Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders.
Chapter Two
I guess it all started about a year and a half ago. I know it sounds cliche but that day seemed like any other day. It was so normal that if you had told me what was going to happen, I'd never have believed you. In a way, I'm glad it all happened. It gave me a chance to prove to myself what kind of person I really am. I found out who my friends are. I've found out a lot about the world. Sometimes I think I know too much now and I wish I could go back to that morning, when everything was fine. I thought I knew so much but I really didn't. I didn't know anything about how life was, how people really were, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start back at the beginning.
Like I said, it started out like a normal day. The sun peeked into my room through the holes in my moth-eaten curtains. They used to be pink but years of sun and dirt had turned them a dusty brown color. I sighed and turned on my side to look at my alarm clock. It was only 5:45. The sun seemed to get up a lot earlier than it used to. I had fifteen minutes to myself before I had to wake up Dad. Maybe I'd make him breakfast and head to the Curtis' a little early. One of them would be awake. Probably Darry. He hadn't been getting a lot of sleep lately. I thought about how it wasn't fair and I remembered how Darry was in high school. He had his whole life in front of him-he didn't have a care in the world. All he wanted to do was play football. He was good too. Soda said he got scholarships from all over to play in college. He had the chance to get out of Tulsa and really make something of himself. I know his parents pushed him to really think about going to college somewhere up north. He was so much like Sodapop back then. He wasn't reckless-Darry never did anything without thinking it through-but he was happy and you could see it when he smiled. He didn't have any responsibilities. The only thing he was expected to do was play football, just like most teenage boys. But all that was before the accident.
It was a turning point in all of our lives, but especially the Curtis'. It's like they were all part of a coming-of-age story and Darry had to make the leap from kid to adult in an instant-completely alone. I don't know how he did it. He didn't have anyone to go to. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis were the best parents any of us had ever met. We all went to them with our problems. They knew exactly what to say to fix anything and they left their door open to everyone. They were two of the most loving people I knew. When they died, Darry was left to fill their shoes. I know it really weighed him down. He didn't think he would ever measure up to who they were. It killed him when Soda dropped out of high school. He wanted Soda and Ponyboy to be able to make something of themselves. He asked me a million times to convince Soda to go back but we both knew that I couldn't do that. Darry needed his help, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Sometimes I really wished it didn't have to be that way.
Anyway, I sat up in my bed slowly and swung my feet over the edge. My feet hit the cool floor and I closed my eyes. Why did I have to think all of the time? I was so tired of thinking. Why couldn't I just be like Two-Bit? He never had anything on his mind. Probably because he was too busy cleaning out drug stores and getting drunk out of his mind. I could count on one hand the times I had seen Two-Bit sober. He could be real smart too, if he would just work. I shook my head, opened my eyes and stood up. I looked back at the alarm clock. I had seven minutes to get ready, make some eggs and head out for the Curtis house before Dad woke up. I couldn't forget to write him a note too, or I'd be dead when I got home.
Five minutes later, I was halfway down the block-breakfast made, note written, hair done. It was about a ten minute walk to Soda's place. Too much free time to think, in my opinion, even though it wasn't a quiet walk. The east side of Tulsa never really slept. There was always something going on. A party or two raged on almost every street. The sirens never stopped. The police were always out, breaking up a rumble or picking up some poor kid who had OD'd on some drug or another. I couldn't understand drugs. Two-Bit said that kids used them to forget about life. He said it brought them to a place where they could just pretend that the world didn't exist. I told him he was an idiot and I still couldn't understand.
A small group of men walked toward me down the sidewalk. I looked down, held my breath and watched my feet hit the pavement. Left, right, left, right. I didn't relax until they passed me. I let my breath out slowly and looked ahead of me. I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest. Anything could happen on the streets. I knew at least six girls personally who could prove that.
I started to hum my favorite song, Dream Lover, by Bobby Darin. It was kinda sappy, but I didn't care. It reminded me of Sodapop. Bobby Darin was my mom's favorite singer, at least I think he was, I don't know much about Mom. But we had at least fifteen Bobby Darin records-more than any other artist. I listened to them every day after school. Bobby Darin was my favorite singer because he got over where he came from. He was born in a tough neighborhood in New York, a whole lot tougher than Tulsa. But he didn't let that stop him. He had a dream, followed it and he became famous. I didn't want to be famous, I'd leave that to Soda. I just wanted out. I wanted space. I craved freedom.
"I want a dream lover, so I don't have to dream alone." I sang softly.
"You talking about me, sweetheart?" A gravelly voice sounded in my ear. I swung my elbow back with as much force as I could but a hand grabbed it and stopped me. "Glory, Sandy! Calm down." I looked back and saw Two-Bit Mathews standing behind me with a glass bottle in a paper bag. He was getting too good at impressions. He had sounded for all the world like Dallas Winston.
Two-Bit was grinning like an idiot.
"I wish you could have seen your face!" He hooted.
"Hush up, Two-Bit." I said. "Do you want the whole neighborhood out here, looking to kill you?" I had seen it happen once. Soda's best friend, Steve Randle had been beyond drunk. He was running ahead of Soda and I, dragging Evie behind him. He was screaming and hollering and even singing and Evie's laugh was louder than all of it. Soda called out to them, telling them that they'd better be quiet or someone was going to call the cops and they'd all get in trouble. Steve just laughed and shouted something about how no one would call the cops because they "knew what was good for them." His voice echoed through the street. Evie's laughter was still wailing and a man came out of his door with a gun. He pointed it right at Steve and spoke steadily.
"We're all too smart for the cops around here." He said. "Why should I wait for them when I can take care of you myself? Now shut your mouth and move on down the street, son." I was sure the man was going to pull the trigger and I prayed that Steve would just walk away without doing anything stupid. Evie had finally stopped laughing. Steve looked to Sodapop. I watched Soda shake his head and Steve started to walk away. Evie followed him. The man still stood on his front porch. When Soda and I passed by him, Soda tipped his baseball cap.
"Sorry about my friend, sir." He said with a soft drawl. "I'll make sure he doesn't bother you again."The man looked a little taken aback but he nodded and mumbled a thanks to Soda before going back into his house. Soda had that affect on people. He could talk anyone into or out of doing anything. He had a quiet, persuasive voice. It fit him. Ponyboy told me that he thought Soda looked movie star. I agreed with him.
Two-Bit laughed again. But it was a little quieter than before.
"What are you doing out here so late anyway?" I asked him. Two-Bit shrugged. He played with his beer cap for a few seconds. His eyes clouded and he tensed his jaw.
"Just didn't feel like going home, I guess." He said. He didn't look at me and he threw his bottle cap against the ground angrily. Then he took a long drink from his bottle. When he finished, he looked a little happier. "The real question is, what are you doing out here so early without your bodyguard?" He always called Soda my bodyguard. I couldn't figure it out. I guess it was because we were together as much as we could be. I was with him all of the time, execpt when I was at school and when he was working.
"I decided to leave before my dad got up. I didn't think it would be this busy at six o'clock in the morning." I said.
"Man, you're starting to sound like Pony." He said. "He starts out every other sentence with the words, I didn't think." Soda talked to me about that. He said it was tearing Ponyboy and Darry apart. I knew it was eating him alive inside. Soda loved his brothers more than anyone in the world. He hated it when they fought. I knew it was even harder without his parents there. The boys only had each other and Soda couldn't bear to think of losing either one of them. I gave Two-Bit a little laugh.
"You tell Soda and Superman I say hello, okay?" He said. "I'm gonna go home and put on a new shirt or something. Tell Pony I'll see him at school." I nodded and smiled. Two-Bit put his hand on my shoulder before he turned down his street and walked away. I looked up. I was only two streets from the Curtis house.
I loved the Curtis house. I loved the way the doorbell stopped halfway through ringing. I loved the way the screen door squeaked when it opened and the way the front room always smelled like chocolate cake. But what I loved most was the love that was there. The Curtis brothers loved each other. They would give anything for each other. They would kill for each other. I don't think they knew how lucky they were to have a love like that.
I walked up their front steps quickly, trying to avoid the creaky spots and knocked softly on the doorframe. I hoped Darry was already awake and sitting in their father's old chair in the living room. I heard footsteps come up to the door. Ponyboy swung the screen door open and ushered me in. I looked around but I didn't see Darry anywhere. I glanced at Pony. His eyes were a little red.
"Are you okay, Ponyboy?" I asked. "What are you doing up so early?" I went to sit on the couch. Ponyboy sat down across from me in his dad's chair. He searched my face for a few minutes. I felt like he was deciding what he could trust me with. Ponyboy was probably the most thoughtful person I'd ever met. He was real smart. I hardly ever saw him without a book. He knew how things worked in our side too and he wasn't satisfied with it either. I also knew that he'd find some way to change his life. He was too smart, too good for the life he was given. I smiled at him and he gave a weak smile back before he let out a long breath.
"I just didn't sleep well." He said and I felt like I had failed some kind of test. I thought I knew Pony well enough for him to trust me. I had been Soda's girl for almost two years and I had grown up with the Curtis brothers. It hurt that Pony thought he couldn't trust me with something. After a few minutes of silence, I could tell that Ponyboy was starting to feel uncomfortable so I decided to change the subject.
"I'm sorry for coming over so early." I said. I saw Pony relax a little.
"It's all right, Sandy." He said. "Our door's always open. Do you want to help me make breakfast before Darry and Soda get up for work?" I smiled.
"Of course." I said. "What did you have in mind?" Ponyboy stood up and I followed.
"Chocolate cake." He said with a grin the size of Oklahoma. All I could do was laugh.
We talked as we made the cake. I asked him how school was going. He told me it was going pretty good except for his science class, he said he was more of an English person.
"What kind of English person?" I asked. Ponyboy was the only person I knew who really liked reading. He looked up at me sheepishly. He had flour smeared across the bridge of his nose.
"I really like to write." He said. "But I don't think I'm any good." I waved the wooden spoon that I held in the air.
"Ah-hah!" I exclaimed. "Ponyboy Curtis, the writer!" He started to blush and I felt bad for embarrassing him. "I think that's great, Pony. Really. Don't settle for life here. You're too good for this! You can do great things, I know you can! You're different from the people around you. You wouldn't be happy working some dead end job, doing the same thing every day" Pony stopped beating the eggs. I blushed. I hadn't meant to sound so angry but it wouldn't be fair for him to be stuck in some dead beat town after his brothers worked so hard to give him something better. I just wanted him to know that he was better than the east side of Tulsa, Oklahoma. My face felt hot and I started mixing the cake batter again.
"I've never heard you talk like that, Sandy." He said. He looked at me like he was deciding if he could trust me again. I was about to shrug when someone else came into the kitchen.
It was Sodapop. I started to smile.
"I've never heard you talk like that either." He said softly. He sounded upset. "Do you think I'm not good enough because I like working at the gas station? Do you think I'm settling?" My smile dropped.