A/N: Only one review, but I can work with that! I know many people who are silent readers, but as long as you keep reading, I'll know that you haven't lost interest! Here's chapter 3!
Disclaimer:Sorry, I don't own The Outsiders or the characters, but I do own the ones that you've never heard of, because I made them up!
Summary:Ponyboy asks a girl to help him train for track try-outs. But as their friendship forms he'll have to witness a lot of things that he never even imagined was real. The Drama ensues.
Ages: Ponyboy, 14 Jimmie Lee, 15
Runnin' Barefoot
Chapter: 3
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Tomorrow was gonna be a real long day.
Boy was I wrong. The more I thought about asking her to help me for track, the faster my classes seemed to be whipping by. That always happened. Whenever I was nervous about something, and wanted to wait to do it, time always flew by to my disadvantage. I figured it was just my luck. My lousy, no-good luck.
I looked up when the last bell rang and groaned. It had happened again. I let my head fall into my hands while everyone got up and rushed out of class for the weekend.
"Ponyboy?" I looked up when I heard Mrs. Pearson, my World Geography teacher called me. Then I had remembered; the bell had rang. I sighed to myself and grabbed my stuff, slicking my hair back with my hands and heading towards the door, until she stopped me.
"Are you alright, Ponyboy?" I turned around, looking confused.
"...Yeah." I answered. She walked up close to me and felt my forehead.
"Are you sure? You've been acting strange the entire class period. You're not sick are you?" I leaned away from her.
"Yeah, I'm fine, teach. See ya Monday." I said heading out of the door.
"Have a good weekend." She said after me. I yawned and walked out of the class, still confused, but I shrugged it off and went to find Two-Bit. I had bigger things to worry about.
I met up in the hallway with a smug looking Two-Bit.
"What are you so happy about?" I grumbled.
"Just gettin' a head start'a laughin' at ya when you embarrass yerself, kid." He cracked a grin, and I couldn't help but smirk.
"Well, since you brought it up, have you seen her anywhere?" He turned me around and pointed to the end of the hallway.
"Right down there." He said. I sighed. No, I didn't want to ask some strange black girl to help me train for track and field. But if it would help me be a stronger runner, then I had no choice. I mean, who else was gonna help me?
"I'll be outside. Brace yerself, kid." Two-Bit laughed before leaving. I grimaced at him before turning back to my goal, who was now at her poor looking, rusty locker, which was apparently stuck. Quickly I tried to numb my mind, and made my way over to her before any of her friends showed up. Especially before Ray showed up. Just the thought of him makes me want to shiver almost. I didn't of course, but you know what I mean.
Apparently she was so caught up with trying to get her locker open that she didn't see me, because when I was right next to her, her eyes were still stuck to her locker. I looked at it for a second. The paint was peeling off of it, as were most of the lockers in that hall, and the top hinges were broken. It confused me for a second, then I realized. But I didn't make a big deal of it. I just cleared my throat and spoke.
"Need some help?" I asked, she jumped out of her shoes and her books and papers went flying. I would have laughed, but she was looking at me like she had just seen a ghost. But once she realized that she hadn't, that same look of hatred and disgust was glued back onto her face as if it had never left.
I kneeled to help her pick up her things, but when I reached out to pick some of her homework papers up, she slapped my hands away, glaring at me and snatching them up herself. Right then, I wasn't really sure what to do with myself, so I stood as she continued to pick up her things.
"I'm...sorry" I managed to choke out. "I didn't mean to spook you, I just needed to...to uh ask you something." She gathered the last of her things; now they were all out of order, disheveled and messy looking.
"Ain't you embarrassed enough? I beat yo' ass before now you wanna race again?" She said in disbelief. I looked at her, and shook my head.
"No, I think I've got better sense than that." I said, trying to smile. When I saw that look still fixed on her face, I ran a hand through my hair and continued.
"I wanted to ask...for your help." I said. "You know, like, to train me, you dig?" Her expression changed from disgust, to like I had just sprouted another head.
"You must be crazy." She said, dismissing me and going back to struggling with her locker.
"Come on, you can't even try and consider it?"
"Fo'what?" She asked. "I help you then what. So you can get half as good as me and get to college? What I'm supposed to get outta helpin' you?" She asked. I was struck dumb. She sneered at me.
"Yeah, you ain't think I knew what you was tryin' to do, did you white boy? Well I got some news f'you, cracka. I ain't stupid, so find some othah girl to try an' take advantage of, 'cause I'm the wrong one." She said, once again turning to her locker, which seemed to be getting more and more difficult for her to get open.
"I never said you were stupid."
"You ain't had to." She said, not even looking at me. This girl was just shoving knives in me.
"Is that a 'no'?" She looked at me, and I knew she was getting steamed.
"I don't talk to white folks. What makes you think I'ma try an' help one beat me?"
"Hey, this ain't exactly a picnic for me either. You think I wanted to come over here and ask some--
"Some no-good nigga to help you out." She finished for me.
"I was gonna say girl. If you would listen to me and quit shovin' words into my mouth, you would know that."
"Don't get a attitude with me, white boy."
"Who's the one gettin' an attitude? I came over here to ask you something, and you've been ignoring me and twisting my words the entire time!"
She looked at me and sighed, aggravatedly and slammed her things down on the floor. Then she looked at me, with her arms crossed, silently telling me 'I'm waiting.'
"Now, listen, 'cause this ain't exactly the easiest thing." I said. Her expression stayed the same and I continued. "Ok. No, I wasn't comfortable coming over here and asking you to help me out. And the fact that you are black doesn't really help matters. I'm uncomfortable around black people. Actually, black people terrify me. So it didn't really help that you had your buddy Ray rough me up back there yesterday. But I'm trying to look past that cause white or black, Jemima, you're still an...incredible runner. You're unthinkable. You could smoke anyone in this state, I know that. And I know me being white doesn't help much either. 'Cause I already know for a fact that you can't stand me."
"Y'think so?"
"BUT." I continued. "You can't just this once just pretend that that doesn't matter and help me out anyway?" I scratched my neck. Yeah, it was pretty cheesy, and it wasn't the best speech in the world, but it was better than nothing, I guess.
"No." She said simply. After all that. After I had just spilled my guts all over the floor, it was that simple for her to just brush me off. I sighed. This was going nowhere slowly.
"Why not." I asked flatly.
"Maybe you ain't heard me the first time, white boy!" She snapped at me. "I ain't stupid! No mattah how much you want me t'be! You sayin' a damn speech ain't gon' change my mind. You don' want my help for my help. You wan' it 'cause cain't one'a you white folks stand when a nigga is better than you at yo' own game. You jus' gon' have ta deal wit' it. 'Cause ain't none'a dem pretty words gon' make me help you hold me back."
"You think I'm racist, dont' you." I said. It wasn't a question.
"I know you are."
"Really?" I cut in. " 'Cause the only racist remarks that have been said here were from you." She tugged on her locker one last time before it flew open, and she got her bag from inside of it and shoved her things into it, before slamming it shut.
"At least I can admit I don't like white people." She said before walking away. Without thinking, (And I mean REALLY. Without thinking) I grabbed her arm and pushed her up against the locker.
"Are you out of your mind? Have you even looked at me?"
"Are you crazy?" She yelled. I didn't listen.
"Do I look like I even have the right to be prejudice?"
"Get yo' hands off me!"
"JIMMIE LEE!" A voice boomed from down the hall. We both looked over to see one of her friends that were on the track the day before. Thankfully, it wasn't Ray. But that didn't mean that I was less intimidated. I shoved my hands into my pockets as he came over, sizing me up as she stared at me like I was insane.
"You botherin' her, white boy?" His voice was already hostile, and it was almost painfully obvious.
"He stood right in front of me, and it was now me who was up against the lockers. He turned to Jemima again.
"He botherin' you, Jimmie?" He asked. She didn't even have time to answer, and I didn't even have time to blink before he belted me a good one on the jaw. The salty taste of my own blood was thick in my mouth. I could feel my bottom tooth loosen almost instantly and he didn't even wait for me to react before he belted me again in the eye.
"Johnny QUIT!" Jemima called from behind us, but I think it's safe to say that neither of us were listening. But while he was a little distracted from her calling him I snuck a good one to his stomach. He doubled over and I hit him again on the nose. But he got up, a thick stream of blood was dripping like crazy down his mouth to his chin and falling on the floor. Next thing I knew he kneed me in the stomach and I yelled in spite of myself. It knocked the wind out of me pretty good; I had to gasp to breathe. So you could imagine how I felt when I felt his hands go around my neck, and when I felt myself lift off of the ground. I tried my best to pry his hands from around me, but it wasn't any use. I was starting to feel light-headed and I was getting weaker. I could see the black creeping into the corners of my vision and I knew I was gonna pass out pretty soon, but just like that, he let me go, and I drooped to the ground.
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By the time I did get all of my senses back, my eye was purple and blood was filling my mouth. For a second I forgot that I was still in the school building because I spit it out everywhere. But once I did remember, I didn't care anymore.
Jemima looked at me and knelt down in front of me.
"You alright?" I looked at her and I could almost laugh, but I was in too much pain. My head was killing me, my jaw hurt, the whole left side of my face was throbbing, and the pain in my stomach I couldn't even begin to describe to you.
"What the hell do you think?" I said, pushing her out of the way and getting up. I had to hunch over a little and cover my stomach.
"Hey, boy!" She snapped. "I didn't ask him to beat you up!"
"Shut up!" I hollered at her. I felt sick right after I did it. I don't like being harsh to girls. I can't stand it. But I had taken one too many beatings over her and I was in a whirl of pain. "This is exactly what you wanted. Since I'm racist, and every OTHER white person on the planet is racist! You're right. Everyone's out to get you. Poor little you." She stood there with her nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed at me. "Fine. Don't help me. See if I care." I said. I walked...or...limped over to her locker and slammed my fist against it, causing it to bounce open easily. And began to walk...limp...away.
I wasn't even halfway down the hallway before I tripped and fell flat on my face. Actually, within the next few seconds I realized that it was actually Jemima who tripped me. I groaned and turned over to be met with her finger in my face.
"Fine." She said between her teeth. "I'll help you, white boy. Two conditions." I gestured for her to continue. "One: Don't you ever put yo' hands on my again. Two: Once track starts, I don't even wanna see you in the same hall as me again, you hear?" I tried my best to nod and she stood back up, brushing her skirt off.
"You meet me outside'a school Saturday mornin'. If you're late, the whole deal is off, you hear me?" Again, I made a sad attempt to nod and she stepped over me and left. It took a while to get up without hurting my stomach, but finally I did, and made a slow limp to the front of the school.
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It didn't really surprise me when Two-Bit began to laugh hysterically when he saw me. In fact, I almost expected it.
"Well, hot damn Pony, she whipped you one good!" He cried. He got up from the ground and we started to walk home.
"Shut yer trap, Two-Bit, she didn't do this to me."
"Oh well. What're you gonna tell Darry?" He asked after he finally stopped laughing at me.
"I don't care. I just wanna get to a bed." I said. By then I had started walking up right. My gut was still killing me but I wasn't going to let other people see it.
"So, what'd she say?" I shrugged.
"She told me to meet her in the front of the school on Saturday."
"Well. Good for you kid." He said. "What're yall eatin' tonight, I'm starvin'."
I had tuned him out by then. It didn't really matter that I had just received the beating of a lifetime. It just meant I was one step closer to being a better track runner.
Thank you again for reading! If there are grammatical errors or spelling errors, I apologize, I was kind of in a hurry, but I will fix them as soon as I have the free time. Thanks again, and please don't forget to review!