"When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house…" It was weird. It was like I could hear Ponyboy's voice in my head. I kept reading and barely noticed the light fading from the sky because I'd already put the light on. A single bare bulb that hung from a string over my head.
Ponyboy's quiet voice took me deeper and deeper into the world he had lived in, my dad lived in.
I knew my grandparents died when my dad was like 15 or 16, I had known that. But I'd never really thought about it. How would it be if my parents died in a car accident now?
And this soc/greaser thing. It was brutal. I mean, we're not the richest family around, especially in Southern California where movie stars live. Some of the richest people in the world live there. But it's more of a "live and let live" kind of thing. Sure, kids like to have brand name stuff but even if you're poor you can save up and buy it. Just mow lawns or baby sit or something.
I read until my eyes felt dry and scratchy and Ponyboy and dad came home, my dad calling up to me, "Kevin! You okay?"
"Yeah, dad!"
But I couldn't stop. It was better than a photo album, disconnected moments, the colors fading, old clothes and old hair styles, people leaning against cars from earlier decades. The teenagers your parents used to be. This was like living that time with uncle Ponyboy.
My dad wasn't like a main character, really. He was mentioned, of course. Ponyboy described him pretty well. I blinked, surprised that they'd been that close, surprised that they weren't still. Because they weren't. There was a distance, in miles and in something else. They were strangers now, but I read the part where Ponyboy was remembering the socs jumping him after the movies and my dad slung an arm across his neck, trying to tell him how Darry feels. They weren't always strangers.
And Darry. Uncle Darry. Working like crazy to support his brothers, always tense and strung out. Clogs the arteries. No wonder he died of a heart attack so young.
But the story wasn't so focused on my dad and my uncle Darry, they were there but…It was really about Ponyboy and his friend Johnny Cade. This was the Johnny dad said he missed. I knew he must have died, the sad way my dad said he missed him. When I was reading the thing it was like I got to know Johnny.
Ponyboy was a pretty good writer, the way he described everything, making you see it and feel it.
I knew the type of kid Johnny was, the quiet kid who got hit at home. I knew kids like this but I wasn't really friends with them, my friends all had parents like mine, kind of laid back and easy going.
After the movie when they were talking in that vacant lot and Johnny said, "I can't take much more. I'll kill myself or something.", it was like I totally understood even though my life was like a thousand times better than this kid's life had been.
And something was going to happen. There was suspense. I kept reading to find out.
If it was today they'd probably yank Johnny outa that house and stick him in a foster home. But maybe not. Lots of kids just put up with it, keep their mouths shut.
"Kevin! What the hell are you doing up there?" My dad, a little bit of panic in his voice.