Chapter 8
Kathleen thought about going to the place where she first met her friends, but decided she would rather just go to the park and sit on the bench- maybe stick her feet into the fountain. She realized she had to go by the lot where she met the boys the first time, and she dreaded it and hoped they weren't there because she was a bit embarrassed about the show she put on the night before.
Kathleen looked up when she was about to reach the lot, and, there they were. Playing football again. There was no way she could sneak past without them noticing. "Maybe," she thought to herself, "they'll be so wrapped up in their game they won't even see me this time." Even so, she quickened her pace. She made it. Looking back when she was a safe distance away, she all of a sudden bumped into someone. She looked at the person, a tall slim boy with neatly cut blond hair. He was dressed in a button down shirt and pants that were too short for him. "Oh I'm terribly sorry sir!" Kathleen quickly said.
"I wasn't lookin' where I was goin'." The boy looked her up and down. "What's a nice girl like you doing on this side of town?" Kathleen looked confused. "I- I live here." "You don't look like a greaser to me." She tilted her head to the side. "I'm sorry. I don't know what you're talkin' about." Something about that boy made her feel uncomfortable, and she tried to push past him. He grabbed her by the arm. "You aren't from around her are you?" He asked. "No. No I'm not. Good day to ye- I must be on me way." He wouldn't let go. "Please let go o' me." She tried harder to pull away, but he grabbed her other arm. "Let's get to know each other," He whispered in her ear. "Leave me be!" She raised her voice and started to kick him.
He was too strong for her. She tried to think of something to do, because he was pulling her into a dark alley. Since the others were in the lot- not too far away- she decided she would try yelling for them. It was worth a try anyway. "JOHNNY! HELP ME!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. He put his hand over her mouth, but just then the whole group of greasers were running as fast as they could towards Kathleen. Dallas punched the guy in the jaw and he let go of Kathleen. Soda and Two-Bit started beating up on him too, and he started to run. "You stay outta our territory you dirt soc!" Two-Bit yelled after him.
Kathleen was sitting on the ground trying to catch her breath as Johnny sat next to her and the others crowded around. "What- what was that?" Kathleen panted. "That no good bastard was in our territory. He was gonna rape you." Steve said. "Territory?" She asked. "This is our territory- the east side- the greasers. And The west side belongs to the socs. The socs are the rich kids that beat up on us and start fights all the time. Sometimes they come over to our territory to find girls to pick up."
"So . . . greasers. That's what ye all are?" Kathleen stood up. "Yes sir. And since you're new to the neighborhood and our Johnny here likes ya," Two-Bit playfully nudged Johnny who was blushing bright red, "You're welcome to join our gang." She didn't know what to say. "But," she started, "But I don't look like a greaser." "Oh don't worry 'bout that."
Still, she was a bit unsure about becoming a greaser. After all, she barely knew what a greaser really was . . . .