………………………………………Randy

There seemed to be a different air in the courtroom with Randy on the stand. It was like crackles in the air.

Johnny's friends were all in attendance. The Curtis brothers, "Two bit", Steve Randle, and Dallas. They glared at Randy, except Ponyboy, whose expression was blank.

"On the night in question you and your friends went looking for Johnny Cade and Ponyboy Curtis?"

"Yeah. Well, the other one,too,"

"Two bit?"

"Yeah. But we found Johnny and Ponyboy at the park,"

"And you and your friends were drinking?"

"Yeah,"

"O.K.," I said. All eyes were riveted to me and Randy, like there was a spotlight. Out of the 30 or so people in the courtroom I spotted Mrs. Sheldon, her narrowed eyes shifting from Randy, to me, to the back of Johnny's head.

"O.K. So you and your friends were drunk and you went looking for these kids. What was your intent?"

Randy looked down then slowly lifted his eyes.

"To teach them a lesson, to teach them not to pick up our girls,"

"Your girls? You mean socs?"

"Yeah,"

"And you were drinking. O.K. How many of you were there in the car that night?"

"Five,"

Going through it, I wanted the jury to see it, these five against two younger kids, scared kids, in a situation where there were no options.

"Did you and your friends try to drown Ponyboy in the fountain?"

"We were dunking him in the fountain, three of us,"

"Where were the other two?"

"Over, toward the edge of the park with Johnny,"

"O.K. Then what happened?"

"We were, the other two had thrown Johnny to the ground, punched him a few times I think, and came over to the fountain. Then Ponyboy stopped struggling so much and Johnny came over with that switchblade. Bob said, 'C'mon, you dirty little greaser, worthless piece of shit,' and Johnny stabbed him,"

Silence. The whole courtroom held its breath.

………………………………………Post Court Circus

Outside, on the courtroom steps, I couldn't help but gloat a little. It looked good. His testimony really put the light of self defense on the whole incident.

I admired Randy for doing that, for standing up for the truth of what happened.

It was the typical post court circus, Johnny at the center. He looked uncomfortable in the blue suit I bought him, his black hair neatly trimmed and free of grease. The guards surrounded him, taking the brunt of the jostling reporters as they vied to get a quote from Johnny, the microphones thrust in his face. The girls, the groupies, were beyond the reporters in a halo ring of wide skirts and bobby socks, saddle shoes and swishing ponytails. They waved at Johnny and blew him kisses. With his head down he never noticed them. Beyond the girls there were the prosecutors, the court watchers, the Curtis's and their friends, Mrs.Sheldon.

Mrs. Sheldon looked like a woman mimicking life but not hitting quite the right beat. Her lipstick was off center, it ran a bit onto her teeth. One earlobe flashed a diamond stud but the other was bare.

She stumbled on heels too high for a woman her age, she stumbled through the rings of people surrounding Johnny. I felt a strange sensation, like only I could see her. Her slightly mussed hair, her wet red eyes done up obscenely with blue eye shadow and mascara. She reached in her black purse and pulled out a black object.

She held a gun in her shaking hand and pointed it at Johnny's chest.

"You killed my son," she said, or whispered, or perhaps she only mouthed the words but I still heard them, clear as day.

Her red tipped finger on the trigger, and others saw her, I heard gasps of surprise. Johnny looked up at her and his dark eyes almost dared her to do it.

"My God, she's got a gun!" A shrill voice rose above the roar in my head and I stepped in front of Johnny, protective, just as Ponyboy did when I first met them.

I stepped in front of Johnny just as she pulled the trigger and there was the sound of the gunshot, so loud, and I felt like someone punched me. Someone screamed, it went higher and higher, an opera scream, and I felt a strange warmth and a wetness, then everything went black.

Everything went black.