I woke up the next morning and threw some jeans and a white t-shirt on, brushed my hair, then went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. On my way to the kitchen I saw Johnny still asleep on the couch. I made myself and Andy a couple quick bowls of cereal before we grabbed our jackets and backpacks to leave. Johnny was still asleep by the time we were ready to go, so right before we left I grabbed a small plateful of cookies and set them on the coffee table by Johnny's head.
Andy and I quietly left the house and began our walk to school. "So where'd you find this kid?" Andy asked.
"I found him in the park all curled up by a tree. I could tell he wasn't doin' too good, so I went over to try and talk to him. I guess he was pretty shaken up over something 'cause he about jumped outta his skin when I spoke up. He kinda snapped at me at first, but then, he just broke down and started bawlin'. I've never seen anyone more pitiful in my life."
"Yeah, he did look pretty rough," Andy agreed, "I wonder what put him in such a state."
"I don't know," I replied, "but I wanna find out, and try and help him."
Andy turned to me, "Now don't you go stickin' your nose where it don't belong. I know you wanna help this kid, and I do too, but you still gotta mind your own business, you dig?"
I looked down and nodded, but didn't take his words to heart. I didn't care who's business I was interfering with. It made me mad, not to mention sad, seeing that kid in the state he was in. And I was gonna find out what, or who, did that to him and why.
Over the next few days, I asked a lot of the greaser boys I knew at school if they knew a skinny, dark eyed, black haired, dark skinned kid named Johnny. None of them knew who I was talking about. Except for one.
"Hey Ponyboy, mind if I ask you something?" I said, running up to him.
"Go ahead." he replied, turning his head to me.
"There's this kid, he's kinda skinny, black hair, dark brown eyes, kinda dark skin. His name's Johnny, do you know him?"
His expression darkened as he turned the rest of his body to me, "Yeah, Johnny Cade, why?"
I slightly sighed in relief, having finally found someone who knew him. I told Pony about how I found him in the park last night and the state he was in when I found him, and how I brought him over to my place.
"Do you know what could've happened and why he was the way he was when I found him?"
Pony put his hands in his pockets and looked down and away. He uncomfortably shuffled his feet a little.
"His folks are real mean to him." he mumbled, "They don't care about him at all. His old man beats him all the time. That's why he hardly ever sleeps at his own place, and often ends up sleeping in the lot or the park. Especially when his folks fight."
"Really?" I whispered, "That's awful!" I could barely speak, and my vision was blurring from the tears forming in my eyes.
"We all try to help him as much as we can, but there really isn't a lot we can do." Ponyboy sighed, "We always give him a place to stay if he needs one. We yell at his folks all the time too," he smirked a little, "especially Ol' Two-Bit."
I laughed a little. I would've liked to see that. I liked Two-Bit, he was cool. He was a big laugh, but he could be serious too. Nothing, and no one, ever scared him. And even if he was scared, he didn't look it. I always thought he'd be good in the drama club, he was a surprisingly good actor. But he couldn't read real well, much less memorize whatever he managed to make out. There was a moment of silence as my smile dissipated as my thoughts returned to Johnny.
"How old is he?" I asked, slightly cocking my head.
"16."
16? He looked no older than 14! Pony seemed to read my mind, because he said, "I know he don't look it. Most people figure him to be around my age."
Then the bell rang, and we both jumped a little.
"We better get to class." I said dolefully.
"Yeah." he replied.
"Thanks Pony."
He nodded, and we turned away from each other toward our classes.
I was scolded several times for "daydreaming" and biting my pencil throughout the day. I couldn't help it. I was so disturbed by what Pony had told me. My friends noticed too. They kept asking me if something was wrong, but I didn't really know what to tell them. I figured Johnny wouldn't want everyone knowing everything about all his problems and the way his folks treated him, so I didn't say anything about it, no matter how much they tried to beat it outta me.
"Oh, c'mon Chris," Meg complained as we walked out of school, "we know somethin's buggin' you, just tell us!"
"Look,' I sighed, "it ain't for me to tell, and it ain't for you to hear, alright?"
"Why not?" Hazel protested, "You tell us everything!"
"If it were about me, I'd tell you, but it ain't. So you can bug me all you want, I ain't sayin' nothin'."
Hazel and Meg looked at eachother and grinned widely.
"Oh, I see, you're uh, keeping secrets FOR someone" Hazel said smugly. I gave her a bit of a dirty look.
"C'mon, leave me be!" I annoyedly urged, "Let's just go get some food!"
"Alright, fine!" Meg smiled, "Maybe we can weasel it outta you there."
"Not a chance!" I called, walking ahead of them.
