Chapter Four: Meeting
Cam POV
"We're almost there, Cameron!"
Mrs. Ford was way too excited about this.
"I'll get all of your big stuff put in the right place and meet you at the house."
I looked at her.
"You mean I'm not riding with you?"
"Of course not! Your riding with Darrel!"
I looked back out the window. I didn't know what to think. I was glad I wasn't staying in that awful girl's home anymore, but I was gonna be staying with strangers.
When we pulled up into the station, my heart started beating really fast. We grabbed the one suitcase I'd brought on the train, and climbed off. Walking through the station was surreal. I was about to meet the new family I'd be living with. We finally got to this big room where there were a lot of people. I was was kind of hoping we wouldn't be able to find them so I could ride with Mrs. Ford.
"There they are!"
Well, so much for hope...
Darry POV
"Stop fidgeting."
"Sorry."
After being there for about 20 minutes, I saw Mrs. Ford through the crowd.
"There they are."
She walked up with a big smile on her face.
"Hi, Darrel. So nice to see you again."
"Hi, Mrs. Ford."
"And you must be Sodapop."
He nodded and gave her a half smile.
"Well, I'd like you guys to meet Cameron."
She stepped to the side to reveal Cameron. I just about fell over. She looked a lot like Sodapop. She smiled at me and held out her hand. I took it.
"Hey. I'm Darry, and this is Sodapop."
She turned to Soda and he shook her hand.
"Well, like I told you over the phone, I'll meet you guys at the house with the rest of her stuff. Cameron, be good."
She walked away. Sodapop grabbed her suitcase that she'd sat down.
"You ready to go?"
"Um... Sure. Thanks."
Soda POV
I didn't know what to say. I definitely couldn't deny that we looked alike, because we did. We walked to the truck and I gestured for her to get in first. She did, and I threw her suitcase in the back. We all climbed in, and no one said anything for a few minutes.
"I like your shoes."
She smiled.
"Thanks. I love converse."
"Not many girls wear them."
She shrugged.
"I guess I really wouldn't know."
I looked at her.
"You don't have any girlfriends back home?"
"No. I actually don't have any friends at all. I lived on a farm, and I was homeschooled."
"Really?"
"Yeah. My horses are being taken to a stable on the outskirts of Tulsa. What was the name of that place?"
"Cruise Stables?"
"Yeah, that's it."
"I didn't know you had horses."
That came from Darry.
"Well, I had more, but I only kept two. The rest are being sold with the farm."
She looked sad about that.
"I kept my favorite horse, and my dad's horse."
"What's their names?"
"Mine's name is Crystal. My dad's horse name is Sport. Don't ask why, I never knew."
"I love horses."
"Sodapop..."
"It's okay, Darry. Well, you wanna help me take care of them?"
"Sure. Sounds fun."
"Well, I guess I should tell you guys that I haven't ever really been called Cameron unless I was in trouble. My mom and dad called me Cam, sometimes Cammy."
"Well, people call me both Soda and Sodapop. Same with Ponyboy."
"I hate to ask, but are those your real names?"
"Yeah, they're our real names..."
"I wish I had a unique name."
She was really nice. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Maybe...
Pony POV
"She was so good looking, Pony."
"Yeah..."
I had heard Two-bit talk about some dumb blonde since he'd walked in the door. He wouldn't shut up about her.
"Hey, looks like they're home."
I jumped up and walked out on the porch to see her. My eyes about popped out of my head when I saw her, and Two-bit whistled.
"Now, that's a good looking girl."
I gave him a glare, he put his hands up in surrender. I saw Soda smiling and took that as a good sign. I walked down the steps.
"Hi, I'm Ponyboy."
She smiled.
"I'm Cam."
The truck with her stuff got there not too long after, and we took the next couple of hours to get everything to her room and put up. By that night, her room was all put together. We were all sitting in the living room, and I couldn't stop looking at her. She was the girl version of Soda. She looked just like a movie star.
"Hey guys, how about we go to the Dingo to eat tonight?"
Soda piped up.
"Sounds good to me!"
Me and Cam rode in the back of the truck.
"So, Sodapop dropped out?"
"Yeah..."
I looked away.
"Hey, I didn't mean that bad. My dad never finished High School."
"Really?"
"Yeah, and he turned out just fine. He did it for you, didn't he?"
"Yeah... We struggled before our parents died, so we needed the money."
I wanted to change the subject. It still bugged me that he'd done that.
"How do you like Tulsa so far?"
"Well, I haven't seen much of it yet. Can I tell you something?"
"Sure."
"I've never been to the movies, you think we could go soon?"
"You've never been to the movies?"
"No. We had a TV, but I've never been to the movies. I've always wanted to go."
"Sure, we'll go real soon."
Cam POV
I was glad we were all getting along. All three of them were really sweet boys, and I could definitely work with that. We picked a booth, and Darry and Pony sat on one side, and me and Soda on the other. We ordered our food and were getting to know each other, when a boy walked up to us.
"Curtis."
Darry spoke up.
"Hey, Tim."
"And, who's this?"
Everyone went silent. No one knew what to say. Soda cleared his throat.
"Um, this is my sister, Cam."
"I didn't know y'all had a sister. When'd that happen?"
"I was adopted, Tim."
"Oh. Well, I'll see y'all later."
We all sat there silent for a minute. Soda looked at me.
"If anyone asks, just say that."
I nodded. I guess none of us had thought about the fact that it would come up. Later that night, Two-bit and another boy came over.
"I'm Steve, Soda's best friend."
"And his dumbest friend..."
He whacked Pony on the side of the head and they started wrestling. Darry came in from the kitchen.
"Alright you two, knock it off!"
They both grunted, untangled, and got up. Pony say next to me.
"So, what do you want to do on your first Saturday in Tulsa?"
"Well, I kind of wanted to go see my horses."
Soda looked up.
"I have to work until 2:00. We can go, then. Okay, Darry?"
"Sure. I don't have to work."
"Well, you wanna go to the movies in the morning then?"
"Sure!"
Pony smiled and looked at Two-bit.
"You wanna come?"
"Sure, why not?"
I looked around at all of the boys. It'd always just been me and my parents. I liked having a lot of people around me. It was nice.