Chapter 1… The tragedy
The first day of school was always nerve-wracking. But when it was your first day as a freshman in high school it was even worse. I wasn't sure if the other kids would accept me. Even though my twin brother Pony was was in the same boat as me, and Soda, Steve, Two-bit and Johnny would be there, I was still scared out of my mind. I wasn't exactly the most popular kid in middle school. I had a few girls from my neighborhood who would always ask me to eat lunch with them and i would accept a few times but i proffered to sit with my brother. I didn't fit in with them. They dressed and acted real trashy and wore lots of makeup even though they were only in the sixth grade. My family would kill me if i acted like them. On the other hand, the Soc girls wouldn't give me the time of day. But it wasn't like i had anything in common with them anyway. i knew it would be the same in high school.
"Daisy, it's time to wake up sweetie." My dad said as he knocked on my door and slowly creaked it open. Seconds later his head poked in with his big, goofy smile spread across his face. I could't help but giggle. " Good morning High school girl." He came in and sat on my bed.
"Morning Daddy" I yawned.
" You excited for your first day of high school?" He asked
" No" I sighed and looked down at my sheets.
" Awe and why not?" He said, lifting my chin to look at him.
" Because I wont fit in."
" Oh yes you will." he tried to reassure me.
" No I won't daddy!" i exclaimed." I'm not trashy like the girls around here and I don't have a lot of money like the Soc girls. I'm just Daisy. Plain, boring Daisy."
" Well I think just Daisy is pretty terrific." He beamed at me.
" I wish everyone else would." I mumbled.
" Daisy you are a beautiful, intelligent girl . Anyone would be lucky to call you friend." he said. " Just be yourself. They'll love you. And Ponyboy will be there with you." he hugged me. For some reason. My daddy's hugs could wash away any fear.
" I love you daddy" I said.
" I love you too baby girl." he said and released me. " Now lets go get some breakfast before your brothers eat it all." We walked into the dining room to find all three brothers seated around the table, stuffing forkfuls of Pancakes into their mouths.
" Hey freshy." Soda teased me when i sat down and stuck my tongue out at him.
" Your father and I are going to the cemetery to visit grandma Betty this afternoon so we'll leave the door unlocked." mamma said.
" Can I come?" I asked. I was always really close to grandma Betty. She was my my fathers mother and it was rare that we would go and visit her grave.
" Sure honey. Make sure to be infront of the school T Dismissal and we'll come pick you up."
After breakfast, we all piled into Darry's truck and headed towards the school. Pony and I sat in awe as Darry pulled up to the school. It was at least twice the size of the middle school. There seemed to be an imaginary line that split the parking lot directly down the middle. Socs on one side and Greasers on the other. Darry pulled up to the curb and we all hopped out. After he pulled away, Soda, Pony and I went over to Two-bit and Steve who were standing with some guys by Two-bit's car.
"Lookie here boys!" Two-bit boomed when he saw us." I spot fresh meat." We all laughed. I recognized some of the other guys from Tim Shepherd's gang. His younger brother Curly was there along with Bryan Douglas and his brother M&M. We all sat by the car until the bell rang then Soda walked Pony and I in to get our schedules.
" If you guys need anything come find me. Meet me in the lot by Two-bit's car at lunch ok?" Soda instructed us as he walked us to our first class. Pony and I had an almost identical schedule. The only class we had different was science. Pony was taking Earth Science and I was taking Biology. We were able to find our way around the school pretty easily. Occasionally, we would run into Soda or two-bit in the halls. Soda just messed with our hair or smacked us on our backs. But Two-bit was another story. He would loudly scream out our names and make a huge scene. I had biology fourth period and was grateful to have lunch right after because without Pony I wasn't sure exactly where to go. When I walked into the classroom, the teacher had all the students stand at the back of the room.
" ok class My name is Mr. Richards Welcome to Biology. I am going to put you all in pairs. The person you are paired with will be your lab partner for the rest of the year." He the proceeded to call out names.
" Daisy Curtis and Jesse Russo." He called out and pointed to the third table in the middle row. I watched as a tall greaser boy pushed himself up off the wall he was leaning against and walk to the table. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black leather jacket with a whit t-shirt underneath. His brown hair was slicked back with grease and his Baby blue eyes popped on his fairly handsome face. I had to admit he was really handsome. I sat beside him at our table and he immediately turned to me with a grin on his face.
" Hi I'm Jesse." he stuck out his hand. He had a real strong accent. He definitely wasn't from arround here.
"I'm Daisy." I smiled and shook his hand.
" It's nice to meet you Daisy." He had a really charming smile.
" It's nice to meet you too." i said. "So where are you from?"
" Me and my ma moved here from New York about a month ago." he sounded just like Dallas.
" How do you like it here?" I asked
" Eh, I dig it. It's definitely a lot more relaxed around here."
" Yea it is." I agreed " Well most of the time."
" You know, you look familiar." he said, studying my face." I would never forget a pretty face like yours." I blushed.
" Well I have a twin brother." I said but that made no sense since i didn't even look like Pony. I looked a lot more like Soda.
" No, I've seen you before." he said " Oh, your the girl that came over to my buddies and I in the parking lot this morning. You came over with that Soda Curtis kid." I remembered him. He was boy I didn't know with Curly.
" Yea I remember you." I said shyly
" So is that Curtis kid your Boyfriend?" I laughed
" NO, He's my brother."
" Oh sorry ." He looked embarrassed and relieved at the same time.
" Ok class let's begin." Mr Richards said. Jesse and I talked a little more, mostly about how boring the class was. I was sad when the bell rang. I enjoyed talking to Jesse.
" What do you have next?" He asked as we packed our stuff.
" Lunch, You?"
"Same. You want to come eat with me?" he asked
" I cant. I told my brother i'd go with him and our friends."
" Well maybe another time." He winked at me and swaggered away. I swear I felt faint. He was just so cute.
I found Pony Soda, Two-bit, Steve and Pony by the car.
" FINALLY! By the time we get to the Dingo lunch will be over." Steve rolled his eyes. For some reason he always found every little opportunity to find something wrong with Pony and I.
"So how's High school do far?" Soda asked as he threw his arms arms around Pony and i in the back seat. Pony just said it was ok then he looked at me.
" It's great!" I smiled, thinking about my handsome lab partner.
" Really? " Soda looked at me with a huge smile. " Have you made any friends.?"
" Yea, My lab partner is pretty nice."
" Oh, whats her name?" he asked.
" His name is Jesse." I said with a smile.
"OOOOOOOOO" Two-bit teased me" Jesssseeee! Is he cute?"
" Yes Two-bit he is. A lot cuter then you."
" Are you talking about Jesse Russo?" Pony asked.
" Yea. You know him?"
" His locker is next to mine. He seems pretty tough." I couldn't believe that Pony and I were talking about the same guy.
" Pony, just because someone wears a leather jacket doesn't make them tough. You have one." The whole car erupted in laughter. Except for Pony, who scowled at me.
" Well as long as he's nice to you he's cool with me."Two-bit said from the drivers seat.
" Yea, and if he ain't you let us know." Soda said.
The Dingo was packed with kids from school. The boys all got out and headed into the diner. We managed to get a booth by the window and sat down. We ordered burgers and fries. The boys entertained themselves by throwing spitballs back and forth at each other. I just sat there laughing at them. I spotted a familiar face in the crowd of people near the counter and smiled at him. Jesse made his way over to my table.
" Hey Daisy." he greeted me.
" Hi" I said shyly.
" Well aren't you going to introduce us to your little friend Daisy?" Two-bit just had to tease me. As if I wasn't embarrassed enough.
"Uh these are my brothers Pony and Soda." I said , pointing to them. " And these are my buddies Steve and unfortunately Two-bit."
" Well I love you too miss Daisy." Two-bit pretended to be hurt. I just kicked him under the table.
" I'm Jesse. It's real nice to meet yawl."
" Why don't you pull up a chair." Soda said.
" Thanks, but me and my buddies were about to leave. i'll see you around Katie." He said and went to meet Curly Shepherd at the door and they left.
" He likes you." Soda nudged me.
" How do you know?"
" He wouldn't have come over here if he didn't." I smiled. I hoped Soda was right. After we ate, we headed back to the school. I had a few more classes with Jesse and I couldn't help but look back at him a few times during class. Each time he would smile back at me. At eight period he asked me if I wanted to hangout sometime and I accepted.
After school I went straight to the front of the building to wait for my parents. they were already out there in my dad's old t-bird.
" Hey baby girl. How was your first day?" My daddy asked.
" It was great."I beamed.
" I told you it'd be fine." He said.
" Did you make any friends?" Momma asked me.
" Well my lab partner in biology and I talked a whole lot. He's really nice."
" Oh thats great sweetie." she said.
" Yea he asked me to hang out. Soda says he likes me."
" Well I'll have to meet the boy before you go anywhere with him. But I'm glad you made a friend." I knew he would say that. He had a problem with letting me go.
" Darryl I'm sure he's a nice boy. Why don't you bring him over for dinner one day." My mamma said.
We were about half way to the cemetery when we came to the railroad tracks. The track was clear so my father proceeded through. Suddenly, the car stopped and my father cursed and banged on the wheel.
" Damn car! Always a problem with it." he exclaimed.
" Now Darryl there's no need to get upset. Daisy, honey would you go to that pay phone and call a tow truck." She said, handing me a dime. I got out of the car and walked about half a block to the nearest pay phone. That's when I heard it. The unmistakable sound of a train bearing down the tracks. I looked over in the direction of my parents car just in time to see the train crush it like a tin can. I looked around frantically. Praying that somehow my parents had escaped the car before the crash. But they were nowhere in sight. I ran towards the car. It was dragged at least 30 feet down the tracks.
"MAMMA! DADDY!" I screamed. By now people began to come out of the few shops that lined the road. A man caught me before I could reach the car and held me back. " My parents are in there!" I screamed. The tears soaked my face and I went limp. I could hear the sirens but my eyes never left the car. It was completely unrecognizable. Though I didn't want to believe it, in my heart I knew that noone could have survived that crash. Before I knew it there were two cops leading me over to an ambulance and sat me on a stretcher.
" Are you hurt sweet heart?" The EMT worker asked me.
" N… no. I wasn't in the car. But my parents. Please help my parents." I sobbed.
" We have a team helping them honey."
"Do you have any other family members we can call."The police officer asked me.
" My brother are home." I cried and gave him the number. After looking me over.
The EMT's left me sitting on the stretcher, assuring me that I was ok. But I wasn't ok. I would never be ok again. My parents were gone. My whole world was crumbling around me. What started out as a wonderful day, took a sudden turn for the worst. For a moment, I wished I had never gotten out of the car. Then I wouldn't have to feel the searing pain brought on by the loss of my parents.
"DAISY!" I head someone scream out and seconds later I saw my brothers push through the crowd that had formed behind the barrier that was set up by the police. Darry frantically spoke to one of the officers who attempted to block them from entering and he let them by. I was surrounded by brothers. Darry pulled me against his chest and held me tight. Soda gently stroked my hair and Pony grabbed hold of my hand.
" Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Darry asked, pulling away to look me over.
" Their gone." I sobbed. Pony started to bawl and I saw Soda tear up. But Darry just stood there. I'm not sure if he was in shock or he felt he need to be strong for us.
" How did you get out of the car?" Soda asked. It was obvious that the police hadn't told them what happened.
" The car stalled while we were going over the tracks. Mamma sent me to call a tow truck. I just made it ti the phone when…" I cried harder." When the train hit."
" Thank God your ok." Soda cried as he pulled me close to his chest while kissing my head. A police officer took Darry aside to speak with him. Thats when I saw it. Firefighters had managed to cut my parents out of the crumpled car. My heart shattered as they pulled my parents limp bodies out and placed them in black bags on stretchers. I had to look away and I buried my face into Soda's chest. When Darry came back he told us it was time to go and we all piled into his truck.
" Whats going to happen to us?" Pony asked.
" The cop said I could file for custody so we can stay together. And we'll try to go on as best we can." Darry said. i'm not sure what we would have done without him. He had always been there to support us our whole lives.
I didn't speak the entire ride home. My mind was still Processing the events that had just occurred. It felt as if I was ripped out of my life and thrown into this alternate universe where I stood by and watched from the sidelines. It felt like I was at one of Darry's football games. I could feel myself falling apart. The only thing I could see was the train smashing into the car. The car where my mamma and daddy sat in. I wished I had never left the car. This pain was just to intense. The scene played over and over in my mind. Driving me mad with grief. All I wanted at that moment was my parents. But that was the one thing I would never have again.
" Daisy." Soda said, gently shaking me. " We're home." I hadn't even realized we were parked in front of our house. We all got out of the car.
I was dreading going into the house. I was scared of all the reminders of my parents I would find in there. When I walked through the door I looked over at my dads chair. His morning per still laid on the table in front of the chair along with his coffee cup. Beside his was my mammas chair. It was a bit smaller then his but just as nice. Her knitting bag laid on the floor with her latest project on top, incomplete. I remembered her sitting beside me for hours, teaching me how to knit. She said it was a skill every woman should have. She was so proud of me when I learned. And I had gotten almost as good as her since then. I looked back at my fathers chair and recalled memories from when I was a little girl. He would lift me up onto his lap ad read me a chapter of a book. Most of the time it was " To Kill A Mockingbird". That was his favorite book. After he read it to me I would fall sale on him and he would carry me to bed. The memories were too much. I ran into my room and locked the door. I didn't even make it to my bed before collapsing to the floor in a heap of sobs. I was screaming, trying to eject the pain from my body. But it would not leave. It was here to stay and I knew it. I could hear my brothers trying to open my door and calling my name but I didn't answer nor opening it. I wanted to fade away by myself. I fell asleep on the cold floor that night. Gladly welcoming the escape from reality sleep provided me.