I explored the perimeter of the field, which was boxed in by steep-sloped hills and a massive wall of dark brown, wrinkled trunks. I observed the small, colorful butterflies flittering their wings and flying from flower patch to flower patch. Bumblebees buzzed and I could even hear the faint song of a cricket. As I gazed up at the bright sky I could sometimes see a bird pass by, spreading its majestic wings in the air to catch some speed. I could see a couple squirrels chasing each other playfully up, around and over the different sized tree limbs. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly and peacefully; I loved nature. It always made my body calm and my mind clear and recharged. Sometimes, you need to get away from all the stress and worry and just spend a day exploring the outside world; it really was breathtaking.
All of a sudden I thought I heard a twig branch being crunched underneath feet, and knowing that it definitely wasn't my feet, my head snapped instantly to the sound. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere inside the forest. I took slow cautious steps towards the towering trees, holding my breath in for as long as I could. As I came closer I reached for the switchblade in my back pocket(Soda lent me his, since I was going to be out in a deserted area) and I held it out, gritting my teeth.
"WHO'S THERE!?" I barked. No answer, so I stepped closer to the forest. I repeated my question, this time louder and firmer, like Darry does when I'm up on the roof at night looking at the stars and I accidentally stepped to hard on the shackles, knowing that I forgot to tell him where I was. Still no answer, and after contemplating on whether or not I should go in, I just turned my back to the forest and pushed the switchblade down my front pocket. I started heading back to the trailer, whistling so that I wouldn't scream out of fear that someone was going to come out and kill me from behind.
Of course, Soda made the sandwiches, and had managed to make them all look normal, but seeing as how he didn't have any access to any of the food that we had at home, I could see why… and if he had made them look not normal, then we'd be wondering how in the world he did that… and I don't think we would've wanted to know. I quietly chewed my food wondering what Darry was doing right now, and if he missed me as much as I missed him… I felt bad, putting him through this again and I almost started crying again but I stopped because I knew that Darry wouldn't want me too. I caught Soda looking at me worriedly through the corner of my eye and so I hurriedly thought of something funny and burst into laughter.
"I don't know whether or not to be happy as you are… or worried… much less scared…" Soda said, laughing out loud then giving me a puzzled look.
"If I were you, I'd just let it slide the first time, then if he does it again then put him in a mental hospital… it's not like he wasn't crazy before." Two-Bit said sarcastically. I threw the rest of my sandwich at him angrily and got him on the nose. Two-Bit caught the sandwich before it fell to the ground and tried to throw it at me but it accidentally hit Soda right in the face, making him yelp. I burst into some more laughter and could feel my eyes water and face go red. I could feel someone pull me down and start tickling me and I started laughing even harder, my ribs and side aching.
'STOP!!!STOP IT!!!" I pleaded in between giggles as Soda just continued to laugh and kept my arms down, tickling me even more. I felt my lungs running out of air and I started wrestling Soda down, desperately gasping for air, and finally pinned him against the floor of the trailer after wriggling my wrists out from underneath his clenched hand.
"WHOA! When did you get so strong…?!" Soda asked in shock, as I looked at him; I was as surprised as he was. I knew that I could put up a good fight in a rumble, but if I was good then Soda and especially Darry would be better.
I was inhaling and exhaling hard. " I … needed… to… BREATH!" I said in between gulps of air. I let Soda up and gave a small laugh. I stopped and started rubbing my side. I felt light-headed and there was a small ringing in my ears… but I felt pretty good besides that; though Soda didn't think so at all because as soon as I lay down for a little while he spoke up.
"Pony? You okay…?" Soda asked in a small voice. I looked up at him and realized that he wasn't joking around. I sat up and nodded, giving him one of the biggest smiles that I've ever given out. Soda smiled too, got up and pulled me up with him.
Soda had thrown his arm around me, after showing Two-Bit where he was sleeping, and sighed. I grabbed his hand and held onto it tightly, remembering the fact that he was leaving early the following morning. He had pulled the blankets up over us with his available hand, and let out a deep, low sigh.
"Oh Pony, don't be sad…" Soda whispered; I guess he knew how I felt. I could feel his breath on the back of my head, and I felt the lump grow in my throat, and tried to keep my emotions under control as Soda went on. " I won't be gone for long… besides you might even enjoy not havin' me around for a change-" I started sobbing hard and held onto his hand tighter than ever. How could he say that!?! It was already bad enough that I didn't have Darry around to help me with things. "OH!! Shh… baby, please, shh… I didn't mean that…" Soda asked he got up and pulled me towards him. I couldn't stop crying, and I cried even harder, frustrated that I wasn't able to stop; it reminded me of Johnny, which only made me cry longer. Soda stroked my hair and tried to lull me asleep by speaking to me softly about all the good times we had as a family, both before and after mom and dad died.
After a while, I stopped, because I was too tired to keep going. I just lay weakly in Soda's lap, letting him continue to stroke my hair and rock me back and forth. I had soon lost control of time and when I woke up, the room was dimly lit by a darkened sun. my eyes flew open and I sat up in the bed. Where's Soda!?!, I thought quickly. I threw the blankets off of me and ran out to the kitchen and screeched to a stop. There was Soda packing a couple sandwiches with Two-Bit sitting criss-cross hunched over on the ground trying NOT to fall asleep. Soda looked up when I came in, and smiled.
"You didn't think I was going anywhere without saying goodbye, did you?" He said in a calm but tired voice. I felt the muscles in my body relax and I let out a sigh of relief, and started walking over. Soda threw his bag over his shoulder and gave me a big hug. "Try not to kill yourself out here, okay?" He said. Ever since Johnny and Dallas died, well it really goes back to when mom and dad died, I had been very… well, accident-prone, you might say. I was almost hit by a car about a month after I went to my parents funeral and I had strained my ankle a billion times both in track and during the gang's football games on Saturdays. Of course you remember I was jumped for the first time about seven months after that and I got jumped a few times after that. I almost got beaten up by letting some stupid remark pass through my loose lips, hadn't Darry been there to save me and I dropped a bottle on my foot a couple weeks ago in our living room. I'm not the person you want to be around when you're arranging glass items! But yeah… that really taught Soda and Darry to keep a close eye on me 24/7.
"Ya… I will…" I said in return. Soda ran his fingers through my hair and kissed the top of my head. I could hear snoring and turned to Two-Bit who was laying on the ground, sleeping. I laughed and Soda waved goodbye as he walked out the front door. I waved back and I felt my lips quiver, I then went over to Two-Bit and gave him a small kick in the side. He just slapped my foot away and turned his back to me, grumbling underneath his breath. I rolled my eyes and went over to the cabinets to make another sandwich for breakfast.