Krystal Curtis| Dallas Winston and Johnny Cade

The Socs.

TW: HARASSMENT, SEXUAL HARASSMENT

When the final bell rang on a Friday afternoon, I packed my school bag up. I was supposed to meet my brothers outside by 1:30 so we could walk home together. Fridays were special because mom and dad didn't work on the weekends. Usually, they'd work all week and come home late. But on Fridays, they'd come home late but we would have the whole weekend with them. As I was packing my bag, I thought of all the things we might do.

So when I left the classroom, I didn't realize a group of Socs were following me.

I made it to the main hallway before realizing how close they were to me. This made me nervous, because the Socs don't like Greasers too much. And the Socs knew who I was. Darry and Soda Curtis's sister.

I made my way outside. None of my brothers were there yet. And I knew that if I stopped walking, they'd bother me more. So I kept walking, completely abandoning my plans with my brothers. I started walking faster.

"What's the rush?" One of them called out from behind me.

Now I knew for sure that they were following me. My breathing got faster.

"Where are you going? Don't you have to meet your brothers?" Another called out.

I stopped in my tracks when I felt a hand grab at my shoulder. I turned around to try to break free. I finally got a good look at the boys. They were all a good few years older than me. They were dressed like they were going to a tennis match and they had fancy backpacks. Mine was a hand me down from Darry's freshman year.

"Leave me the hell alone," I said.

"Ooooh," they all taunted.

"Or what?" One of them added.

"Or my brothers and their friends will cut you," I responded.

They sneered at this.

"I don't see her brothers anywhere, do you Todd?" One of them asked, looking around.

"No, I don't see them around, Chad," Todd responded.

"I'm serious. When they find out, they'll be mad," I said.

"If you're so tough, why don't you do it, huh? Go on, hit me," One of them said, stepping forward.

"I don't wanna start no trouble," I said, trying to back away from him.

"Oh shoot. I forgot. You're just a wimpy girl-" He began.

I punched him on the tip of his nose. After receiving the harsh blow, he stumbled backwards and fell on his back.

"Shit," I said before running away.

I ran so far and so fast that I had no idea where I was. But they were still chasing me. Eventually, I ran out of steam and slowed down. Two of them grabbed my hands and pushed me up against a chain link fence nearby. I winced, but somehow hid my fear from them.

"Look what we have here, huh?" The guy I punched said. He took a handful of my hair into his hand.

"Please, I'm sorry. Just leave me," I said, fear starting to take over.

"Do you know why we're doing this?" Todd asked.

I shook my head.

"Your brother Soda and his pal Dallas jumped one of us the other night," Another chimed in.

"That ain't my business," I said, feeling them push me harder against the fence.

"Well sure it ain't. But you're our revenge," He responded.