Pony and I were the first ones up. Pony wasn't wearing a shirt or shoes, just his jeans. Guess Soda had taken them off while we were sleeping. My shoes were off too. Soda was still in his clothes, probably too drowsy to even worry about changing.
He looked way younger than seventeen, but Johnny looked younger than sixteen when he slept too. Ponyboy took a shower first before me. I was in desperate need of one, especially six days of not having one.
I put on some fresh clothes. A white t-shirt, a light blue jean jacket, and some old jeans. I put some grease in my hair as well. Gotta say, I miss having my brown locks.
Pony was looking for a hint of beard on his face. He didn't like that his short hair made his ears stick out. It bugged the hell out of him. He combed it back with some hair grease.
Since Darry and Soda was still asleep, Pony and I went to go make breakfast. The first ones up had to be the one to fix breakfast while the others do the dishes afterwards. It was the one rule that we had around our house.
Pony asked me to set up the table while he fixed our food. I complied and grabbed some plates from the cupboard. I start setting them up for us to eat.
Ponyboy had grabbed some eggs from the fridge. We all like our eggs fixed differently. Pony likes them hard, Darry likes them in a bacon and tomato sandwich, Soda likes his with grape jelly, I like to eat mine with white country gravy.
We even like to eat chocolate cake for breakfast. Mom never let us have it with ham and eggs, but Darry let Soda, me, and Ponyboy talk him into it. We all love chocolate cake unabashadley. Darry likes to drink coffee, black to be precise. Soda, Pony, and I love drinking chocolate milk.
"Hey, anyone home?" a familiar voice calls from the living room. It was Two-Bit and Steve. The door was never locked, it was in case the boys are gripped at by their parents and they need a place to crash.
"We're in here, guys." I call, finishing up setting the table. I forgot that Darry and Soda were still sleeping. "Don't slam the door." Pony called. They didn't listen, of course. Two-Bit came running into the kitchen and swung Pony by his waist while he had two uncooked eggs in his hands.
"Hey! Watch it!" I scold, ducking out of the way of the flying eggs. "Long time no see, you blonde headed monkeys." Two-Bit cried gleefully, "Now you really look like twins."
He then picks me up by my waist, his arms around my abdomen. "And where in the hell have ya been, loca?" He chuckled, squeezing my belly. "Put me down, Two-Bit! I just got out of the hospital." I bark, struggling a bit.
"Sorry 'bout that, little sister. Thought you'd like to say hello!" Two-Bit said as he put me down. "Yeah, well, I would've done that if you hadn't ruined our breakfast for us." I reply, putting the dishes back up.
He's acting as if we'd been gone for five years instead of five days. Two-Bit was such a goofball. Steve gave each of us a pat on the back playfully before shoving us across the room.
That caused the egg Pony was holding to fly on the walls and it ran down his hand. "Now look what you guys did, making me drop the eggs and drop my spoon." Ponyboy griped.
I was starving, not realizing just how long it'd been since we last ate anything since those banana splits at Dairy Queen. Two-Bit was taking a gander of our hair, circling the two of us. "You got something to say, Two-Bit?" I asked, raising a brow at him.
"As a matter a fact, I do. I can't believe you two are blonde now! I wouldn't have believed it. Where are those tuff manes you guys had, Pony and Bex?" Two-Bit said, still making cracks about our blonde hair. "Aw, lay off." Pony says for the both of us.
Pony looked a tad bit paler than I was. But honestly, I wasn't feeling all the way hot either. Not sure if it was me being that burning church for too long and that I was in the hospital for two days. Although I did have a bit of trouble breathing a little.
"They had to get haircuts to get their pictures in the paper. They wouldn't believe twin greasers could be heroes." Two-Bit said, winking at Steve. I raise up and look at them with a furrowed brow.
"Excuse me? We're what?" I asked, looking at Steve in confusion. "You two are heros. Take a look at the paper." Steve said impatiently, shoving the paper at Ponyboy. Ponyboy and I stare at the newspaper.
I was surprised to see that the front page's headlines were: JUVENILE DELINQUENTS TURN HEROES. Pony and I exchange a look before focusing on the paper. The entire page was about us and what happened at the church.
Our pictures were there along with Soda and Darry. The next article said that Johnny, I, and Ponyboy risked our lives to save those kids. One comment from the parents of one of the kids said that they would've burned to death if it hadn't been for us.
They even brought up the fight between us and the Socs, only they didn't mention "Socs," because the adults don't know about our rivalry. They interviewed Cherry Valance and told them that Bob was drunk and that those boys were looking for a fight. Bob said that they'd fix us for trying to pick her up.
When Pony and I got down to the last line, I felt a lump form in my throat. Pony looked as uncomfortable as I felt. "Are they thinking of putting me, Bex, and Soda in a youth home?" Pony asked, swallowing hard.
"Something like that." Steve said, combing his hair back in swirls. My stomach dropped to my feet. We couldn't go now.
Darry, Pony, and I just got through to one another, and the big rumble was coming up. Johnny needed us and Dally wouldn't miss out on this rumble. "They can't..." I said aloud, my voice shaking a little bit.
"What?" Two-Bit said, cleaning eggs off the wall. "They ain't gonna put us in any home." Pony said bitterly. "You guys are worryin' too much. They don't do that to heros. Where's Soda and Superman?" Steve said, knowing him and Soda could handle anything.
Darry had gotten a shower, shaved and got dressed. He picked up Steve from the floor and set him aside. That was our nickname for Darry, "Superman" or "Muscles" because Darry was the more muscular guy in the gang.
Darry had almost killed Steve for calling him, "all brawn and no brain." After that, Steve never said it again. It's not Darry's fault that he didn't go to college. Soda had been mad at Steve one time but it wasn't about education.
Soda comes running in with a towel wrapped around his waist. "Darry, have you seen my DX shirt?" he asked Darry. "You have to wear clothes to work, buddy. There's a law about it." Steve said.
"Oh right. Where are my jeans?" Soda said. "They're ironed. In my closet." Darry said, "Hurry up or you'll be late." Steve followed Soda in not soon after there was a pillow fight going on in the bedroom.
I hooked my thumbs in my jeans and walked to Darry, who was eating a slice of cake. Pony was behind me. "Darry, have you heard about that juvenile court thing?" I asked, worrying about going to court about what happened at the park. "Yeah, the cops told me about it the other night." Darry answered me evenly.
Reality had struck me right then, we could get separated. I didn't want that to happen. "Guys, I've had that dream again. The one that I can't ever remember." Pony said, getting Darry and I to look at him.
"What?" Darry said, having a look of genuine fear on his face. "Pony?" I said, my hand on his shoulder. Pony had a nightmare of when mom and dad died.
He would have them a lot when we were little, but he's never had one like this. He screamed as if he was being murdered. The only issue was, he could almost never remember what it was about or why it scared him so badly.
I would have reoccurring nightmares too. But it wasn't about mom and dad's death, it was about the incident in the park. Seeing my brother almost getting killed like that actually shook me up badly.
After mom and dad died, I'd constantly see the accident in my head, in my dreams. That's what caused me to stop sleeping in my own bed. The nightmares got so bad for both Pony and I that Darry had taken us to go see a therapist. It helped for a while.
"Was it very bad?" Two-Bit asked. He knew the entire story and this was the guy who'd dream of nothing but blondes. He was interested.
"No." Pony lied. I knew that he was lying. I was there when he was having it. He was covered in a cold sweat and he shivered. I scooted closer to him and we scooted closer to Soda, who was dead to the world. He was always scared of that dream.
Darry started to say something but Soda and Steve walked in before he could do so. "Tonight when we stomp those socs, me and Stevie here are gonna through a big party and we're gonna get stoned. They'll be running all the way to Mexico." Soda cheered. "Where are you gonna get the dough, little man?" Darry said, handing out pieces of the cake he found.
"I'll think of somethin'." Soda assured him between bites of the cake. "You going to take Sandy to the party?" Pony asked, wanting to say something. "Yeah, what's the deal here?" I added, looking around.
Soda was staring at his feet, his ears becoming red. "No, she is living with her grandmother in Florida." he said. "Why?" Pony asked. "She was here a few days ago so what happened?" I added, now confused.
"Does he have to draw you two a picture? It was either that or get married to a sixteen year old kid. Her parents almost hit the roof of that idea." Steve angrily said. "I'm turning seventeen in a couple of weeks." Soda said softly.
I suddenly felt embarrassed by even bringing that up. Pony and I knew Soda wasn't innocent. He'd never loudly bragged about Sandy, never about her. We remembered how her blue eyes shined when she looked at Soda. I'm gonna miss having another girl to talk to other than Cherry Valance.
Darry broke the silence by saying, "We'd better head to work, Pepsi-Cola." Darry rarely used that nickname for Soda but he knew how upset Soda was about Sandy. "I hate to leave you two here by yourselves, Ponyboy and Bex." Darry said, "I should probably stay."
"We'll be fine, Darry. It's not the first time we've stayed here on our lonesome." I said, smiling at my eldest brother. "I agree. Besides, you can't afford a day off." Pony agreed. "Yeah, but you just got out of the hospital, both you and Pony just got back. So I oughta stay." Darry said, concerned for us.
"I'll baby-sit them. I got nothin' better to do." Two-Bit said, dodging Pony's swing. I threw myself at him but he got Pony and I down in a second. He had me in a leg headlock while he had Pony caught in a choke hold.
"Have you considered getting a job so you can make a living?" Steve said. "And ruin my rep? I wouldn't be baby-sittin' the kids here if I knew of day-nursery open on Saturdays." Two-Bit said aghast. I struggled against his grip, trying to break free.
"Man, Pony, we gotta quit smoking! Mostly you or you won't make track next year." I said, choking on Two-Bit's tight grip. "Yeah, you're right about that," he replied.
Darry was putting his jacket on as he came into the living room. "You three do the dishes. When you're done, you can go to the movies before going to see Dally and Johnny." He then sees that Two-Bit is squeezing the life out of Pony and I.
"Hey, lay off of them, Two-Bit. They ain't looking too good." Darry said, smacking Two-bit with a belt. "Yeah, lay off, Two-Bit. Lazy bum." I said, getting Two-Bit to let go of us. "You two take it easy, ya hear? Pony, you smoke more than a pack today, I'll skin you. Bex, don't you smoke more than five." Darry said.
"Yeah. You carry more than a bundle of roofing at a time today, we'll skin you." Pony said, getting to his feet. "Yeah, don't go overboard." I said, still sitting on the floor. Darry grinned at us before leaving for work.
I then heard our Ford's engine roar before they left the house. Pony helped me to my feet and gave me a pat on the back. Two-Bit was going on about one of his many exploits while we did the dishes.
I was gathering up all the dishes that was in the kitchen and in the living room. Two-Bit was sitting on the cabinet, sharpening his blade that he was so proud of. "C'mon, Two-Bit, stop lazing around and give us a hand." I call, drying the dishes that Pony had just washed. "Why should I, little sister?" Two-Bit questioned.
"Well, for one, the reporters or police or somebody might come by to check up on us." Pony says. "This house ain't messy. You two oughta see my house." Two-Bit said. "We have. And if you had the sense of a billy goat, you'd pick up there instead of loping around ours." Pony said with a grin. "Yeah, be like us every once and awhile." I add, "It wouldn't kill ya."
"Shoot, if I ever did that, my mom would surely die of shock." Two-Bit chuckled, patting both of us on the back. Two-Bit's mother was a nice lady. He gets his sense of humor from her and is as easy-going as her.
The only difference was she wasn't lazy like him and she'd let him get away with murder. You can't stay mad at him. After we finished, Pony grabbed his blue jacket that he wore the day we were jumped by those socs. We then started for Tenth Street.
"Two-Bit, is your car having issues again?" I asked, my hands in the pockets of my jean jacket. "Yeah, the brakes are out on it again. It almost killed Kathy and me the other night." he replied, flipping the collar on his black leather jacket up to block the wind while he lit a cigarette. He was also holding his thumb out so we could hitch hike.
"You guys oughta see her brother. Now there's a hood. He's so greasy that he glides when he walks. He goes to the barber for an oil change, not a hair cut." Two-Bit enthused, getting me to crack a smile. Pony would've laughed but I could tell that he was having a headache.
The three of us made a stop by Tasty Freeze to pick up a few sodas and to cool down. That same blue mustang that was following us had pulled in after about eight blocks. Pony quickly took my hand and almost made the decision to make a run for it.
Two-Bit had tossed each of us a cigarette, seeing that this was gonna happen. While lighting our cigarettes up, those socs who jumped us at the park hopped out of the mustang. We recognized Randy Adderson, Marcia's boyfriend, and the guy that almost drowned Pony and another guy that was choking me.
I blamed them that Bob died; I blamed them for Johnny being in the hospital possibly dying; their fault that Soda, Pony, and I could be sent away in a youth home. I gritted my teeth in hatred for them.
"Hey, you know the rules. No jazz before the rumble." Two-Bit said to the socs. "We know." Randy said, looking at Ponyboy and I, "I want to talk to both of you."
Pony and I looked at Two-Bit, who only shrugged. Pony and I walked over to Randy's car so that we were out of earshot of the others. We got in his car with me in the back seat.
"I read about you two in the paper. How come?" Randy asked us. Pony shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. We felt like playing hero." "I wouldn't have. I would've let those kids burn to death." Randy said.
"No you wouldn't. You would've done it too." I said, resting my arms on the seat in front of me. Randy lit up a cigarette too by using the car lighter, "I have no idea. I don't know anything anymore. I would've never believed that a greaser could ever pull something like this."
"Greaser had nothing to do with it. Our buddy over there would've probably done the same, maybe not a friend of yours." Pony said. "You two won't see me at the rumble tonight." Randy said slowly. Pony and I looked over him carefully.
Randy was probably seventeen but looked much older. Cherry said that her friends were too cool to ever feel anything and yet she digs watching sunsets like Pony and I. Randy was like her, not too cool to feel anything.
"I can't tell you guys how sick I am of all of this. Bob was a good guy. He was the best buddy a guy could ask for. He's a good fighter, tuff and everything. A real person, you two dig?" Randy said, having a pained tone in his voice.
Pony and I nod. Randy went on to tell us how Bob's mother had a nervous breakdown and how they spoiled Bob rotten. While talking, I saw that he was close to tears.
"I don't know why I'm telling you guys this. My friends would think I'm turning soft. I probably am. Just sick of this whole mess." Randy said, "That kid- the one who got burned. Y'all's buddy. He might die?"
I felt a lump in my throat, not wanting to think about Johnny. "He saved my life in that church. If it weren't for him, I'd be hurt worse. He took the hit for me." I said. "He saved you?" Pony asked, looking back at me, not aware of this. "Yeah, he pushed me outta the way before I got hit." I reply, having a sliver of tears in my eyes.
Pony was surprised that Johnny did that, saving his sister's life like that. Johnny was more heroic than Pony and I. I'll have to thank him when we see him.
"Tonight, people get hurt in rumbles, maybe killed. Fighting doesn't do any good. I don't know if a girl like you should even be in it. They wouldn't go easy on you." Randy said, looking at me. I'm a pretty good fighter, which he doesn't know that.
"Both of you realize that your group can't win, don't you?" Randy said. Pony and I remained quiet, unable to find the proper words to say. "Even if you whip us, you can't win. You'll be where you've always been, at the bottom. And we'll still be the lucky ones with all the breaks. It doesn't make a difference anyway. Greasers will still be greasers and socs will still be socs." Randy sighed, taking a deep breath.
He even said he's gonna leave town; take his little old Mustang and get out with all the money that he can find. "Running away isn't gonna solve anything. You can't run from your problems." I said. "Oh, hell, I know it. But what can I do? I'm marked a coward if I back out of the rumble, and I'd hate myself if I didn't. I don't know what to do." Randy said, half-sobbing.
"We'd help you if we could." Pony said. I sighed and glanced down. Even the socs have it just as bad as we do; I've come to realize that.
"No, you guys wouldn't. I'm a Soc. You get a little money and the world hates you." Randy said, looking at the both of us. "No, you hate the world." Pony said. All Randy does is look at my brother. "You guys do have it pretty rough just like we do. It's not one way or the other." I sighed.
We then step out of the car and Pony walks around it to join me. "Hey, thanks greasers." Randy said, trying to grin but stopped, "I didn't mean that. I meant, thanks, kids." "It's nice talkin' to you, Randy. My name's Ponyboy. This is my sister, Bexley." Ponyboy said.
We then walked over to Two-Bit, and Randy honked for his friends to get in the car. "What'd Mr. Super-Soc want?" Two-Bit asked. "He ain't a Soc, Two-Bit." I said. "He's just a guy that wanted to talk." Pony asked, lighting another cigarette.
"Hey, I'm gonna head to the hospital to see them. If you guys want to see a movie, go ahead without me." I said. "What're you talking about? We're coming with you to see them." Pony said, taking a drag of his cigarette. "I want this to be just between us. Come after the movie." I replied, determined to have a one-on-one with Johnny.
"Okay. I understand. Be careful, alright?" Pony said, giving me a hug. I hugged him back for a moment. "Alright, take it easy, little sister." Two-Bit said, giving me a hard pat on the back. Smiling at them, I give them a two fingered salute before heading in the direction of the hospital.
After talking with Randy, I come to realize that things are in fact rough all over. Randy was a human just like us. Some socs are just regular people. Just like the rest of us.
