Chapter two

"Darry? Can I catch the bus and go to the library later this afternoon?" I asked my older brother as we finished up the dishes from lunch. Only a handful of summer days had past and I was getting restless and bored already.

Darry didn't want me to be going out alone too much, but I felt I was old enough to ride the bus across town to the library. Besides what trouble could I get into at the library?

Darry handed me a soapy dish to rinse. "I don't know Scout. By the time you get home it'll be dark and I don't really want you walking home alone from the bus stop."

I had been cooped up in my house and neighborhood for weeks and I really wanted to get out. "Aw, come on Darry! What if I have Soda meet me at the bus stop and he can walk me home… please?"

"Well what is Pony doing? He could go with you." Darry braced his arms on the edge of the sink and looked down at me.

"He and Johnny already have plans to go over to Curly Sheppard's house."

Darry rolled his eyes, he didn't care much for the Sheppard family. For a few seconds Darry thought to himself. I wondered what was going through his mind, but I didn't ask. Then he sighed hard, "Ok you can go… BUT! I'll drop you off at the bus stop before I go to work and you need to make sure Soda will walk you home."

"Thanks Darry!"

"Hey!" Darry grabbed the last of the dirty dishes and put them in the soapy water. "You tell Soda to be there ten minutes earlier then you need him and he doesn't leave there without you! Savvy?"

"Savvy!" I said. I was genuinely excited to be going to the Central public library. I hadn't been there for years. I loved to get a book and then sit outside by the fountain and read.

I made it very clear to Soda that he needed to be at the bus stop by the steel factory to pick me up. I told him 9pm because the bus wasn't suppose to arrive there until 9:10pm and I figured that would give me enough time. It's not that Soda is always late to things, but sometime he can be forgetful or not want to leave what he is doing, especially if he is having a lot of fun.

Central Library was just as I had remembered it when mom and dad would take me there. Before going in I sat on the edge of the fountain and watched the water dance and the moms and dads walk by with their children. My heart began to ache at the scene so I went inside to find a good novel to get wrapped up in for hours before I had to check out and hop the bus home.

Before I knew it the sky had begun to grow dark and it was time to leave. I asked the man at the reference desk for the time and he told me 8:05pm. Yikes! I had to hurry or I would miss my bus. I quickly checked out and ran through the cold drizzle to the corner for the bus. As I waited I zipped up Ponyboy's gray hooded sweatshirt that I was wearing and cracked open my book. Within a minute the bus arrived. I thought to myself how odd it was that the bus was early. It shouldn't have been there until eight fifteen and there was no way it took me ten minutes to run the block to the bus stop. As the bus doors open I scrambled aboard. I like to sit in the back where the light was kept on so I could read. I propped my feet up on the seat in front of me and got lost in the story.

By the time I reached the bus stop in my neighborhood the sky was cloudy and the moonlight wasn't showing through. It was dark and that was a problem for me because I spook myself easy with my wild imagination, and the book I was reading was a murder mystery! I stood there in a pair of hand me down jeans with my blue t-shirt tails hanging out from the bottom of my gray sweatshirt. I may have looked like a boy, but I was comfortable. Minutes past.

Where is Soda, I though to myself. Then I began to count so I could try to tell how many minutes had passed. By the time I got to six hundred I was pissed and figured he had forgotten about me. Man was Darry ever going to be mad! I waited around for a few more minutes. I thought about how chilly and wet I was getting and that if I had started walking I would have been home by now. Oh forget it! I though again and decided to start home. Besides, Soda was probably there hanging out with Steve or Sandy.

The walk wasn't too far. It was about two blocks to the park and then three more blocks from there to our house. I also knew that Soda would walk the same route, so I expected to run into him.

I came down a street that headed to the park. The street light had been busted or burnt out. The neighborhood was dark and full of abandoned houses and businesses that were closed for the night. Up ahead I could see the lights from the park illuminating against the cloudy sky. I pulled my sweatshirt hood up over my head because my ears were getting cold and folded my arms across my chest with my book tucked close to my body. Then I heard something… something out of place… I turned and looked behind me and noticed a pair of headlights coming fast. I stopped for a moment and waited thinking it was Soda. Steve often let Soda drive his car and Soda rarely drives the speed limit.

I listened to the car engine and right before my eyes figured it out my ears clued me into the fact that the car was not from out neighborhood. Just as my vision refocused from the glare of the headlights I noticed a newer Pontiac GTO. Unexpectedly four teenage boys jumped out of the car before it even came to a complete stop. Socs!

It took my brain a second to realize I was in trouble as I heard a boy holler, "Get him! Get that greaser and lets show him what the other half thinks of his kind!"

Get him? Who is "him"? I thought, then I became aware of my appearance and realized they were there to teach me a lesson. I turned and ran full speed to the park just before the closest boy was able to grab me. I knew I was fast, but I was also short so the boys would undoubtedly catch up if they had any speed at all. One thing I didn't bet on was what happened next.

Three of the boys jumped onto the long hood of the GTO and the driver sped down the road beside me. Before I could cross the street to the park one of the socs dove from the hood and tackled me to the ground. The book I had in my grasp went flying through the air and I was on my stomach trying to crawl away when the soc delivered a hard right handed punch to my temple. I barely had time to realize how much it hurt when the second punch was delivered.

"Leave me alone!" I cried and heard someone laugh saying I screamed like a girl. That was it. They didn't know I was a girl. I managed to wiggle my right arm free from under my body and wrap it around my head to shield myself from another blow. The socs noticed, but didn't plan to let up.

I heard one of them say "flip him over and lets rearrange his greasy face!" The strong boy who was sitting on top of me grabbed my arms, pulled them behind my back and pulled me up on my knees. I looked up and wanted to tell them to let me go, but a kid in a dark colored madras jacket punched me in the gut and knocked the wind out of me. I opened my mouth again to scream as the same boy threw a hard punch at my face. My head cocked back knocking the sweatshirt hood off of my head. My soft brown curls revealed themselves as my head fell forward again. I was dizzy and couldn't think straight.

"Oh man! It's a girl! Let her go and let's get out of here!"

The boy holding my arms spoke next and I could smell liquor on his breath. "Naw let's take her and throw her down by the tracks with all the rest of the greaser trash!" Then he laughed, but his buddies didn't agree.

An entirely new voice spoke up. "Nah man, John just drop her and let's go."

John refused to let go and came up with another plan. My senses started to come back to me as I heard his next suggestion. "I say we keep her and have our way with her, who'll care?" I comprehended what he said and began to fight to get loose and scream for help. I tried to pull hard to get free and noticed a second set of headlights coming towards the group. Oh no, God please not more of them.

A few of the socs backed up toward their car except John and his friend in the madras jacket, they were staying to see what was coming. The incoming car's tires screeched to a halt and the doors flew open. I heard Sodapop's voice swearing obscenities as I broke from John's grasp. The soc reached out to me and caught my converse tennis shoe. I fell to the ground again as my shoe slipped off and freed me again to stumble closer to the car. I didn't go back for it. I was headed to the car as Soda, Steve and Two Bit were headed to the Socs.

I stumbled a few feet away and turned to see the five rich kids fighting with the three greasers. Two-Bit cold cocked one soc in the head sending him to the ground. Two-Bit moved to help Steve who was getting double teamed by John and another kid. I blinked through my tears and noticed my brother Soda was in trouble too. These socs were tough and it wasn't fair that Soda was getting two timed so I stumbled back in pain and jumped on the back of the boy in the madras jacket. I pulled his hair and he and I fell backwards into the grass. This gave Sodapop the advantage and he quickly pummeled the other boy. Off to the side I was going to be in trouble again when the boy lying on top of me grabbed my hand and painfully squeezed my fingers forcing me to lose my grip.

"Let's get outta here!" The driver of the car yelled and honked the horn. The madras boy stood up and kicked me in the side before running to the safety of his car.

As the final socs climbed into the GTO Soda raced to my side, "Sissy? Sissy are you ok?" Soda held my head in his hands and a look of horror splashed onto his face as he noticed the blood running from my nose and mouth. I couldn't answer him. All I could do was shake and cry. I couldn't believe this had happened. I couldn't understand why someone would just jump out of a car and beat an innocent human being. I wasn't like that, my brothers weren't like that. "Scout you are bleeding, talk to me. Are you ok?"

I breathed in deep and shook my head yes. Soda took me in his arms and pulled my body close to his and whispered. "Shhhhhh, come on now it's ok. Shhhhhh come on baby girl it's gonna be alright." For a few minutes he just rocked back and forth with me in his arms as we sat in the damp grass. Steve and Two-Bit knelt down beside us.

Steve pulled gently at my hair to try and see my face in the light from his car's headlights. "Hey Soda is she ok?" I didn't hear Soda answer. He just held me tight and continued to rock me with his head buried in my hair. A few times I though I felt his chest palpate and then I realized his was crying too.

"Hey Soda." Two-Bit spoke quietly to him. "Maybe we oughtta get her in the car and take her home?" Sodapop didn't respond and this time I was sure it was because he was crying too. Two-Bit tugged softly on his arm. "Come on Sodapop lets get her home."

Soda pulled his head away from my hair and snapped. "Why her huh? Why my little sister! She never did anything to anyone!" Everyone could tell Soda was pissed and I knew the only one who could calm him down was me.

I steadied my breathing and told Soda I wanted to go home. We stood up and took a few steps toward the car when I was aware that I only had one shoe on. "Soda, my shoe? My shoe got pulled off, and my book from the library." The gang looked around in the dark with the assistance from the headlights. Two-Bit found the shoe and Soda and I found the book. I climbed in to the backseat of Steve's car and calmed down a little more. I knew I was safe now. That's why I loved the gang so much. Everyone looked out for each other whether is was Steve and Dally watching Soda's back in a fight or Darry paying for Johnny's stitches or Pony and I helping Steve with his homework when he needed it and Two-Bit always being there to make us forget about our troubles.