Later that night I had a weird dream, it started out as being the best dream of my life, I woke up in my bed, as usual. But this time I was in a strange house, "where am I?" I thought. "...and where's the time machine?" I didn't get out of bed, though. Instead, I scanned the room with my eyes. Until I found it! Sitting next to my bed, right where I had left it.
Suddenly, my bedroom door swung open and I could hear a voice say, "Who-ho, little girl, it's time to get up." That voice, it sound so familiar, I could tell that I heard it somewhere before, but where. Nevertheless, I decided to get up, I went into the kitchen, as soon as I went in I was hit with a smell that was so strong, the scent was so strong, that I could tell something was cooking.
At the table I could see three faces, they were all boys I could tell. They all look of different ages. I'd say about 14, 16, and 20. One of them—the 14-year-old, looked at me then said "Hey, look who's up..." he paused, then asked. "Hey, you want some food?"
"Yeah," I said, paused, then continued. "Um...where am I exactly?"
"Why you're in our house"
"Our house?" I looked at him confused. "What do you mean (quote on quote) our house?"
"You know, our house" I could tell he was getting frustrated with me. I still look at him, puzzled. "Huh, the Curtis house"
"What?" I looked at him surprised. "You mean I'm in the famous Curtis house?"
He chuckled, then said. "Yes!"
"How did I get here?" I asked.
"That little time machine of yours" he paused, looking a bit unsure as to what it was called. "It must have activated during the night...and brought you here"
"Now, enough questions for a bit, you must be starving come and eat. Here I saved you a spot next to me" he patted the chair next to him; I looked at him dumbfounded, amazed at how fast he'd changed the subject. I had more questions, though. He was right, I was hungry. Nevertheless, I sit down next to him.
One of the boys plopped a stack of pancakes onto the plate in front of me. "Looks delish," I said, as I started to eat. I ate and ate. Until there were no more pancakes left. After I had eaten all I could, we all sat there for a minute, in silence. Until I broke it by saying "if I'm in the Curtis house..."
"Yes?" he urged.
"What I mean is" I stammered
"What are our names?" he finished my thought for me.
"Yes! That's it! That's what I was getting at" I blurted out.
He laughed, then said. "Well, my name's Ponyboy." He said, pointing to himself. "...and these are my brothers Sodapop and Darrel"
Sodapop leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, "If you want you can just call me Soda"
"... and most people call me Darry" Darrel quickly added.
"Hi, Ponyboy! Sodapop, Darry...my name's Sydney" I said with great pride. Then I paused and stared at Ponyboy.
"Sydney, is there something wrong?"
"It's just that..." I paused, before continuing. "Your two brothers both have nicknames..."
"Nicknames?"
"Yes nicknames, nicknames are just a short or catchier version of your actual name..." I pause, then said. "In some cases, it's also easier to pronounce."
"You mean like Sodapop's nickname is soda, and Darrel's nickname is Darry?" he asked/said, to me.
"Yes!" I said, "Exactly like that!" I was almost screaming with joy, I was just so excited that he got it. "So, now that we have got that settled. What's your nickname?"
"Oh, my nickname." "Well, my name is Ponyboy. So, I hear that my best friend Johnny Cade calls me Pony a lot..." he paused, then said. "Sometimes even my brothers Darry, Sodapop, and the whole gang call me that..." he paused, leaned over to me, then whispered. "Even Cherry Valence calls me that."
"Does she have a nickname?"
"From what I recall her name is Sherri, but her friends call her Cherry because of her red hair." "...and Johnny Cade has a nickname"
"Ooo, what is it!"
"Johnny-cake, (or Johnny Cake)!" "Hey, Sydney! If you're done with your breakfast...do you want to get a tour of Tulsa, and even meet the gang?"
"Oh, yes!"
"Well, then let's go outside and I'll introduce you"
"Okay," I said. As Darry, Soda, Pony, and I did the dishes, then rushed outside to meet the gang.
