The Golden and the Tarnish

Chapter 7: The Golden Rescue

I never ever wanted to get out of here faster than right now. Ponyboy and Cherry didn't talk as much as before, but it still bothered me the side glances he gave her. To be honest, I thought I would always be the only girl in his life. It may sound selfish, but it was my honest outlook on this.

As we all stood up, the two Soc girls saying that they didn't have a ride. If I wasn't such an out spoken before, I might have told them to walk home. They both got two legs of their own. But I bit my tongue.

Two-Bit magnanimously offered to walk them home--- the west side of town was only about twenty miles away--- but they wanted to call their parents and have them come and get them. Two-Bit finally talked them into letting us, (more like Ponyboy and Johnny), drive them home in his car.

They allowed us to walk them to Two-bit's car, which was at his home. I seized my bike from where it was concealed in a thicket of bushes and started pedaling next to the group. The frigid air felt like icicles against my exposed arms.

I look over at Ponyboy who held my jacket underneath his arm and unequivocal to let him have it for now.

Over hearing Cherry's and Ponyboy's conversation, I couldn't but help listening in on it.

"No," Cherry said. "It's not just money. Part of it is, but not all. You greasers have a different set of values. You're more emotional. We're sophisticated--- cool to the point of not feeling anything. Nothing is real with us. You know, sometimes I'll catch myself talking to a girl-friend, and realize I don't mean half of what I'm saying. I don't really think a beer blast on the river bottom is super-cool, but I'll rave about one to a girl-friend just to be saying something." She smiled at Ponyboy. "I never told anyone that. I think you're the first person I've ever really gotten through to."

In all honesty, if Cherry didn't have her head stuck up in the clouds, she would seem like a pretty nice girl. What kind of problems to Socs have? Not enough clothing to buy? Probably something stupid like that. I had a job at the age of 11 and don't have a single possession of my own.

I share my clothing with my sister. Shared my bicycle with my neighbour , Andrea. But I was happy with my life.

"Rat race is a perfect name for it," she continues. "We're always going and going and going, and never asking where. Did you ever hear of having more than you wanted? So that you couldn't want anything else and then started looking for something else to want? It seems like we're always searching for something to satisfy us, and never finding it. Maybe if we could lose our cool, we could."

"That's why we're separated," Ponyboy replies. "It's not money, it's feeling--- you don't feel anything and we feel too violently."

"And"-she was trying to hide a smile- "that's probably why we take turns getting our names in the paper."

Two-Bit and Marcia weren't even listening to them. They were engaged in some wild conversation that made no sense to anyone but themselves.

I continued to pedal along, a little ahead of the group. Johnny walked along side of my bike and would occasionally give me side glances.

"So, Johnny?" I call out to him, grabbing his attention. "How've you been?"

"Ok, I guess." He mumbles and dips his head forwards.

We continue on and didn't talk for a while. I knew Johnny wasn't a man of many words, and so was Ponyboy, but I still felt like there was a lot to talk about than a quick 'hey' and 'how are ya?' sort-of conversation.

●○●

"You read a lot, don't you, Ponyboy?" Cherry asked.

I was startled. "Yeah. Why?"