3. Still waters run deep...

Pony's POV

But there were no Socs standing in front of me but a little girl. She was maybe 10 or 11, at best 12 years old.

The girl, who had curly dark blond hair up to her shoulders, smiled at me and asked, "Hey, what's ya name?"

"Ponyboy." I answered her.

The girl nodded and said, "I'm Claudia. Claudia Jackson."

I looked at her estimating a moment before I asked, "Are ya new here? Anyhow, I haven't ever seen ya here around."

The girl nodded again and replied, "Yeah, I'm not from here."

I already would keep on asking where she was from but I noticed that she apparently wasn't willing to tell me yet.
That's why I left it and asked her instead, "What are ya doin' out here all alone?"

"I don't know, but I guess I do the same as ya here." Claudia shrugged, walked to the old bench and sat down.

I looked at her.
I don't know, but somehow I had the feeling to have to protect her.

"Say, don't ya parents worry 'bout ya?" I asked her and sat down next to her.

Claudia shook her head and said, "No, but I think, they know that I'm fine."

I didn't know what I should think of it and I supposed she really wouldn't say anything more.
I watched her while she looked into the nightly sky with a mysterious smile.
And while I watched her like that my thoughts wandered to Johnny...

"Why are ya lookin' at me that way, Ponyboy? What are ya thinkin' of?" she asked all of a sudden, the face still turned to the sky.

I lied to her, "I just was thinkin' that it even soon would be time for ya to go home, don't ya think so, too?"

"No, not yet…"

"But it's already pretty late." I contradicted her.

"That's true, but what about ya? Don't ya brothers worry 'bout ya as well, where you're stayin'?"

"How do ya know that I've got brothers?" I asked her surprised.

Have I told her perhaps something about them?
Nope, that can't be!
I guess not, have I?

Claudia shrugged again and finally turned her face away from the sky and looked me straight into my eyes.
"I don't know it just was a thought."

I took a drag on my cigarette and glanced at my watch.
Was it really that late?
I couldn't believe it!
It was almost eleven and so it was also too late to go to the movies now.
How could time go by that fast?
It didn't seem so long time ago to me since I met Claudia.

"You're right. It's really pretty late for me and probably my brothers are really gonna worry 'bout where I'm stayin'. That's why I'm gonna go now." So I got up and looked at Claudia expectantly.

If I really would have expected that she would regard this as signal to go home as well, then I was wrong.
She kept on sitting on the bench motionless.

"Don't ya wanna go now as well?" I finally asked.

I couldn't leave her behind here all by herself after all.

"If ya go now, then I go, too." she answered me.

Somehow I don't know what to make of that girl.

"Well, that's a start at least. I'm gonna go now." I decided.

"All right. Then it's time for me to go now, too." Claudia said and got up as well.

Have I ever mentioned that I find this girl a bit funny?
No?
All right, then I have said that now with this!
I watched her to get to know something more about her, but she said nothing more.

"Ok, if ya go now, I'm gonna go, too." she repeated then.

"Are ya sure that ya really wanna go home alone? Shall I accompany ya up to there? Somethin' could happen to ya on the way..."
Did I really sound that worried as Darry or one of the others from the gang?
Well, I wouldn't in any case that something's gonna happen to her.
I was worried about her.

"No, that's ok like this. Nothing's gonna happen to me!" she assured me.

Oh, these words seemed very familiar to me!
They sounded like my own.
It seemed to me that we probably were pretty similar at that point.

I looked at her skeptically.
She was a girl, a little girl.
It could happen so much more to her than to me.
I still could fight a bit against Socs at least, but a little girl?
She wouldn't have no chance against Socs.
But would the Socs really be that heartless, unscrupulous and cruel and jump a little girl and also beat her up that bad as they had done it to Johnny?
In the momentary hate of the Socs for us greasers I even would believe them to be capable of it.
But I don't know!
I don't know nothing at all!

But suddenly there came something to my mind: Claudia didn't actually look like a greaser.
You recognize another greaser right away if you are a greaser.
You just recognize your kind, I don't know why, but that's just like that.
But she didn't look like a greaser.
Of course, she apparently was younger about several years than most of the greaser-girls in that neighborhood, which put on very flashy make-up, curse very much, smoke and normally are pretty odd.
But you also recognize younger greasers; anyway a greaser would recognize it/them.
But I didn't recognize no greaser in Claudia.

And she probably was also none of the Socs.
Then she would be on the wrong side of town, anyway.
And before I would get into it too much I decided that she probably would belong to the middle class, what wouldn't explain though why she was in our greaser territory.
But I wouldn't think about that any longer.

"Ya don't need to think about it! Don't worry! Neither 'bout me nor 'bout others that ya love or have loved." Claudia's gentle voice interrupted my thoughts.

I frowned.
This kid seemed somehow a bit creepy to me!
She seemed to know so much but still gave nothing away.
I wasn't scared of her though, but something was the matter with her.
I just didn't know yet, what it was!

"Ya really should go now!" she said determined to me when I said nothing to it.

"Sure. But what about ya?"

"I already can take care of myself." she replied. "Nothing's gonna happen to me, I'm quite sure of that."

I had certain doubts about it, though I didn't bring it up.
I wouldn't worry her.
She didn't seem to know at all in which dangerous area she was!

And I couldn't understand that her parents apparently left her here all by herself that careless.
Didn't they care what their daughter's doing and where and above all with whom she's staying?
This made me angry.
And it reminded me of Johnny's parents.
They didn't care about it at all what Johnny was doing.
Gee, why did I just constantly think of Johnny again today?

And there I suddenly realized - I don't know though how I came of it all of a sudden - that Darry and the others love me and also care for me and worry about me and that's why they behave towards me the way they do.
They only would protect me!

"I'm comin' home safely! Just see that you're able to it as well!"

I was surprised about the self-confidence of Claudia when she's talking.
Before I could say something she turned away and was about to leave.

I just had to ask her, "Are we gonna see us again?"

She turned around to me.
I could see her smile in the moonlight.

"If ya wanna it, you're gonna see me again." she replied and turned around again.

Then she walked away; disappeared that fast and quite soundless as she appeared.
I stared behind her, confused, until I couldn't see her any longer.
Shouldn't I perhaps go behind her and take care that nothing's gonna happen to her?
But it even was too late for that.
She already was gone.
That's why I turned around with a shrug and walked in the direction of my home.