It was a Sunday summer evening, July 22, 1969 around 11 p.m. Pony was laying on his back in bed smoking a cigarette, sending perfect smoke rings into the ceiling. The window was opened and evening breeze moved the curtains and was mixing with the smoke from Pony's cigarette. Pony had turned 18 years old today. They celebrated, there were presents and cake and toasts. It sure doesn't feel different than before, Pony thought baffled. Maybe when I get to college I'll see the difference, he thought, grounding his cigarette and closing his eyes.
The next morning Pony woke up later than usual. The sunrays were beaming through the window, making the room look bright and spacious. Pony heard the music in the living room, and wondered if Soda took a day off. He quickly threw his clothes on and entered the living room to find two-bit sprawled on the floor with a bottle of beer, the music blaring. Pony walked up to the radio and turned the volume down.
"Hi there, how does it feel to be eighteen?" Two-bit took a sip from his bottle.
"Same as seventeen, what are you doing here?" Pony asked, leaning against the counter, squinting from the bright light.
"What do you mean? I slept here last night," two-bit took another sip, "Darry and Soda told me to keep an eye on you while they are at work."
"I am not fourteen anymore," Pony wrinkled his nose.
"Alright, alright they didn't say to keep an eye on you." Two-bit chuckled. Then he was thoughtful for a minute – "Care to prove to me that you are not a little fourteen year old kid anymore?" He smiled like a chessy cat.
"What do you have in mind?" Pony gave him a blank stare.
Two-bit got up from the floor. "Lemme take you out, the real celebration of your birthday."
"Where?" Pony shrugged. He had nothing to do, and wouldn't mind catching some action.
"I know this place downtown. It would be perfect for you. Here," two-bit searched his pockets and retrieved a plastic card.
"What a hell is this?" Pony raised his eyebrows.
"Whatta ya think? Fake ID," two-bit snorted, then added. "Do ya know the legal drinking age in most countries is eighteen, not twenty-one?"
"What's the place?" Pony asked, walking into the kitchen, and taking chocolate milk out of the fridge.
"It's called Carbon."
"Never heard of it."
"Oh, it would be great," two-bit looked giddy.
"I dunno," Pony shrugged.
"Well," two-bit made a sad face, "I guess you are still little fourteen year old shit."
"Watch it," Pony warned, taking a step forward.
"Easy there," two-bit stepped back.
Then two-bit whined, "C'mon, I don't want to go alone. You have nothing better to do." Pony was just a little curious. He never tried alcohol before, besides one time he tasted beer, and it didn't taste all that nice. He knew Soda had gone to places like this, and Darry had tried alcohol too.
"Fine, I'll go," Pony sighed, pouring the milk into the glass.
"Oh, great, great, lemme just throw this bottle away and we'll go."
"Are you ok to drive? How many beers did you have?" Pony took a sip of his milk.
Two-bit got a thinking expression on his face as if deciding to tell Pony the truth or not.
"I had three beers, but I can hold my liquor really well." He wiggled his eyebrows.
"I ain't getting in the car with you," Pony said reluctantly, running his fingers through his hair.
"Fine," two-bit rolled his eyes, "we'll take the bus."
At around 3 p.m. they reached the sign that read "Carbon." The music was really loud, heard from the outside. The place itself didn't look rundown, even though everything around it was.
"Isn't it a little too early?" Pony glanced at his watch. Two-bit smirked, "don't worry, they party all day and night here, c'mon let's get inside." Two-bit opened the door and started going down the stairs. Pony showed his fake ID to the bouncer, and was let in without a problem.
Inside it was dark, and only some neon lights illuminated the room. You would think it was night time not 3 in the afternoon.
To Pony's surprise the place was packed. Must be 'cause it's summer, Pony thought. Pony looked around - mostly working class types - construction workers, truck drivers, wearing t-shirts and jeans, girls wearing short dresses. Two-bit slapped Pony on the shoulder, taking him out of his thoughts. "What do you want?"
"What do you mean?" Pony replied, still looking around taking in his surroundings. Two-bit looked impatient, "I mean, what are you drinking?" Then he snorted, "right, you don't know."
Two-bit made his way to the bar- "Two long island ice teas and two whiskeys." Pony's eyes got huge – "why are you ordering four drinks?"
"Trust me," two-bit replied coolly, "I know how to have fun." The bartender poured the drinks. Pony started searching his pockets for money. "Don't bother I am buying, it's your birthday 'member? Grab those two drinks for me." Two-bit winked at Pony.
They took the drinks, and proceeded to take a table. "So, ready?" Two-bit pushed a glass with long island ice tea towards Pony. Pony rolled his eyes, and took a sip, then one more. "It tastes… fruity," he said perplexed.
"So you like it," two-bit licked his lips. Pony didn't reply, and proceeded drinking. After he was done, two-bit pushed the whiskey towards Pony. "Try this one, it tastes different." Pony took a sip, and started coughing, his eyes watering. "Why would anyone drink this?" he mumbled, "it tastes so bitter."
"Cause it gets you good right here," two bit pointed his index finger towards the side of his chin – a gesture that means it gets you buzzed or drunk.
"I ain't drinking this," Pony pushed the glass away.
"Lemme get something else," two-bit got up quickly and went to the bar, and was back with 2 more drinks, and an order of hot wings. "Here - an orange daiquiri for you and another whiskey for me," he said. Pony tasted the drink. "Now, this is much better."
"Oh, lookit that thing is totally checking you out," two-bit said all of the sudden. Pony turned around, and saw a girl looking, more like staring, at him.
"Wanna send her a drink?" two-bit said slyly. All of the sudden, Pony felt his eyelids heavy, and a pounding noise in his head. Am I drunk from two and a half drinks he wondered? Two-bit looked a little worried, "Pony, are you alright?"
"Yeah man, fine," Pony replied.
Two-bit looked a little buzzed, he said to Pony, "I am going to ask that fox over there for a dance." He started to fix his hair and spray cologne on himself. Pony smirked at that, then said, "She seems to be with someone."
"So, that don't mean none," two-bit smirked slyly. Pony shrugged.
"Watch and learn," two-bit grinned. Two-bit got up from his seat, and Pony followed him with his gaze. "May I have a dance?" Two-bit said to the girl. She glanced at the guy she was with, then started getting up. Pony couldn't help it but notice how low the cut of her dress was exposing her cleavage. Two-bit took her hand, and led her to the dance floor. He was walking a little unsteadily. He had 3 drinks and he finished Pony's whiskey. Plus he had 3 beers in the morning.
The song started, and they started to move across the floor. It was a slow dance. She was much taller than two-bit and the fact that she was wearing stilettos that were 6 inches tall as far as Pony could tell were not helping the matters. Her chest was on the level of two-bit's eyes. Two bit grabbed her around the waist tightly, and rested his head on her cleavage and closed his eyes. Looked like he was having a blast. Pony felt his years go red.
At this moment the bartender approached Pony's table, "a drink from the lady," he said putting the drink on the table. Pony turned around, and the girl that was staring before, was now waving at him. She was pretty. He couldn't help it, but smile. Before Pony knew it, she was walking over – "wanna dance?"
"Sure," Pony started getting up.
"I am Anny, what's your name?"
Pony was silent a moment – "Ponyboy." She looked startled, "that a real name?"
"Yeah," Ponny nodded. She seemed not bothered.
They started dancing. Pony was stumbling a little, and she smiled at that. Pony looked over at two- -bit dancing with the girl. Two-bit opened one eye, and winked at Pony. Pony just looked away.
"So can I get your phone number Ponyboy?" Anny said. Pony was about to give her the number, but at that moment the guy that two-bit's girl was with, walked up to two-bit and the girl, who were still dancing.
Pony felt a pang in his stomach. "Step aside," the guy said roughly to two-bit, and pushed him. Two-bit took a few steps back, while the guy grabbed the girl around her waist and continued the dance. She didn't seem to care who she was dancing with. Two-bit brushed himself off- "YOU step aside!" he pushed the guy with all his force. The guy was drunk, he literally slid backwards, and crashed into the table, the table making a horrible screeching noise as it moved. The guy got up and went back to two-bit. In a minute the two of them were rolling on the floor fighting. Pony was watching in shock, so did the rest of the crowd. Suddenly they heard sirens. "Shit cops," two-bit grabbed Pony's hand, "let's get out of here."
"The cops are at the door," Pony mumbled, his eyes huge.
"Back door," two-bit yelled, running, and literally dragging Pony with him. Two-bit knew the place well. They ran out the back door, hearing the cops enter from the front entrance.
As they turned the corner, two-bit started cracking up. "Well, that was fun." Pony was buzzed too, he giggled. They started walking ahead. It was late by then, and the street lights were casting rays of light on the road, casting shadows onto the asphalt. As Pony and two-bit reached the intersection, they saw an empty police car parked by the curb. Two-bit raised his eyebrows, then picked up a rock and threw it at the front car window. He aimed well. The window broke, and the shards sprinkled everywhere. Pony looked puzzled for a moment, then picked up a rock as well, and threw it at the back window. The window broke with a loud noise. The car alarm went off, and Pony and two-bit pulled the hoods over their heads, and started running, laughing hysterically. After a while they turned around. It seemed they had no one on their tail.
"Now what?" Pony looked at two-bit expectantly. Two-bit was thoughtful a minute. Then he grinned "I got an idea. Let's hit Abercrombie and Fitch store, see what I can swipe today."
"You wanna swipe from the soc store?" Pony frowned.
"Of course," two-bit replied matter of factly," you don't want to swipe from the poor store." Pony was thoughtful for a moment, his drunken mind refusing to work. Finally he nodded – "ok."
"But first," two-bit looked around, and his gaze fell on the grocery store, which was missing an "F" in "Frank's" and had a huge scratch on the window glass. "Wait here," two-bit said to Pony. Pony shrugged, then nodded. Two-bit proceeded to go into Frank's. In a few minutes he was out, carrying something, Pony couldn't see what it was. As two-bit got closer, Pony realized he was carrying 6 pack of beer. "Good that I'm legal age now," two-bit said proudly.
So they were walking to Abercrombie & Fitch, sipping beer, looking around, joking and laughing. The air felt fresh and moist, not even a shadow of the wind, the trees spreading their branches with green leaves, appearing as beautiful sculptures. Pony realized he hadn't had so much fun in a long time. Soon enough they reached their destination. They each had 3 beers by then, and both, especially Pony, were very drunk.
As they approached the entrance, they saw a security guard sticking his head out, looking at them. "Follow my lead," two-bit whispered, and Pony nodded. "Hello, howdy?" two-bit smiled at the guard, and walked inside. The guard eyed both Pony and two-bit suspiciously, but didn't say anything.
The store was huge. It was arranged in sections – clothes, shoes, jewelry, makeup and cologne. The clerk was all the way by the register, and it seemed like no one was watching the aisles. "Must be my lucky day," two-bit grinned at Pony. Pony was dizzy from all the beers he had, and it really got to his head by then. So when two-bit said that, Pony just smiled back like an idiot.
Two-bit started walking through the aisles. He stopped at the beauty aisle, the aroma from all the perfumes and colognes hitting him. All the colognes were under glass cases, which were locked and you had to get the clerk to get it. But for each of the colognes there was a free tester to spray to see how it smelled. Two-bit went right for those. "Cover me," he whispered to Pony. Pony turned so that there was no way the clerk could see wheat two-bit was doing. Two-bit grabbed two bottles, and stuck them in the pocket of the hoodie he was wearing. They proceeded to go through the aisles. When they reached leather goods two-bit's eyes just lit up. He went straight to the wallets, and grabbed two of them sticking them under the hoodie, which was very bulky.
In the meantime Pony was looking around. The fact that he was dizzy wasn't helping. Everything seemed spinning in front of him. His gaze fell on the shoes aisle. Leaving two-bit, Pony proceeded to the shoes section. There, on the shelf he saw a pair of beautiful red running shoes. Pony stopped in awe. He walked up closer, and looked at the tag – $75.99. He would NEVER be able to afford these. Not thinking twice, Pony untied the shoes, which were tied to the rack they were on. He pretended to look at the shoes, then he turned around, making sure neither the clerk, nor anyone else was looking, and stuck the shoes under his hoodie. He looked over, and saw two-bit stuffing some records under his hoodie. Two-bit nodded at Pony, indicating that it was time to leave.
As they were passing by the clerk, he glared at them since they didn't buy anything. Two-bit smiled, and said, "Sorry sir, some other time." As they reached the security guard, there was a huge chandelier with bright light. The light reached Pony's eyes, he felt dizzy again, and everything spun in front of his eyes. He felt like he was falling. He grabbed onto the counter so he wouldn't fall. As he did, the shoes he swiped fell out of his hoodie and onto the floor. The security ran up to him right away – "you scum, I knew you were up to something." The clerk was there right away. The security pinned Pony against the wall, while the clerk called the cops.
The cops arrived in 10 minutes. They searched both Pony and two-bit, retrieving all the stuff they stole. They handcuffed them and pushed them into the police car. Pony looked over at two-bit feeling that he had let two-bit down, but two-bit was smiling, not caring at all that he was being booked by the police. He was smarting off to the cops as they pushed him into the car, "oh please be gentle officer, we must be kinder to each other."
As they arrived to the precinct, the guard led them down the narrow hallway surrounded by the walls with green paint that was chipping off. The guard unlocked the cell, and without so much as looking at them barked "get in." It was damp inside the cell and it smelled like mold or vomit. Pony wrinkled his nose. There were two cots, and a tiny metal desk and a chair.
Pony sobered up right away. He was sober enough to call Darry. Darry was livid, and said he was not bailing them out. Thankfully the trial was right next afternoon. The court room was huge, but empty. The shades were pulled down, and it seemed dark, only a small lamp lighting up the whole room. The air conditioner was working, and it made it freezing in the room. How appropriate Pony thought bitterly – cold that's how he felt on the inside.
It was one of those no jury, closed trials. The judge heard the case and gave the verdict. They were to pay $1,000 each in fine and probation. When the judge read the amount of the fine, Pony felt devastated, now Darry had to pay $1,000 for Pony's stupidity. He felt like a squashed bug and dreaded telling Darry about the fine. Two-bit, on the other hand, didn't seem fazed in the slightest. He slapped Pony on the shoulder, "don't worry 'bout it Pone, we'll think of something." Pony didn't reply, and just hung his head, and proceeded to the exit.
As they exited, Darry was waiting in the truck – "So?" He looked up at them.
"One thousand fine and probation," Pony mumbled, not meeting Darry's gaze. Darry frowned, "don't even think I am going to pay it. You got yourself into this mess, you get yourself out." Pony looked down, he was close to tears.
As they reached the intersection, instead of proceeding to two-bit's house, which was opposite direction from theirs, Darry stopped the truck. "You can walk from here," he said harshly, catching two-bit's gaze in the rear view mirror. Two-bit frowned, but got out of the truck, not saying anything to neither Darry nor Pony.
As two-bit left, Pony felt sheer fear of what Darry was about to say. But surprisingly Darry kept his cool. "You are grounded for two weeks," he said, keeping his eyes on the road, "and as I said, I am not paying that fine." Pony was afraid to look at Darry, thinking that if he looked, Darry would explode. Here he was, he thought, now 18 years old but with Darry he felt like a little kid again.
The next morning Pony woke up to loud music again…
