Erm... yeah, I found this ...thing... and it's really not very good. Um... enjoy anyway, and feel free to tell me what I'm doing wrong! Lib
Tawny humphed. Being the oldest of 6 was hard, but it was especially hard when both parents worked and money was tight. Still, they managed. They always did.
Such as, instead of hiring a babysitter, Tawny had to come straight home from school each day, with 5 younger siblings in tow. The rest of the day was spent watching television, or, if the weather permitted, going down to the street to the basketball courts. Tawny knew that was where all the gangs and teens smoking and doing drugs hung out, but from four to six, every day, there was a policeman standing there, alert and on gaurd, and another in the car. Tawny was glad for those blissful 2 hours when they could get out of the house and get some fresh air.
But on this particular day, there was no cop. There were no other kids, either - probably because they had learned to stay away from 4 to 6. Tawny, sure it was only a matter of minutes before a cop showed up, didn't worry about it and settled down on a bench with a book. The others knew not to wander and to come straight to Tawny if a stranger approached them, so Tawny let herself sink into her book and loose all other thoughts.
That was, of course, until Catron's piercing shriek filled the air. Tawny sat straight up, as if awakening from a nightmare, but instead, she was awakening to a nightmare.
There were 4 boys, ages ranging from about 17 to 20, if she had to guess. One of them had Brooke in a headlock and was laughing at her attempt to get out, which, Tawny had to admit, was feeble, though understandable, since Brooke had never been in a headlock before. Catron was biting the hand of a guy who was trying to muffle her screams. Catron could bite hard, but Tawny didn't find herself feeling sorry for the guy. They looked like Socs, and for young greasers, Socs were bad news.
Sarah Anne and Heather had ganged up on an especially small one, but they were still losing dismally. And Charlie -
Charlie was over in a corner with the final Soc. Being the youngest and only boy, Charlie was the one everyone looked out for. Because of this, it was Charlie's attacker Tawny chose to beat up first, but she never reached her destination.
There was a war cry, and seven boys came barreling down the street. Tawny held her breath, then let it out when she realized they were greasers who had come to help them. They were a little younger, ages ranging from about 13 to 19 instead of 17 to 20, but there were seven of them and only 4 Socs. Soon the Socs were running away, piling into their Mustang as if their life depended on it, and judging by the looks on the greasers' faces, it probably did.
Then the greasers were turning toward her, probably because she was the oldest and in charge. The oldest one looked the six over.
"I think they'll be okay, they actually held up pretty well, better than Pony would at any rate -" he was cut off by what looked like the youngest one hitting him over the head. Tawny assumed that was Pony.
Another one stepped forward. He was extremely handsome, but Tawny wasn't interested in that. She was, however, interested in him saying, "Do you wanna bring 'em over to our house? Darry's pretty good at fixing people up, and he always keeps first-aid things handy, because we're known for getting in trouble. So, what do you say?"
"Mom and Dad won't be home until around 8 or 9, so as long as we're home before then, they shouldn't worry. Thank you," Tawny said. The boy smiled.
"Eh, Darry, they're coming over to our place to get fixed up."
The oldest boy who spoke first nodded. "See, I have psychic powers. I knew you should've cleaned your room."
Another boy snorted. "I wouldn't call that psychic powers, Darry. I would call that being a total pain in the -" The boy called Darry didn't let him go further. "Small children, Two-Bit, small children," he reminded.
"They must think we're nutters - we haven't had the manners to introduce ourselves!" The handsome boy who had first invited them joked.
"Neither have they," pointed out yet another boy.
"I'm Tawny. I'm 12. This is Brooke, 10, Catron, 8, Sarah Anne, 7, Heather, 6, and Charlie, 4. Happy?" Tawny asked sarcastically.
Darry said, "Oh, yeah, I'm Darry, 19, since you like ages, Two-Bit, 17, Dally, 16, my brother Sodapop, 15-going-on-16, Steve, 16, Johnny, 15, and my other brother Ponyboy, 13. Come on."
And with that Tawny started off with people she hardly knew, but somehow she knew these were people she could trust, maybe because they could have quite possibly saved their lives.
