It was fifteen minutes to seven that night by the time Ponyboy and I got home. We had made it in time for dinner. Tonight it was mashed potatoes, some baked chicken, and some green beans.

The gang usually scarf down the food like a pack of hungry wolves. Darry had to make at least three of them just to satisfy their bottomless pit stomachs. It's how it usually is around our house.

Ponyboy had taken five asprins, thinking that they would help him through the rumble.

Pony took a shower and got into some fresh clothes. He wore a green shirt, his navy blue jacket, and his jeans. I changed clothes as well. I wore a white shirt with my black leather vest and some jeans with holes in the knees.

We were all ready for tonight. We're gonna show those damn Socs who's boss. They weren't gonna treat us like trash anymore.

"Soda, when did you start shaving?" Pony asked. "When I was fifteen." Soda answered. "When did Darry?" Pony asked.

Pony was looking at himself in the mirror while rubbing his chin, checking for facial hair. I was leaning against the bathroom doorframe with my arms crossed.

"When he was thirteen." Soda answered. "Why, Pony? You thinking of growing a beard for the rumble tonight, Pony?" I said, giving him a playful punch before walking to where Soda and Steve were. "That's real funny, Bex. We oughta send you and Soda to the Reader's Digest. I hear they pay a lot for funny things." Pony said, smacking me on the shoulder.

Soda laughed and went on having an arm-wrestling match with Steve. Darry was getting a black shirt on that showed every muscle on his abdomen. I have pity for the Soc who's gonna take him on.

Pony and I did lose a lot of weight during our stay at Windrixville so our clothes were a little big. It was cold tonight and wearing just a t-shirt won't warm you up enough.

Soda, Steve, and Ponyboy added more grease to their hair than necessary, I did too. We wanted to show that we were greasers. We have a rep with our greased hair. It's our trademark.

Pony sat down in the armchair while I stayed standing, my thumbs hanging out of my pockets. The only coming to the rumble was Two-Bit since Dally and Johnny couldn't. Soda wasn't winning the arm-wrestling match, keeping a steady stream of wisecracks and messing around.

"Soda, why do you like fights?" I asked my older brother. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know, kid sister of mine?" Soda jokes. "Yes, I would, big brother of mine." I said with a nod. "Because I like 'em." he shrugs, "That's why."

"Why?" Pony asked. "I don't know. It's action, a contest, like a drag race." Soda answered. "Shoot, I want to beat those Soc's heads in. When I get in a fight, I want to stomp the other guys good. I like it, too." Steve said, his voice filled with excitement.

"Why do you like to fight, Darry?" Pony asked, looking up as he stood behind him while leaning against the doorway. "He likes to show off his muscles!" Soda piped in with a cheeky laugh. "I'm gonna show 'em off on you, little buddy, if you get any mouthier." Darry said.

I rolled my eyes at what Soda said. We all knew it's the truth. Darry wasn't afraid to take on anything that took strength such as roofing houses, playing football, or weight lifting.

He liked fighting even though he didn't say it.

"Bex, I think you should stay here. Same to you, Pony." Darry said. "Aw how come, Darry?" I said, crossing my arms. "Well, for one I'd hate for you to be the only girl there and I know they ain't gonna go easy on you. I don't want you getting hurt. Plus, you just got out of the hospital." Darry tells me, playing the big brother card.

"Oh come on, Darry. I'll be fine. Don't underestimate me just because I'm your kid sister. Let me fight tonight." I said, giving him a confident smile. "Yeah, besides, we've come through before." Pony said.

"Yeah, but, you two were in shape before. Both of you lost weight and you don't look good, Pony. You two are tensed up." Darry said with a proud grin.

"C'mon, we all get tensed up before a rumble. Let them fight tonight. It's gonna be skin against skin. They ain't gonna get hurt." Soda said, bounding over to us.

"Don't worry, we'll be okay. Won't we, Pony?" I asked. "Yeah. Let's get a hold of little ones." Pony agreed, pleading with Darry. We got word that Tim Shepard's brother, Curly Shepard was back in the cooler again.

He was a tough, cool guy, who's as tough as nails. He's a mini version of Tim, an average downtown hood but not real bright. But we liked him, he could take anything.

"C'mon, let Pony and I fight. If there were chains or knives then it'd be different." I said, feeling myself become excited. "We'll be okay." Pony said, standing up.

"Alright. But both of you, be careful." Darry said, giving in. "We'll be okay, Darry. Believe us." I tell him wearily.

"How come you never worry about Soda like you do with Bex and I?" Pony asked. "Yeah, you ain't giving him a lecture." I add. Darry grins and puts an arm around Soda's shoulders, giving him a noogy.

"Now this is one kid brother that I ain't have to worry about. He uses his head." Darry said with a grin. Soda looks at Pony and I with mocking superiority. "He uses it for one thing and that thing is to grow hair on!" Darry yelled excitedly as he took off towards the door, "Get out!"

We all bolted out the front door in an excited flurry. We all cheered, shouted, and laughed like there was no tomorrow. The excitement was riveting.

"I'm a greaser! I'm a JD and a hood! I blacken the name of our fair city. I beat up people! I rob gas stations! I'm a menace to society! Man, do I have fun!" Steve chanted.

"Greaser... greaser... greaser..." Steve said in a singsong voice, "O victim of environment, unprivileged, rotten, no-count hood." "Juvenile delinquent, you're no good!" Darry shouted. "And what's a Soc?" I asked in a cheerful tone, fist bumping the air as I jumped onto Soda's back. He held me up by my legs.

"They are privileged and well dressed fools that like to throw beer blasts, drive fancy cars, break windows at fancy parties!" Two-Bit said in a mocking snobbish voice that made me laugh out loud. "And what do they do for fun?" Pony inquired in a serious, yet awed voice. "They jump greasers!" Two-Bit screamed as he did a cartwheel.

After a bit, we settled down and walked to the lot. Two-Bit and Pony were the only ones wearing jackets. Two-Bit had a couple of beers stuffed in his. Pony and I had tried to drink before but we found out that it was the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted.

Darry grounded both of us for two weeks after he found out. We never touched a drop after that. Both of us have seen enough of it from Johnny's house.

"Two-Bit, why do you like to fight?" Pony asked, completing his survey. "Ain't it because everyone fights for the thrill of it?" I finished, jogging backwards with a crooked smile on my face. "You read my mind, little sister!" Two-Bit said, getting me in a headlock for a few seconds.

So it was official, Soda liked them for fun, Steve for hatred, Darry for pride, and Two-Bit for conformity. Pony and I don't have any particular reason for fighting. Maybe for self-defense.

"Listen, Soda, you, Bex, and Ponyboy," Darry said as we strolled down the street, "if the fuzz show, the three of you beat it out of there. The rest of us can only get jailed. You three get sent to a youth home."

"Ain't nobody gonna call the fuzz in this neighborhood! They know what'd happen if they did." Steve said grimly. "All the same, you three beat it at the first sign. Am I clear?" Darry asked. "You sure don't need an amplifier." Soda said, sticking his tongue out at Darry when he wasn't looking.

By the time we made it to the lot, Tim Shepard was already waiting for us with his company along with a gang from Brumly, one of the suburbs. Tim was a lean 18-year-old who looked like a model JD that is in movies or magazines.

He had curly black hair, smoldering dark eyes, and a long scar from his temple all the way down to his chin where he had been belted with a broken bottle. He had a tough, hard look to him, and his nose had been broken twice.

Tim carried this tense, hungry look of an alleycat. The difference between our gangs is that his boys ranged from fifteen to nineteen, hard looking characters who were used to strict discipline. Each had a leader and was organized; we were all buddies who stuck together. They treat me like one of the guys.

Tim and the leader of the Brumly group took a few steps forward to shake hands with each of us. This meant that both gangs were on the same side. Tim studied Pony and I, remembering how his kid brother played chicken with Pony and I from time to time.

"You the boy and girl and that quiet black-haired kid were the ones who killed that Soc?" Tim asked us. "Yeah." Pony said, pretending to be proud of it. "That was us." I add, having a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Good goin', kids. Curly always said that you two are good kids. Curly's in the reformatory for the next six months." Tim grinned ruefully, thinking of his hard-headed brother, "Got himself caught breakin' into a liquor store."

I looked around the scene. Pony and I were the youngest greasers here. Curly had just turned fifteen, so he was older than Pony and me. I was ready to fight the socs and show them that this girl isn't a coward.

Then, there was a horn in the distance. The socs were arriving. Pony and I walked back to Soda, Steve, and Two-Bit.

We all stood close together, almost in a line. Darry stood in the front, Soda stood on his left with Steve, Ponyboy and I stood on Darry's right with Two-Bit.

They looked like they were cut from the same clothing: shaven with semi-Beatle haircuts, wearing striped or checkered shirts with light red or tan-colored jackets or madras. They could've just as easily gone to the movies as opposed to a rumble. That's the reason why people don't blame the Socs and are always ready to jump us.

We looked hoody and decent. Some of the hoods Pony and I know are pretty decent guys underneath all that grease, and some of the Socs were just cold-blooded mean. They go by looks a lot.

Darry and a Soc with a letterman jacket took the lead and stood in front of each other. Darry stood there, tall, broad-shouldered, his muscles taut under his shirt and his eyes glowed like ice. The soc stared down Darry and said, "Hello, Darrel."

"Hello, Paul." Darry said, something flickering his icy eyes. I recognized this Soc, he and Darry played football together when Darry was in high school. They would also buddy around together.

There was something on Darry's face that I couldn't pinpoint. Pity? Hate? Or was it jealousy? Darry had every right to be jealous and showed a bit of hatred towards Paul.

I even saw that he was ashamed to be on our side, ashamed to be seen with Tim's group. Nobody realized it but Soda, Pony, and me.

"I'll take you." Paul said, getting a smile on Darry's face. Darry and Paul had played football a while back, they used to buddy around with each other. Neither one of my two older brothers had lost a fight, but we weren't exactly itching for someone to break that record.

They used to be good friends but now they hate each other since one has to work for a living and the other comes from the West Side.

"Hold up! You know a rumble ain't a rumble without me!" a familiar voice yelled. Before I could see who said that, a sharp punch to my face caught me off guard. It knocked me to the ground.

The rumble was on. Turns out that voice belonged to none other than Dally. The soc that punched me started slugging on me but I managed to punch him in the face in order to get away from him.

I grabbed that Soc by his ears and kneed him twiceas hard as I could in his nose. I felt his nose break under the force of my knee. "Agh! You little bitch!" he shouted, grabbing me by my shirt and tackling me to the ground.

Pony had been pinned down by this big Soc and was slugging the hell out of him. I bolted towards the Soc and jumped on him, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Get the hell off of him, bastard!" I shouted, choking the Soc.

I didn't stand a chance with this Soc because he grabbed me and threw me to the ground, kicking me as hard as he could in my stomach and ribs. Darry was keeping eye on us; he caught the guy by his madra and knocked him back a few feet with a thundering blow.

"Pony! Go help Dally! I'll get this one!" I shouted. "Okay! Be careful!" Pony nodded, running over to Dally to help him. Everyone was slugging it out and Pony was getting the worst of it.

"You might as well run away, greaser girl! You ain't gonna win this!" a Soc about my height taunted me. "Try me, you Soc scum! I ain't scared of you!" I spat at him, having a killer look in my eyes. That Soc charged at me with a roar and I charged at him.

I threw my fist at the Soc's jaw, landing it on his cheek. It knocked him back.

I grabbed his neck and wrapped him in a headlock, using all of my strength to hold him in place. I kneed him the face very hard.

He growled at me and knocked me down to my back with an uppercut to my jaw. "You're so dead!" the soc scowled, gaining the upper hand.

He then kicked me very hard in the face, causing blood to fly out. I then feel him starting to stomp on my already battered body. He hit my stomach, ribs, even my throat.

I felt blood covering my from my nose and forehead after getting punched, kicked, and stomped on so many times I don't even know what was going on with the others, I don't even know how badly they were getting hurt.

Darry was right; they wouldn't go easy on me just because I'm a girl. "Not so tough now, are you, greaser girl?" that Soc laughed, stomping on me again, causing me to cry out. Soda came out of nowhere and punched the Soc off of me.

"Bex!" he said, starting to kneel down in front of me, "Are you okay?" Before I could answer, he launched up and socked another Soc in the face. I couldn't get up because of the horrendous pain that I was feeling.

Every part of my body was smarting and hurting. Each breath I took ended with a sharp wheeze because I was already having trouble breathing because of the fire. All of those blows only made it hurt worse.

Turning my head to the right, I could see Ponyboy a few inches from me, looking just as beat up as me. "P-Pony..." I wheezed, feeling my throat ache.

"They're running!" someone yelled, "Look at them run!" It was Two-Bit's voice. I turned my head to the other side and saw that the Soc's had ran to their cars and they were leaving.

I didn't know just how hurt I really was, but from what I could tell, it was pretty bad. Even breathing hurt me. Tim Shepard had a broken nose again and he swore a lot. Steve ended up a few broken ribs. Soda was tending to him.

Some of Tim's guys broke the rules of having no weapons in this rumble. They used lead pipes. Two-Bit had blood coming down his face and had a busted open hand; but he was happy that the Socs were retreating.

"We won! We beat the Socs!" Darry announced tiredly. He was going to have a black eye and there was a cut on his forehead. Dally stood in between Pony and I, still trying to register that we had beaten the Socs.

Then he hauled Pony and I up to our feet, causing me to wince. "Let's go! We're goin' to see Johnny." Dally said, dragging the both of us to Buck's car. Due to the pain I was feeling, I could barely stand up without falling.

"C'mon, you two! He was getting worse when I left! He wants to see you guys." Dally said, pushing us along impatiently. How could Dally run so fast after he had just got knocked down and having his sore arm hurt, but we tried to keep up with him.

I was feeling sick to my stomach, I was dizzy as hell, it hurt to breathe. For a moment, I couldn't tell what was going on at this moment in time. We get into Buck's car and sped off down the street.