to your stomach?"
This was the time of Kat's life. She loved, loved, loved going up against someone she knew she could beat. It was just fun, like practice. She already knew what she'd do if the dumb assholes decided to attack: kick the first one in the balls, sidestep the second and put the third in a choke hold while holding her knife to his neck. Even these guys would back off if one of their lives was threatened. Everyone did.
Meanwhile, Johnny stared at her with something like awe. He had seen Dally do the same thing to the Socs, and Dallas was the toughest person he knew. But Katrina seemed just as capable. The Socs seemed to be considering their next move.
Katrina rolled her eyes, looking blasé. "Ok, this is officially boring," she sighed, "Either attack me so I can whip your asses, or get the fucking hell out of here." The Socs seemed to decide on the latter, because they started back towards their fancy car.
"You ain't worth it," one of them smarted. Really, did he think Kat was just going to let that go? She wrapped her arm around his neck, and drove her knee into the back of his. A blow like that is gonna hurt. He went to the ground, whimpering like a little baby, so one of his friends helped him into the car.
Katrina smiled sweetly at the remaining two. "Anyone else?" she asked. Wisely, neither of them said anything. They got in their car and drove away.
Kat turned and smiled at Johnny. "We should get home." He nodded, and walked beside her.
After a while, he spoke, "I don't think I want you as an enemy."
Katrina chuckled. "Got that right, kid. I'd be a pretty damn bad enemy."
Katrina had a hard life. Any capacity for compassion or care that she had been born with had been driven out of her by her constant battle for survival. But she wasn't cruel, just hard, cold. And none of it was her fault. But Katrina thought none of this as she walked to her house with Johnny. She only thought about how this seemed like a place where she could actually be happy. Of course, it couldn't last. It never did. Sooner or later, it would be gone, like all the other safe places, and she would have to move on again.