Chapter 2

As soon as the bus rolled to a stop and Ava stepped out, the first thing she thought was that this was a big mistake. The only thing she saw stretching out before her was…nothing. The land beyond the bus terminal was completely barren. The only people she was with were the ones who had been on the bus with her – and even they weren't that numerous.

The bus drove away, leaving a stream of dust in its path. Ava stood at the side of the road – bag in hand. She looked down the long road one way, then the other. She took a deep breath and started walking. The one thing that she failed to plan out was where exactly she was planning to go once she got here.

After about ten minutes of walking, she finally saw signs of life. There was a short street that housed a movie theatre, a small café and a gas station.

"So, you can't find any houses around here, but they have a movie theatre." She said to herself, and continued walking.

She pulled out her pack of cigarettes and put the last one into her mouth. She grabbed her lighter and lit it. No sooner had she taken her first puff, when the skies opened up and it began to pour. The lit cigarette went out instantly.

"Damn." She said, throwing it on the ground.

She ran to find the nearest shelter, which happened to be the movie theatre, and stood underneath the protruded roof. She noticed that there was a movie just getting out, and as the string of people exited the building into the pouring rain, they started running in all different directions for their cars, or just for dear life, covering their heads with jackets, newspapers and whatever else they could find. Soon she found herself alone again with the exception of one boy who couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen. He wore a torn up sweater and old blue jeans. His hair was a dark blonde, and it looked like it was full of grease. She wouldn't have paid much attention to him had she not seen him pull a cigarette from his pocket and light it.

"Oh, thank God." She said to herself.

She waited until he had finished lighting his cigarette before talking to him.

"You mind if I bum a smoke from you?" She asked.

The boy turned to look at her as if just noticing she was there.

"Sure," He said, handing her a fresh one from the same pocket. "You need a light too?"



"Yeah, thanks." She said, lighting the cigarette and taking a long awaited drag on it.

"You waiting for someone?" The boy asked.

Ava laughed. "Yeah. My fairy godmother. Seen her around recently?"

The boy smiled. "No, sorry. She's probably somewhere with the tooth fairy and Santa Claus – two people I haven't seen for a long time. Seriously though – who you really waiting for?"

"Nobody," Ava responded. "Quite honestly, I don't even know what I'm doing here. I don't know anybody, and I don't have any idea where I'm going."

"Well, you know me now." The boy said, crushing the remains of his cigarette into the concrete.

"Not really. I don't even know your name." Ava said, disintegrating her own cigarette.

"Ponyboy Curtis." He said.

Ava wrinkled her nose into a smile.

"You don't have to lie about it." She said, really not knowing if he was being serious or not.

"I ain't lying," he responded. "My parents were original.

"Yeah, your parents were something." Ava said. "I'm gonna have a talk with them, I think."

Ponyboy went quiet, and looked towards the ground. "My parents both died about a year and a half ago."

Ava felt her mouth go dry. She knew how it felt to have questions asked about your parents if they weren't around."

"Oh God, I'm so sorry." She said.

"Don't worry about it. Ponyboy said.

" I know how you must feel. My mother died last year too." She said.

"Really? What happened?" Ponyboy asked.

"Drug overdose." Ava said, quietly.

"Car accident." Pony said.

"That's awful. I'm so sorry." Ava said, very sincerely.

"Thanks."

"You got any other family here?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

Ponyboy nodded. "I got two older brothers. Darry and Sodapop."

Ava grinned. "Your parents were oringial."

Ponyboy nodded and smiled. "What about you?" He asked.

Ava felt the smile leave her face. Talking about her sisters was still extremely hard for her.

"Two sisters. Denise and Michelle. I'm the oldest." She said.

"Where are they at?" Pony asked, more quietly, sensing that this was a touchy subject.

"Boston." Ava replied. She didn't want to say anything more about it, because she knew it would either make her really mad or it would bring her to tears – and she didn't want Pony to see her either way.

Ponyboy decided not to stretch the matter any more than that, and instead changed the subject.

"Hey, the rain stopped." He said, stepping out from the shelter. "Guess I can go home now."

Ava smiled at him. "Well, it was nice meeting you," she said "Maybe I'll see you around.

"Sure." Pony replied. He started to walk away, then turned to look back. Hey, you got anywhere to go?" He asked.

Ava shook her head. "I guess I don't."

"You wanna maybe come to my place for the night? Just till you find somewhere else?"



Ava thought about this. On the one hand, she hardly knew him, but on the other hand, what the hell did she have to lose? Besides, anyone who had a brother that was named after a soft drink couldn't be all that bad.