I walked slowly to the football field after school with Two-Bit following close behind. He offered to hold my books for me. Steve was already at the football field, smoking a cigarette.
"Well, you decided to show." Steve said with a pleased grin. "I thought you would have snuck out a different door.
"I thought about it." I admitted. "But, like you said, I don't want the socs to think that greasers are wimps."
"Speaking of socs, here they come." Two-Bit said.
"Great." I said softly as I stared at the ground. Then, I looked up and crossed my arms as I watched the socs walk towards me. The one who would be fighting me was lpointing and laughing at me. I felt my face get hot. Suddenly, I couldn't wait to get my hands on that soc and beat the tar out of him.
Steve slapped my shoulder as he went to join Two-Bit. He glared at the socs as they circled around me and the soc from study hall.
"Well, the little greaser showed up. I'm impressed." The soc from study hall said mockingly.
"Looks like he has some cheerleaders." Another commented.
"You know, we can turn this into a rumble." Two-Bit spoke up.
"That won't be neccessary." The soc from study hall said. "Seeing one greaser cry will be enough."
With that he punched me across the face. I almost stumbled backwards, but quickly regained my balance. My cheek was hurting where he had punched me. So, I did the only thing I could think of, I jumped on him and started to punch him back. The fight was on. We fought for several minutes, or at least it seemed that way until Randy's voice interrupted us.
"What's going on here?" Randy asked as he grabbed the soc and pulled him off of me.
"We're just teaching this greaser a lesson, Randy." The soc said. His nose was bleeding.
"The kid did nothing to you." Randy said as he pulled me to my feet. "So, why don't you all go home?"
"What's this? Are you turning against us?" One of the other socs asked.
Randy just glared at him. "Go home. And if I ever find any of you harrassing Ponyboy again, I will personally beat the tar out of you."
The socs left one by one until only Randy was left. He was eyeing Two-Bit and Steve carefully. Probably to see if they were going to jump him or not. When they silently walked towards us, he looked at me. "Kid, you're a mess."
"I'll bet." I said. "How did you know about the fight?"
"Cherry told me. She heard about it in your study hall and asked me to break it up. She always hated fights." Randy said.
"I know." I said. "Do I really look bad?"
Steve handed me a handkerchief out of his pocket. "Let's just say, you won't recognize yourself for a few days."
Randy quietly walked away. He didn't need to stick around.
"I think we need to celebrate." Two-Bit announced. "Let's go get Pepsies at the DX station, my treat."
"Good thinking Two-Bit. Let Soda see me before Darry." I mumbled as the three of us walked towards his car.
When we arrived at the DX several minutes later, Soda came outside. "Boy, twice in one day? Don't tell me you need another fill up."
"No, just three Pepsies." Two-Bit replied. That was when Soda looked at me.
"Pony? What on earth happened to you?" Soda asked as he gently turned my face towards his.
"I got in a fight with a soc." I said as Soda examined my face.
"A fight? Glory Pony, Darry is going to be angry when he finds out." Soda said softly. "And there's no way you can hide it. You're face is all bruised. I wouldn't be surprised if your eyes were swelled shut by tomorrow."
"I look that bad?" I asked.
Soda and Steve both nodded.
"Great. Just great. How could I have gotten myself into this?" I groaned, leaning back in the seat.
Soda ran off to get our Pepsies and returned a minute later. "Pony, hold the Pepsi on your face until you can get ice at home. Hopefully, it'll help get some of the swelling down. I'll be there in an hour. Hopefully, Darry won't get back before then."
I nodded and Two-Bit drove away. Soon, we were at my house. Two-Bit stuck around until Soda got home. Steve, went to his own home.
"Well, I'm heading out." Two-Bit said when Soda finished his chocolate milk. He left, slamming the door behind him.
"Have you looked in the mirror yet?" Soda asked.
"No." I replied, holding an ice pack on my face.
Soda pulled me to my feet and pushed me towards the bathroom. My face looked aweful. I had two black eyes and my cheek was badly bruised, as well as my jaw which hurt a lot.
"Soda, what am I going to do when Darry gets home?" I asked. "He's not going to be happy about this."
"We could say the socs jumped you." Soda suggested. "It won't be too far from the truth."
As he finished his sentence, the front door closed. I gave Soda a nervous look in the mirror. Darry was home from work.
"Go into our room and start your homework." Soda whispered pushing me out the door and down the hall. "I'll see if I can distract him till dinner. Hopefully by then, you'll come up with a believable story."
I went into my room and sat down at the desk. I tried to do my homework, but couldn't focus. I was too busy trying to hear what Soda was saying to Darry. I could tell that he was trying to get Darry to start dinner.
"I'm tired, Soda. Besides, isn't it Pony's turn to make dinner?" Darry asked.
"He has a lot of homework tonight." Was Soda's reply.
"So much that he can't stop for a half hour to make dinner?" I could tell that Darry wasn't convinced. Soda was never good at lying. "Something's going on."
"No, there isn't." Soda said and I could almost hear the panic in his voice.
"Yes there is. Soda, you know as well as I do that you're a bad liar. I'm going to see what Pony's up to." I heard Darry's footsteps come down the hall with Soda's following behind.
"Darry, wait!" Was Soda's last plea before the door flew open. I looked down at my homework, hoping my hair was long enough to hide my face.
"Pony, what's going on?" Darry asked.
"Nothing." I said as I pretended to erase something on my paper.
"Kid, Soda's a bad liar which means I know something happened. And it's not like you to not look at me unless you did something that would upset me." Darry said. He turned the chair so I was facing his stomache. "Now, I want you to look at me."
I slowly lifted my head. Darry was looking down at me with his hands in his pockets.
"What in the world happened to you?" Darry asked.
"I got in a fight after school." I admitted and Soda shook his head from behind Darry.
"You got in a fight?" Darry asked in disbelief.
I nodded. "A soc was bugging me during study hall and the next thing I knew, we had agreed to fight after school."
"And you went through with it?" Darry asked. "What were you thinking?"
"I wanted to leave, Darry. But when the soc started mocking me, I knew I couldn't." I said.
"Pony, how many times do I have to tell you to use your head? Do you know how much trouble you could have been in if a teacher found out?" Darry half whispered and half hollered.
I nodded.
Darry shook his head at me. "I could skin you now. But I won't. Just, start using your head!"
I nodded again.
"Soda, you can make dinner tonight. Pony, go lie down on the couch with an ice pack on your eyes. I know you weren't doing homework in here." Darry said as he left the room.
"Boy, he's good." Soda whispered as we also left the room. He gave me a tiny grin. "I tried to keep him out until dinner."
"I know. I heard you." I told him. "And I swear I will never get in a fight again. It's not worth it. And my jaw hurts so much, I'm not sure if I'll be able to eat dinner tonight."
"Well, if you used your head once in a while, you wouldn't have that problem now, would you?" Darry spoke up as he sat down in his chair.
"Darry, leave him alone. He knows getting in a fight was wrong. Hollering at him isn't going to help." Soda said as he entered the kitchen. A second later, he was throwing an ice pack across the living room to me. I caught it and laid down on the couch.
Darry got up from his chair and sat down on the edge of the couch. He carefully positioned the ice pack over my eyes. He sat with me until dinner was ready, watching the television. I knew he was upset that I had been in a fight. But his reaction wasn't as bad as it could have been. Maybe it was a sign that we were starting to understand each other.