Chapter 3
(Monday, 1 week before school)
Harley's POV:
It was only a couple of days since we were moved in, but we starting to get into a groove and start our new normal as a family. My dad and mom would go off to work in the truck, my dad dropping off my mom at her job as a maid at The Ambassador Hotel, and then my dad would make his way to the manufacturing factory. Ford was starting football practice at school, so he would take the sedan off to the school for practice and then off to hang out with the team. That left me home by myself with just my bike to get around.
It was just after lunchtime and I needed to get my flyers for tutoring sessions out into the neighborhood so I could have some spending money. The best chance I had I knew was to go over to my grandmother's house to see where I could set up the flyers. I would have to bike there though. It was going to be a long bike ride though. I wish I had someone to go with me, I thought as I walked outside and grabbed my bike. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement in Curtis's window. Someone must be home. Maybe Ponyboy would like to go with me, I thought hopefully. I walked over to their front door and gave a knock. What I suspected to be the middle brother, Sodapop opened the door. I felt my heart sink. Maybe Ponyboy isn't home, I thought sadly. "Hi, I'm Harley," I said reaching out my hand. "You must be Sodapop." The next thing I knew Soda had grabbed my arm and yanked me into the house. I stumbled into the house shocked. "Nice to meet you, Harley, but please call me Soda," Soda said excitedly as he pulled me further into the house. "I've heard so much about you from Pony and Darry." Next thing I knew we were in the kitchen where Pony was wolfing down a PB .
"Sorry, for interrupting your lunchtime," I said sheepishly. "I just wanted to know if you guys wanted to hang out and ride a bike. I need to stop by my grandmother's house to see where the best spots to put my fliers for my tutoring services and use her network." Pony started turning red in the face, which also made me turn red in the face. "Pony and I would love to go with you," Soda chimed in. "Our friends Two-Bit and Steve would love to go with us too. I have the day off today and so does Steve, and Two-Bit doesn't work. Let me go over and phone them" "Make sure you tell them to bring their bikes," I hollered after him. "If we drive our cars, the neighbors might call the cops." Man that Soda was a spaz.
Soda's POV:
It was about 6:30 in the morning when Darry came into Pony and I's room to say goodbye. "Hey, little buddy," Darry said in a whisper. "I'm heading out to work. Have a good day off, but don't wear yourself out too much because you have a long week of work starting tomorrow." I wish Darry didn't worry so much about us, I thought wearily as I was still half asleep. "I'll be good", I mumbled. "And don't worry, I'll look after Pony." After I said that I looked over at Pony still asleep. "I know you will," Darry said while looking over a Pony. Soon Darry was out the door. I couldn't fall asleep though as I smelled the faint smell of bacon and eggs in the kitchen that Darry must have left out for Pony and me.
"Hey, honey," I said as I gently shook Pony awake. "Darry just left and he left some breakfast for us. Let's go and get some." Pony slowly blinked at me wearily as he was waking up. "Sounds good," Pony said groggily. We both put on some sweatpants and padded off to the kitchen to grab some bacon eggs. "So," I said with a smirk. "Tell me about the new family across the street. I feel bad about missing out on meeting them the other day. Is the mom really that pretty looking up close?" Pony's face started turning beet red. "She is just ok," Pony mumbled between bites. "What about the rest of the family," I asked curiously. "The dad seemed pleasant enough and so did the mom, but it doesn't seem like they care much about their kids or pay much attention to them for that matter," Pony said with a tone of concern. "What do you mean?" I asked as I saw Pony's brow furrowed with worry. If this was concerning Pony, then this should concern me as well, I thought. "Well, when Darry and I went across the street to introduce ourselves, Harley, the daughter, had it looked like a fresh black eye," Pony said. "But her parents didn't seem to notice, and to make it worse, I noticed that she seemed to be avoiding her brother Ford, and flinching whenever he was around. I also noticed that there was a little bit of bruising on his knuckles as we were bringing in boxes." "Are you sure the parents hadn't addressed it earlier when you guys weren't around?" I asked with concern. "They could have," Pony said as he was chewing on some bacon. "The Coopers just didn't seem like they addressed much. Also, they seemed oblivious to a lot of things while Darry and I were around." This raised some red flags for me, but the situation was common among Greaser parents. Just look at Johnny's parents, I thought. "Well we can't do much without any information honey," I told Pony in a soothing voice as I could tell he was worked up. "I guess not," Pony said with a sigh.
The rest of the morning, Pony and I sat on the couch while I watched cartoons, he wrote in one of his many notebooks. "Whatcha working on honey," I asked trying to peer over the cover of Pony's notebook. "Nothing," Pony mumbled as he tried to hide his notebook. I swiped it away before he could hide it. "Give it back Soda!" Pony shrieked as he blushed. I kept it out of his reach while I skimmed his pages. They were mostly about the family across the street but focused mainly on Harley. "Does someone have a crush on Harley?" I asked teasingly and waggled my eyebrows at him. "No, I don't." Pony said as he ripped the notebook out of my hands and continued to blush. "Ok then," I said not believing him. "I'm going to make us some lunch." Pony ignored me as I padded to the kitchen to make us some sandwiches.
As I finished my PB and Pony came over to start eating his, I heard a knock on the front door. Who is this in the middle of the day on a Monday, nonetheless, I wondered. "I'll get it," I told Pony as I got up from the kitchen table. When I opened the door, to my surprise it was the new girl across the street. Sure enough, she did have a nasty black eye that was covering her left eye. I noticed she also had different types of scars covering her face and maybe a slightly crooked nose from it getting broken and being set slightly wrong. When I opened the door she seemed slightly disappointed she was looking for somebody else, which was a surprise to me, but then again I hadn't met her yet. "Hi, I'm Harley," she said hesitantly while reaching out her hand to shake mine. "You must be Sodapop." I grabbed her arm and yanked her into the house, which seemed to shock her. "Nice to meet you, Harley, but please call me Soda," I said excitedly as I pulled her further into the house. "I've heard so much about you from Pony and Darry." I brought her into the kitchen where Pony was mid-bite into his sandwich. When he saw her, he blushed hard. I knew it, he had a crush on her, I thought triumphantly. "Sorry, for interrupting your lunchtime," Harley said sheepishly. "I just wanted to know if you guys wanted to hang out and ride a bike. I need to stop by my grandmother's house to see where the best spots to put my fliers for my tutoring services and use her network." As she said this, Harley was turning bright red in the face from embarrassment. But then I noticed she was looking at Pony. I think we have have of star-crossed lovers here, I thought and smirked. "Pony and I would love to go with you," I chimed in. "Our friends Two-Bit and Steve would love to go with us too. I have the day off today and so does Steve, and Two-Bit doesn't work. Let me go over and phone them" Harley's eyes widened with surprise. "Make sure you tell them to bring their bikes," She hollered after me. "If we drive our cars, the neighbors might call the cops."
I dialed up Steve first. "Hey, this is the Randall house," Steve said into the phone. It sounded like I had woken him up. "Hey buddy, it's Soda," I said. "Sorry to wake you but, Pony, the new girl across the street named Harley, and I are going to her grandmother's house to hang up flyers for her tutoring gig. Come on over, oh, and don't forget to bring your bike." "I'll be right over," Steve said groggily. The next call was to Two-Bit. "Hey, this is the Matthews house," Two-Bit answered in a slurred speech. He must be drunk already, I thought and rolled my eyes. Classic Two-Bit. "Hey, Two-Bit, it's Soda," I said cheerily into the phone. "Pony, the new girl across the street named Harley, and I are going to her grandmother's house to hang up flyers for her tutoring gig. Come on over, oh, and don't forget to bring your bike." "Coming," Two-Bit slurred again and then he hung up.
Soon enough both boys were over and introductions were made. I could see Steve and Two-Bit eyeing Harley up and down and elbowing each other and making googly eyes, while Pony was hanging back. Harley seemed to be embarrassed and looked like she wanted to curl up into a corner. This made me sad. She must have experienced some things that made her like this and made me want to protect her. "Come on guys, knock it off," I said angrily. "You're obviously making her uncomfortable." Harley shot me a grateful look which was the first time I ever saw her smile. It looked good on her. I could see why Pony liked her. Two-Bit and Steve mumbled their apologies. "Where does your grandmother live, where you said we shouldn't bring our cars?" I asked Harley. Harley looked down at the floor. "Do you know where the McBirney mansion is?" Harley mumbled. "She lives in that neighborhood." I felt my jaw drop to the floor. "My mother was a Soc growing up, but my dad was a Greaser. When my mother married my father, my mother was cut off and they lost contact. But someone my grandmother found us and connected with me when we lived in Detroit. I didn't want my mother to find out so I rented a P.O. box and we wrote letters back and forth. I told her that we were moving back and I would visit her." Harley looked ashamed. Before I could respond and come out of my shock. "Let's get a move on," Pony said. He was trying to make her feel more comfortable. We all followed her out the door.
Pony's POV:
The past weekend had been a blur, with helping the Coopers move in two days ago. The next thing I knew though was being woken up early on Monday morning by Soda telling me that Darry was leaving for work and leaving us breakfast. I rubbed my weary eyes and followed Soda into the kitchen.
"So," Soda said with a smirk. "Tell me about the new family across the street. I feel bad about missing out on meeting them the other day. Is the mom really that pretty looking up close?" I felt my face turning beet red. "She is just ok," I mumbled between bites. "What about the rest of the family," Soda asked curiously. "The dad seemed pleasant enough and so did the mom, but it doesn't seem like they care much about their kids or pay much attention to them for that matter," I said with a tone of concern. "What do you mean?" Soda asked as my brow furrowed with worry. "Well, when Darry and I went across the street to introduce ourselves, Harley, the daughter, had it looked like a fresh black eye," I said. "But her parents didn't seem to notice, and to make it worse, I noticed that she seemed to be avoiding her brother Ford, and flinching whenever he was around. I also noticed that there was a little bit of bruising on his knuckles as we were bringing in boxes." "Are you sure the parents hadn't addressed it earlier when you guys weren't around?" Soda asked with concern. "They could have," I said while chewing on some bacon. "The Coopers just didn't seem like they addressed much. Also, they seemed oblivious to a lot of things while Darry and I were around." I knew I shouldn't be telling Soda this, but I wanted someone to confide in, I thought. Soda made me feel comfortable enough to confide in. "Well we can't do much without any information honey," Soda told me in a soothing voice. "I guess not," I said with a sigh. Soda always knew how to calm me down, unlike Darry, I thought.
For that morning, I sat on the couch and wrote down things that I noticed about the Coopers, that I could inspire my story, and what might be bothering Harley. Soda was watching some sort of cartoon, which I wasn't really interested in. I was never really ever interested in cartoons but Soda never grew out of them, and neither did Two-Bit. Then I noticed that Soda was trying to look over my notebook. "Whatcha working on honey," Soda asked while trying to peer over the cover of my notebook. "Nothing," I mumbled as I tried to hide my notebook. Soda swiped it away before he could hide it. "Give it back Soda!" I shrieked and I felt my face go red. Soda kept it out of my reach while he skimmed the pages. "Does someone have a crush on Harley?" Soda asked teasingly and waggled his eyebrows at me. I never felt more mortified in my life. That was saying something. "No, I don't," I said as I ripped the notebook out of Soda's hands and I continued to blush. "Ok then," Soda said. He didn't seem to believe me though. "I'm going to make us some lunch," Soda said. I ignored Soda as he padded to the kitchen to make us some sandwiches.
As I sat down to eat my sandwich, I heard a knock at the front door. Who could that be, I wondered. Soda must have had the same thought as he looked at me and got up. "I'll get it," Soda said. I heard a female voice at the front door and realized it was Harley. I saw Soda drag her into the kitchen wide-eyed and frantic not knowing what to do. That is Soda for you, I thought. He sure knows how to get under people's skin and leave them perplexed. I felt bad for Harley because of that. "Sorry, for interrupting your lunchtime," Harley said sheepishly. "I just wanted to know if you guys wanted to hang out and go for a bike ride. I need to stop by my grandmother's house to see where the best spots to put my fliers for my tutoring services and use her network." As she said this, Harley was turning bright red in the face from embarrassment. I turned red in solidarity and also because I was embarrassed that I made her feel uncomfortable and that she felt like she was interrupting. "Pony and I would love to go with you," Soda butted in. "Our friends Two-Bit and Steve would love to go with us too. I have the day off today and so does Steve, and Two-Bit doesn't work. Let me go over and phone them" Harley's eyes widened with surprise. "Make sure you tell them to bring their bikes," She hollered after Soda. "If we drive our cars, the neighbors might call the cops."
"I'm so sorry about Soda," I apologized to Harley as Soda walked over to the phone. "He doesn't know boundaries real well." Harley blushed and sat down across from me. "It's fine," Harley said. "Your family seems nice, I wished I had that." Harley looked like she regretted saying that. "What do you mean?" I asked in a concerned tone. "Well, my parents don't acknowledge Ford and me, mostly because they are so busy with work, but they barely acknowledge us when they are home. Ford takes advantage of this by pummeling me whenever he thinks I've done him wrong. Which is often. Hence the black eye. On Saturday he pummeled me because I was being sarcastic with him. One of the main reasons we came here is because I think the medical professionals were catching on that someone was hitting me because of how many times I've been in the hospital." I saw some tears stream down her face, but she continued on. "The other reason is that the pay was better at this new job. Enough about me, what about your parents and your brothers? What are they like." I gulped. "Well," I said. "Both of our parents died a couple of years ago in a car accident." Harley gasped. "I'm so sorry," Harley whispered. "It's ok, you didn't know," I reassured her. "My older brother gave up his scholarship to play college football and took full cull custody of Soda and me so we wouldn't be separated. Darry is stern but loving, he cares about us a lot, maybe too much sometimes. He looks a lot like our dad. Soda is a high school dropout and works at the DX station with his friend Steve Randall who is one of the guys he is calling. He would be in the same grade as you if he stayed in school. Soda gets his good looks from our mother. Soda is a happy-go-lucky kid and the one I get along with best. I consider our friends family too. Steve and I are not close, but he has been friends with Soda since they were little. He is serious and obsessed with cars. Two-Bit Matthews is a crazy kid, who loves alcohol cigarettes, and Mickey Mouse. He is always bouncing off the walls. We had two friends who died last year, Dally and Johnny. We got into some trouble with some Socs last year, where Johnny killed one for trying to drown me. So Johnny and I booked it out of town for a week until we had to save some kids from a church fire. Johnny got severely burned and died, but Dally couldn't take it and died by cop." That's when I noticed that Harley was looking at me with some sympathy and placed a hand over mine in comfort. Then Soda came in and then so did Steve and Two-Bit not long after.
Steve and Two-Bit were eyeing Harley up and down and elbowing each other and making googly eyes, while Pony was hanging back. Harley seemed to be embarrassed and looked like she wanted to curl up into a corner which made me mad. After what she has been through she didn't need to be accosted by unwanted attention. "Come on guys, knock it off," Soda said angrily. "You're obviously making her uncomfortable." I was grateful for Soda at that moment. Harley shot Soda a grateful look. Harley smiled and it made my heart do a tap dance. Two-Bit and Steve mumbled their apologies. "Where does your grandmother live, where you said we shouldn't bring our cars?" Soda asked Harley. Harley looked down at the floor. "Do you know where the McBirney mansion is?" Harley mumbled. "She lives in that neighborhood." I was shocked out of my gourd, and it looked like everyone else was too. "My mother was a Soc growing up, but my dad was a Greaser. When my mother married my father, my mother was cut off and they lost contact. But someone my grandmother found us and connected with me when we lived in Detroit. I didn't want my mother to find out so I rented a P.O. box and we wrote letters back and forth. I told her that we were moving back and I would visit her." Harley looked ashamed. "Let's get a move on," I said. I didn't want her to feel ashamed, so I led the way out of the house.
Harley's POV:
I was grateful for Pony and the kindness that he showed me and for letting me vent about my family. Hearing about his family troubles saddened me, but at least he had friends and brothers and how they were a family made me a little bit jealous and ache to be a part of it. I was also grateful that he got us out of their house after I told the story of my grandmother. I was just hopeful that my grandmother would be happy to see me. It took us an hour or so but we finally arrived at her house.
Two-Bit whistled when he saw the house. "Wowza," he said. The rest of the gang had to pick their jaw off the floor when they saw the house. To be fair, I was in awe too. Before I knew it I was at the front door about to ring the doorbell, but I hesitated. Then I felt someone grab my hand and squeeze it. I looked over and saw it was Pony and my heart did a double take. "I got your back," Pony whispered into my ear. I giggled and gave him a smile in appreciation. I finally got up the courage to ring the doorbell. I waited a minute and then the door swung open to reveal a gray-haired tiny woman at the door. "Hi grandmother, it's me, Harley," I said trying to keep a prim and proper voice. "You look like a proper blend between both of your parents," she said in a dry hoarse voice. Then she glanced around me to look at my friends. "Who are they?" She asked. "Those are Sodapop Curtis, Ponyboy Curtis, Steve Randall, and Two-Bit Matthews," I said pointing at each one when I introduced them. "They are some new friends I met over the couple of days I've been here." "Nice to meet you, ma'am," Steve said. "Please, call me Mrs. Adams," my grandmother said. "Please, come in." She ushered us in and looked outside to check to make sure no one saw that she let in a group of Greasers. She sat us down in her formal sitting room. "What do I owe the pleasure," she asked me. "Well,..." I said hesitantly. I looked down at Pony squeezing my hand in support. "I was wondering if you would know where I could hang up some posters for my tutoring business and if you would be willing to vouch for me with your friends." "I don't see why not," my grandmother said. That shocked me. "At least you are trying to make a name for yourself, unlike your mother or your father for that matter. I know your brother is trying to, but I think using your brain is better than using muscle." She gave me a wink when she said this. "Before you leave, let me get to know you face to face instead of over letter, and get to know your friends."
That afternoon my grandmother talked me and my friend's ears off and listened to their stories and got to know them better. I could tell the company meant the world to her, especially after my grandfather passed from lung cancer two years ago. That's why I won't touch those cancer sticks. I could tell that my friends were starting to loosen up and it was nice to get to know them all a little bit better. My grandmother took all my flyers and told me she would send a letter to my new P.O. box in town to make sure that my parents and brother didn't find out and to keep an eye out for new customers. We left my grandmother's house with a bag of food for dinner that would feed all of us plus Darry, and still have leftovers. I also came away with a group of friends that would last me a lifetime. I smiled the biggest I had in a while.
Darry POV:
I just got home after I long day. I wanted to make dinner and then go to bed, but I knew that was going to be a long shot when I saw Steve and Two-Bits ride outside our house. I walked into the house and was greeted by warm and rich scents of what seemed to be an expensive dinner. "I'm home!" I called. "In here Darry," I heard Soda call. I walked in and was surprised to see Harley at the dinner table. Her eye looked ten times worse than it did two days ago. It made me wince. "Where did you guys get this food from?" I asked suspiciously. "From Harely's grandmother," Two-Bit said with his mouth full. "Isn't it great?" Steve said. "It sure is," I said with a quizzical look at Harley, which caused her to blush. "My mother was a Soc before she married my father," she explained. "She was caught off by my grandparents when they married and my grandmother reached out to me a couple of years ago after my grandfather died. I think she heard about me winning the national academic triathlon with my team, and she wanted to reach out. I haven't told my brother or my parents because I know my brother would be jealous and my parents would be hurt. I went over there with the guys so I wouldn't get jumped with the Socs for being on their turf to ask if she would use her connections to help me get some kids to tutor this year. She gave us some dinner in return for the company." That all made sense now. I could tell she was getting comfortable with the gang. From that moment I knew we added a new member to our gang. "Well, welcome to the family, Harley," I said with a smile. Harley gave me a smile and the rest of the gang whopped.