Outsiders and Insiders.
Who are the outsiders? Who are the insiders? We all got a story to tell. Not everyone's the same, but sometimes they coincide. That was never clearer than in the case of the Socs and the Greasers. Funny how social classes made things so different between people. It was weird when everything coincided. It happened one day at the DX station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There was a status quo. One of them being Greaser boys and Soc girls just didn't hang around one another. It took a few people to break that status quo.
"That Sodapop Curtis is a doll. Ya'll just wait and see," Marcie announced.
Cherry smiled at her from the passenger seat of her red Stingray. Marcia had been begging her to drive it for ages. Along with them was Cherry's little sister Leanne. Marcia's little sister Connie. And their friend Elizabeth "Liz" Conway. The story and intent of some were that they were going to pick up some snacks at the Dx. And for some of them to see Sodapop Curtis. Marcia talked him up like he was something special. But then she did that.
Cherry and Liz hadn't mentioned him as much, but they had confirmed he was movie-star handsome. Marcia promised she'd be on her best behavior if allowed to drive the Stingray. A present for Cherry's sixteenth birthday was expected to take good care of it. The Valances raised fairly responsible children. They didn't intend anything to happen to that gift.
Leanne and Conni hadn't been thinking too much about boys yet. Maybe being a little younger was why. They were thrilled to be able to tag along with three girls they respected and admired. They was pretty fun to hang around with too. They pulled into the parking lot to see a group of greasers hanging out front. Not an uncommon occurrence that just happened to play in their favor. The boy of the hour was right out front in plain view.
"That one's Sodapop Curtis," Cherry pointed out.
The girls turned, surveying him, starting with Soda. He was movie star handsome for sure. For once, Marcia hadn't been overexaggerating. His handsome look and even the handsome guys with them didn't hold their attention for long. These guys were greasers, and greasers were known to get a little rowdy. That's what they'd always heard, and they'd seen some of it for themselves
"You sure we ought to be here? Those guys look awfully intimidating," Leanne observed.
She nor her sister were raised to judge, and she wasn't planning to start now. But she was a girl who avoided conflict if at all possible. If these boys were anything like the greasers, she'd heard about? Then she'd be getting out of there as quick as possible. Who knew what could happen? She couldn't help but worry. Who was to say they didn't do something horrible?
Being nervous was second nature to her. It was how she felt right now. The urge to grab the other girls was strong. She crossed her arms instead. The last thing she wanted was to overreact or act like she wasn't old enough to be with the rest of them.
"It'll be fine," Chery promised hoping she hadn't made a big mistake. The last thing she wanted was to cause problems or make the others uncomfortable.
She's always felt like Greasers and Soc's weren't all that different. Soc boys could be every bit as rowdy as greaser boys. Truth be told, they could be as downright mean. No need to treat them like they weren't human. And the way she saw it, they shouldn't keep her from going to the Dx if she wanted to. She was always trying to teach her little sister to be smart but not too cautious. Lots of Soc girls showed up to see Mr. Movie star, handsome. They were no different. It shouldn't be shocking, and they shouldn't get judged for it.
"Isn't that Dallan Winston?" Marcia squinted her eyes.
"Yeah, think I've seen him around in passing," Leanne mentioned.
Cherry blinked. When and where had she been to see him at? Why hadn't she mentioned it to her big sister? She was convinced she could handle Dallas just fine. She wasn't so sure her little sister or Connie could. Just like she didn't want to find out. She hadn't taken into account Dallas might be here. Since he was, maybe they were too overconfident coming here.
"The other guys are supposed to be just Greasers, but that Dallas Winston is a good. What's he doing here?" Liz questioned.
He could rival Tim and Curly Shephard when it came to infamy. He was a hood through and through. Vulgar, rude, dangerous, always looking for trouble. Some rule to break or crime to commit. He was the type of person you knew to stay away from if you wanted to avoid trouble. Liz was the type of gal who liked to avoid trouble. The only child of busy parents. They weren't home often, but they taught her intelligence and common sense in full.
She didn't like the idea of trouble today or any other day. She didn't think she was better, or greasers were all terrible people. But she still had that commonsense yelling at her to avoid trouble at all costs. Some people need to be avoided, and this guy was one of them. He better not even think of bothering her or the other girls. The blonde was not going to be messed with.
"Look, guys, let's just get our gas and snacks and leave. Marcia's seen Soda. We can just come back when it's less crowded," Cherry reasoned.
"Sounds good to me," Liz quipped.
Soc girls were around quite often, alright. But not often did Soc girls looking like them come in. They had the guy's full attention and were good looking girls. Two had straight, striking red hair. Two more had short, dark hair and were shorter in stature. The last girl was tall and blonde. Girls like that didn't come often, and the greasers couldn't help taking notice.
"Watch this. Look at those good looking broads!" Dally said loudly unable to resist himself as Pony and Johnny cringed.
"He's speaking to us," Connie whispered in fear.
"It's fine, just ignore him. You give him no reaction, he'll get bored and quit," Liz advised.
"I don't member last time there was girls that looked this good!" Twobit called.
Cherry, Marcia, and Liz laughed while Connie and Leanne looked mortified. Ponyboy frowned, realizing he might have helped oh Dally if it was greaser girls, but these were socs. He wasn't going to say a word to them, and neither was Johnny. The other guys couldn't help themselves with pretty soc girls involved.
"Ya know Dal's right. It ain't every day girls like that come here. Can't let this opportunity pass us by," Twobit insisted.
"Or should we leave 'em alone?" Pony asked.
"Oh, come on, kid, lighten up. We're having a good time, and they should expect this," he continued.
"They ain't doing nothin wrong Pony," Soda assured.
"Some of em look nervous. Maybe we're scaring em," Johnny frowned.
"Look Johnnycake it's fine. We ain't gonna do nothing."
"Speak for yourself," Dally focused on the blonde.
Twobit might like blonds, but he was going to get to her first. She was his to annoy for as long as he wanted. He couldn't resist having some fun with her. A girl like her ought to expect it. Twobit was right.
"Come on Dal, don't get us fired," Steve warned.
"Don't worry I'll go easy," he promised, heading inside.
"I don't much like him talking to those girls," Johnny sighed.
"Shoot it'll be fine. Sides broads like them might never come in here again," Twobit chuckled.
"Maybe they'll let us by 'em some cokes. Doubt it, but worth a shot," Steve offered.
"Maybe we'll ask em," Soda grinned as they headed inside.
A few key things would happen that day. None of them could have predicted how it would have turned out. They weren't looking for anything special. Not a fight. They were looking to belong. Both Greasers and Soc's and it would take coming together to figure it out.