I opened my eyes to see Ponyboy standing over me. I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"Glory, Ponyboy," I said. "Don't do that."
"Sorry Johnny," Pony said. "I was just making sure..." his voice trailed off. I knew what he meant though. He was just making sure I was alive and conscious.
"I'm fine, Pony," I replied, standing up. "Shouldn't you be headin' to school?"
"Shouldn't you?" it was a dumb question and I'm sure Ponyboy knew that.
"I ain't goin' back there," I replied.
"I know," Pony said. He turned to go. When I was his age, I went to school. But when I started failing grades, I just quit going. Now I go every once in a while.
I had the whole day to myself. So I walked to the DX station where Sodapop and Steve worked. Steve wasn't there since he only worked after school but Sodapop was working on a car when I walked in.
"Hey, Soda," I said to the body half immersed under the car. He rolled out from under the Sting Ray and looked up at me, oil covering his face, his hands, and his once wheat-colored hair.
"Hey, Johnnycake," he said. "What brings you to the good ol' DX?"
"I dunno," I replied. "Guess I just don't feel much like goin' to school."
"I know exactly how you feel," Soda said. "You wanna help me with this car?"
"Yeah, sure," I replied. I knew next to nothing about cars but I figured I could hand tools and such to Soda. It was better than hanging in the vacant lot all day. Soda could tell some real wild stories.
"Hand me that screwdriver. Wanna hear about when I beat Shepard in a fight?"
"Sure," I replied, handing him the screwdriver.
"It all began one spring morning..."
I guess we lost track of time because the next time I looked up, a group of Socy girls were standing next to Socy cars and chatting in their high-pitched, Socy voices. School must be out, I thought. Socy girls like that don't hang around in the middle of a school day. It was completely obvious that they were checking out Sodapop who was now standing next to the car admiring his handiwork.
Standing next to him, I felt like a lost puppy. He was hardly a year older than me but I felt so much younger. I had never had a girlfriend and Soda was in a real close relationship with this pretty blonde. She was greasy like us, but there was something different about her. She was different from all the other greasy girls. Maybe it was because she, like Ponyboy, was destined to make it far in life.
"Hey, Sodapop," one of the girls said in a giggly voice as she came over. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Johnny. Say hi, Johnny,"
"Hi," I said shyly. I don't even talk to the gang unless I have to. I don't know why Sodapop thought I'd talk to these Socy girls in their Socy cars. "I'm gonna go see if I can find Ponyboy," I said so only Soda could hear.
I left the DX and went to the Curtis house. I stuck my head into the door. Nobody around here bothers to knock. All was silent, so I left. I walked around aimlessly looking for something to occupy my time. And then, I saw it. A tuff looking Sting Ray drove by with a cute looking redhead in it. I stared in awe as she drove past. And when she was gone, I stared blankly at nothing.
"What's up, Johnnycake?" a familiar voice said, breaking me from my trance.
"Hey Dally," I replied, turning to see the blonde tow-headed kid I'd always known.
"You and Pony still comin' to the movie with me?"
"Yeah," I replied.
Pony and me met Dally at the corner of Pickett and Sutton. We were early so we went to the drugstore to cause trouble. Not a lot of trouble. Just enough to make the manager angry. He asked us to leave, but not before Dally got his hands on two packs of Kools. Then we went to the greaser hang out. The Dingo was pretty rough but it was a great place to find out about people. I never got involved in the talk and such or the fighting, for that measure.
Although we had enough money to get into the movie, Dally insisted on doing things the illegal way- the fun way. So we snuck in and sat in front of the concession stand. The only other people were these two cute chicks in front of us. So Dally, being the Dallas Winston that he is, started to talk to them real dirty. Now, I may look up to Dally but that boy has got a mouth on him. And I just didn't like to see girls get cussed at. So I went to buy a coke. It wouldn't have been so bad had those girls been greasy, like us. But it was evident that these were high-class girls. These were Socs.
At the concession stand, I bought a Coke and stood around trying to waste time. I didn't want to hear Dally be dirty to those girls anymore.
I went back and sat next to Ponyboy. Dally was gone. I managed t say hi to the Socy girls. But I was seriously nervous. I don't like to talk to people, strangers especially. Besides which, Pony and the redheaded chick were hitting it off just fine. They were engrossed in some conversation about horse racing.
Eventually, Dally came back with an armful of Cokes. He sat beside the redhead and handed a Coke to each girl.
"This might cool you off," he said. But she took the drink and threw it in his face.
"This might cool you off, greaser," she replied, as Dally wiped Coke from his face. I stared in awe at this redheaded girl. Ain't nobody talks to Dallas Winston like that, I thought.