The Curtis Sister - The Outsiders

The Hero

I reach into the fridge and grab some milk pouring me a bowl of cereal. My fake A+ test score is staring at me as I close the fridge, it's just hung up there with all its pride and joy beside our almost overdue bills and a coupon for 10% off of toothpaste. Darry insisted it had to go on the fridge right before he told me he took the boards off my bedroom window and I am officially ungrounded.

Sweet sweet freedom

"I'm trusting you, that you have understood your mistakes and have learned from them". I think back on Darrys comment last night, I reflect on the irony of the paper that got me ungrounded and regained my "trust" with Darry was all a lie.

My thoughts are interrupted as Soda walks in from his shower with freshly wet hair and an unbuttoned DX shirt. "I'm going to the store today, Y'all need anything?". He asks Pony and I. I pull the coupon off the fridge and hand it to him. "Toothpaste," I say slurping my cereal and taking a seat next to Pony. The house is full this morning Pony and I are getting ready for school, Darry and Soda are getting ready for work, Steve is here eating our food as usual and Two-bit is still asleep on the couch. Just another day in the Curtis house.

Steve and Soda are bantering back and forth about this new girl that Soda is seeing, Darry enters the conversation waking up Two-bit in the process. Caught off guard I swear I hear a distant scream.

"Did you guys hear that" I question sushing everybody in the process. Everyone is listening intently when out of nowhere we hear a scream followed by a "Help Me!".

Pony jumps up and shouts "That's Johnny!".

Without hesitation everybody is running out the door, adrenaline pumping. Jumping off the front porch and over junk in our front yard. Johnny had gotten jumped again by the same blue Mustang I saw the night of the party. 

Darry yells back at me "Stay here".

I watch from the front porch feeling useless. I see Darry knock a guy off of Johnny and bring a blade out of his back pocket scaring the Soc off. About 4 other Socs are brawling with the guys. I see Dally come out of nowhere running up to the one that Darry ran away. They all start shouting at the Socs and running them off, Johnny is still lying on the ground all alone.

"Screw this". I whisper to myself as I jump off the front porch and run to Johnny's side. I bend down and help him sit up. His eyes are black and blue once again.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

Johnny lifts his shirt exposing a decent size cut on his left rib cage. "Sons a bitches cut me with my own blade". Johnny winced as he touched it.

I am intently looking at the damage done to Johnny when I hear the sound of gravel crunching behind me. I turn quickly.

"Bay". Johnny says softly "Run".

I stood quickly from the ground meeting the driver of the blue Mustang in the eyes. Johnny was hurt and stayed sitting up on the ground behind me. The rest of the gang had run after the Socs who started scrambling once they interjected. This one must have come back to finish the job. Despite Johnny encouraging me to run, I didn't. I knew that Johnny was in bad shape and If I ran this guy could kill him. I stood as tall as I could at only 5'1.

"Don't be a hero kid". The Soc said in a warning tone.

I had to bite back the snarky remark I had loaded in the chamber. I stared at him not losing eye contact. I held my hand open behind my back hoping Johnny would take the hint and hand me his blade that lay in the dirt beside him, still covered in his blood. I felt him slide it in my hand and I closed my fist around it.