Chapter Three
Now
Visiting day. Darry and Soda are walking into the building. Darry looks upset, I know I'm killing him, but hopefully I won't be for much longer. Darry and Soda signed in at the desk, and then walked over to the couch I was sitting on.
"Hey, Pony," Darry said.
"Hi," I said quietly.
"What?" Soda asked. I hadn't talked to them in over a month. They'd probably forgotten that I wasn't mute.
"I said 'hi'," I repeated.
I saw tears in Darry's eyes.
"Pony…" Was all Soda could say.
"I'm getting better," I said.
Darry and Soda just sat there and hugged me while they cried. I felt like I was an actor in a crappy movie, but I kind of liked it. It was nice; it let me know that Darry and Soda didn't hate me.
"How's everyone else?" I asked.
"Dally got hauled in," Soda said.
"Again? What for this time?" I asked. I was just starting to realize I missed everyone.
"I don't know. The cops hate Dally, they'll arrest him for breathing too loud," Soda replied.
I smiled, that was true. The cops hated Dally; they would arrest him for almost anything.
"Darry," I said.
"Yeah," Darry replied.
"I'm sorry," I said. "For everything, mom and dad's dying, my trying to kill myself, for worrying you."
"It's not your fault," Darry said. "Just get better, OK."
"Alright," I said.
Darry, Soda and I talked about random things for the rest of visiting day. We tried to stay off the subject of mom and dad's death, and Aurora's running away, but we did wind up talking about it a few times. Dr. Murphy introduced himself to Darry and Soda. He said that I'd made a lot of progress, and I'd probably be able to leave in a month or two. I wondered if Dr. Murphy was just saying that so they wouldn't worry. I'd have to ask him in our next session.
When visiting hours were over, and Darry and Soda had left, I went to my room and lied on my bed. I was tired. I don't think I'd talked that much in a long time. It was exhausting. I couldn't believe that I'd used to talk that much, or more, on a daily basis, and that I'd have to do that again soon. I was half excited, and half scared that I was going to be leaving the asylum in a month or two. I started thinking about life in the real world, and I fell asleep.
Dr. Murphy's Sessions with Ponyboy Curtis. Tape B78920.
Dr. Murphy: We missed you at dinner last night, Ponyboy.
Ponyboy Curtis: I was tired; fell asleep.
DM: You talked with your brothers yesterday. I'm proud of you. That kind of behavior will get you out of here very soon.
PC: That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Did you really mean that? That I'd be getting out of here in a couple of months, I mean.
DM: I did.
Here there is a long pause
DM: Ponyboy, let me ask you something.
PC: Sure.
DM: If we could find Aurora, how would that make you feel?
PC: I think I'd be the happiest person alive, doc.
PC: What makes you think you can find her.
DM: We have our reasons.
PC: Her mom is dead.
DM: Is she?
PC: Yeah. She killed herself after she killed my parents.
DM: That must have been a horrible thing to witness. That much death in one day.
PC: It was. But just think of how the soldiers feel.
DM: The soldiers?
PC: Yeah, those people in the army. They have to watch people die almost every day.
DM: That's true.
Here there is a long pause
DM: Ponyboy?
PC: Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about stuff.
DM: Like what stuff?
PC: Like, about how when you're little, you wonder about weird stuff. Like, how they make green Jell-o green. I always wondered that.
DM: laughing Did you?
PC: Hey, it's not that funny.
DM: I always wondered why the sky was blue. People think strange things.
PC: Yeah, they do.
DM: Well, Ponyboy, our time is up. I'll see you in tomorrow.
PC: Ok.
End tape
Exert from Ponyboy's memory
Aurora and I were both eleven. We were having a rumble that night, and everyone had said that I was old enough to fight. I was excited, but Aurora was worried about me.
"Just don't kill yourself," she said. "I don't want a bloody pulp for a best friend."
"I won't die," I replied.
But once we got there, and I got a good look at the other gang, I thought I just might get killed. Sure, it was just skins, but all the other guys were a lot bigger than I was. Two-Bit noticed how nervous I was, and said, "Just stick close to me kid; I won't let 'em clobber you…to bad."
I managed a smile, but it was quickly wiped off my face by a punch from one of the members of the gang we were fighting.
The rumble had started.
Everyone was throwing punches left and right. I tried to stay as close to Two-Bit as possible, but I eventually lost him in all the chaos. I found Soda and Steve though, so I stood next to them to fight. I saw Darry slugging the daylights out of someone, and I saw Two-Bit. He and another member of our gang, Dally, were standing back-to-back and punching everyone that came close to them. Dally was from New York; he could fight really well. I heard Soda yell, "Pony! Look out!"
But it was too late; I'd been hit hard on the side of the head. When I woke up, the rumble was over.
Everyone kept telling me how well I'd fought, but I could tell that they were trying not to laugh. When we got back to the house, Aurora was there.
"What happened?" Aurora asked as she walked over to me.
"Didn't do to hot," I replied.
"You're too short to fight," Aurora replied.
It was true; I'm pretty short for someone my age. Normally, that wouldn't have bothered me, but I wasn't feeling very good, and I wasn't in the mood to be made fun of.
"Ha, ha," I replied sarcastically.
"Sorry," she said.
After a short silence, Aurora said, "You might want to get that bump on your head checked out."
I was confused for a second, but then I remembered that I had been hit really hard in the head. Aurora and I walked into the house. All the older guys' girlfriends were there; putting band-aids on their cuts and talking about how brave they were. Then Soda's girlfriend, Sandy, looked up and said, "Soda, is that your little brother? He's so cute! Aww and he has a girlfriend that is just so cute!"
Aurora and I just looked at each other in disgust, which made everyone in the room laugh. We walked into the kitchen where mom was.
"Mom," I said timidly. I didn't know if she was going to feel sorry for me, or kill me.
"Yes," she said as she turned around. Then she got this horrified look on her face.
"Ponyboy! What happened? Did you get jumped? My poor baby!" Mom said. She didn't know I'd been in the rumble.
"Yeah," I replied. "I got jumped." That was partially true. I had been jumped.
Mom got some ice for my head and started washing my cuts, "I know this is a bad part of town," she said, "but it's just not fair that my baby can't walk down the street without getting beat up. I wish there was something I could do to get us out of here."
"When I get famous, I'll get everyone out of here," Aurora said.
"It'll be too late then," I said.
"There are plenty of famous kids," Aurora said, "I'm going to be one of them."
"Sure you will," I said. But I didn't mean it.
