#the outsiders two bit
Pt.1Pt.2
Summary:
Ember Curtis, Sodapop’s twin sister, tells the untold story of the week Ponyboy went missing.
My world turned upside down a long time ago but it feels like it will never be the same again. It’s like ever since mom and dad died everything has been going downhill. Being a greaser has gotten tougher especially being a greaser girl. Soc boys doing everything they can to take advantage of you.You’re always living with fear that something bad is going to happen and typically it does. It’s rare that you’d find an optimist on this side of town and life don’t make it that easy. Life as a greaser has always been reckless and interesting. You never know what’s bound to happen on the streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Yells and the pounding of feet echoed through the house as the front door slammed. My blue eyes searched the room for a hair tie as I jumped off the bed. I raced toward the front room swinging open the bedroom door. When I got to the front room it was empty, I could hear faint yells coming from down the street.
“What the hell,” I whispered, my mind was racing, sorting through all of the possibilities. What made them run like that, it was a good day. I threw open the front door and raced down the street only to catch a glimpse of a blue mustang drive away. Socs, should’ve known, they’re usually causing more ruckus than us, though greasers are probably the wildest of the two. We don’t go around jumping Socs. The Socs get articles for being disgraces one day and the next they are the best things to happen to this damn society, that’s how this city works.
I felt like I had stopped breathing. I froze in front of my brothers as they comforted poor Ponyboy. Blood was running down his chest from the multiple cuts on his neck from the switchblade. I took a deep breath, swallowing my fear as I moved forward.
“What the hell happened,” I yelled.
“Socs,” Darry spat
I cursed under my breath, another attack, when will this end? “Ponyboy,” I softly whispered as I crouched in front of him. “Are you okay?”
“Em.” He choked out as he hugged me with all his strength.
“I’m right here Pony.” I wrapped his body in my arms as it began to shake with sobs. I just stood there with him rubbing his back. I pressed a kiss to his head and held him tighter to my body. “Let’s get you home.” He nodded into my chest before pulling away and grabbing my hand. I smiled at my brother and gave his hand a squeeze of reassurance as we began our walk home, the gang trailing behind. He’s just a kid, though he’d never admit it due to the fact he’s 14 now. But Ponyboy is different, he’s a huge dreamer and digs movies and books in a special way. A way that only a few of us understand. He realizes the good in the world, he sees the beauty in everything he looks at and has been this way since he was a kid. Sometimes that gets him in trouble, he’s too sweet for his own good. Don’t get me wrong though he can get mean in a rumble, every grease can. You have to growing up on our side of town.
Darry is the oldest of us all, he’s named after dad. We call him Superman, sometimes, due to his giant muscles and his incredible mind. He had a great scholarship to great college, but he gave it up to be the guardian of my brothers and me after Mom and Dad were killed in an automobile accident over a year ago. He has blue-green eyes that have become like ice since he took on that roofing job. He is real smart, book smart and street smart. He seems to know everything, he doesn’t really fit in with the greasers but we are the only things that kept him away from the socs. He is a real looker, all of my brothers are in their own ways. Pony with his boyish charm and adorable grin, Darry with his bruting muscles and mysterious eyes, and Sodapop with his movie star looks.
Sodapop, my twin brother, is a different kind of handsome, he’s the kind you see on the big screen at the drive-in each night. He’s a little bit shorter than Darry but still a good height. Soda’s muscle build is slimmer than Darry but not as slim as Pony. He has this golden blonde hair that makes him look like a greek god. He has Dad’s eyes, dark brown and full of emotion. Soda can go from being wild and reckless to the kindest and most caring person I know, Soda is special that way. He dropped out of school a little after our parents died and he now works full time at the DX. He only smokes when he’s stressed and never drinks, while Pony smokes almost a pack a day and Darry won’t even go near them.
“Pony, everything is okay,” I told him as I wiped the tears from his face.
“I know I’m just a little spooked that’s all.” I nodded and smiled softly.
“They got away those dirty fu-”
“KEITH!” I yelled before he could finish that sentence. Two-Bit as you can tell, has an extremely colorful vocabulary. Keith “Two-Bits” Matthews is the second oldest of our little family. He is eighteen and a half but he’s still in the eleventh grade - with me. Two-bits never stops talking he’s the king of interrupting, that’s why we call him Two-Bits. He’s the funny guy of our gang everything becomes a joke to him. He knows how to make you smile in the darkest of times.
“What are you doing walking alone kid,” Steve questioned as he held his nose.
“Butt out Steve and leave him be” I warned and glared at him, but finally he gave up and walked over to Soda.
Steve Randle just turned 17 and he has been best friends with Sodapop and I since we were in grade school. Sometimes his anger gets too out of hand. Though I’m the only one who can get through to him and the rest of the boys. They all confide in me. Steve has a messed-up home situation, his father is a drunk and kicks him out of the house at least once a week. Then the next day gives him money to try and make up for it. Steve comes to our house to hide out. He’ll sleep on the couch but usually, he comes into my room and we talk all night long. He lays with his head in my lap as I run my fingers through his hair. He will rant and cry about anything and everything that is on his mind. One of Steve’s greatest talents is fixing cars. He can replace a hubcap quicker and quieter than any man in all of Tulsa. He wants to be more than that, though, he wants to prove to everyone he isn’t just a mechanic.
The most dangerous of our gang is Dallas Winston. He has a rap sheet longer than the Declaration of Independence (trust me I’ve read both) and he is extremely proud of it. He has platinum blonde hair and cold ice blue eyes. He didn’t grease nor cut his hair causing it to line his face. Dally’s face is an elfish face, he has high cheekbones and a pointed chin. Dally has a heart of stone, the meanest of our entire gang. The first time Dally got arrested he was 10 years old. He spent a total of three years out in New York with the toughest gangs you will ever see. Dally was closer to a hood than a greaser, he’s wild. Dally would be classed with the downtown gangs if it wasn’t for us. Dally has been worse since my parents died, they kept him fed and out of trouble. They were the closest thing he ever had to real parents. I think he took it the worse out of all the boys when he found out he ran. I chased him all the way to the gas station, but it was too late. The cops caught him stealing and he was jailed. Now the gang is the only thing he has left in this crooked world.
Then there’s Johnny Cade, The second youngest though he is treated more like a kid than Pony. Johnny’s parents are abusive drunks, his father beats him and his mother pretends he isn’t even there. There have been many sleepless nights where I’ve cleaned the wounds of his most recent beatings and held him as he cried. I couldn’t understand how two people couldn’t love one of the sweetest boys in this world.Johnny got jumped a few weeks back by some socs. I had left Johnny in the park to go get some drinks and food from the house and When I got back the socs were leaning over his body. I screamed out and ran towards them. That’s when one of them turned and grabbed me. He pinned me to the ground to keep me from getting to Johnny. I recognized the boy from school and I could tell he knew me too. He was holding my arms and had his legs on both sides of my hips.I don’t remember much else, all I know is Dallas was the one who saved us.
“You don’t ever think,” Darry began “ not anywhere it counts. With all of those good grades, you still don’t use your head. You should have at least had your blade.”
“Aw Darry lay off him. Carrying a blade would have given the socs an excuse to cut him off more.” Soda yelled he always sticks up for Pony but one of these times it’s going to get him in trouble.
“If I want my kid-brother to tell me what to do with my other kid-brother I’d ask kid brother-”
*
I walked to the door to find Pony. “Ponyboy come on inside. Johnny, Dally you staying for dinner?”
“Nah, I’m headin’ to Bucks” Dally yells as he walks out the gate
“See ya, Dal.” I yelled out waving “Johnny?”
“No, I’m all set. Thanks for the offer, though!” Johnny smiled
“Johnny I don’t want you out in that cold tonight. Make sure you come here.” He nodded and walked off. As I opened the door to let Pony in a gust of wind blew past my face.
*
“Ponyboy Michael sit still!” I couldn’t deal with this boy. Every move I made to clean this wound, he would squirm on the couch. “Pony I have to clean it!”
“It stings Em,” Ponyboy whined
“It’s going to sting more if you don’t sit still.” After 5 minutes of struggling and Soda holding his shoulders down, the wound was finally cleaned. “Go get your homework done while we’re cooking dinner. I’ll call you when it’s done.” Ponyboy walked to his room and shut the door. I started cleaning the blood off the floor and picking up the mess that was created.
Dinner came and went, I checked over Ponyboy’s math as he showered. This used to be Dad’s job, he would clean the wounds and check the homework. Mom would cook the dinner, the second she would turn away Soda would take the food coloring and put it into anything. Soda doesn’t like when things are normal. I remember mom’s laughter when she turned to find Soda mixing the blue mashed potatoes. I couldn’t help but smile at the memory. I finished up my own homework and returned everything to bags.
“Rub harder Soda” I heard Darry mumble “You’re gonna put me to sleep.” I let out a small chuckle. I walked into the living room to see Soda giving Darry a backrub. He hurt himself at work again because he tries to carry too much roofing. Darry doesn’t deserve to be working like a 40-year-old at 20. He was the boy of the year and captain of the football team. Now he’s a roofer working his ass off to take care of his three siblings. He could have been so much more if we had the money. I wish we had the money.
