Lay Low

New Life

I jumped up off the sofa in a panic and my hand went straight to my switchblade in my pocket. I looked around and saw a half scared to death Ponyboy staring at me with big eyes.
"Jesus, Pony! You scared the shit out of me!" I said taking my hand away from my pocket.
"Sorry. I couldn't sleep. I was talking to Soda and he said if I couldn't sleep then I should probably find you. He said he doubts you could sleep either. Were you sleeping?" He said suddenly sorry.
"No, no. I was just thinking. Why can't you sleep?" I said sitting back down.
"I kept thinking of what you must be going through. Heck, I'm barely over my parents death! I couldn't live through losin one of my own brothers!" He said looking sad. I put my hand on his shoulder and gave him a half smile.
"I'll be ok Pony. After I ripped those Socs one I felt better. I'm sorry you had to see me like that." I said looking at the ground. I really was sorry. I hated for young folks to see me in ape mode.
It didn't dawn on me how much younger Pony is then the rest of us. He was 3 years younger than me but it felt like he was my age.
"It's ok. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I will leave you alone now. I know if I was with my thoughts I would want to be alone too." He said smiling. Golly, I hope this little sucker doesn't have a crush on me. That would suck.
Pony left to go back to bed and I laid down again. Tomorrow is a new day. With my new family. In a better place, Johnny was off in peace, away from our parents. But in a way, it wasn't better because he didn't have those amazing boys with him.
When I woke up the next morning, there was a boy in the living room. It was Two-Bit. He must be the only one unemployed, besides Pony, because it was Monday. He was watching TV, unfazed by my being there. I sat up and stretched, putting on my jacket. Last night, I had changed into my now white shirt and just worn my jeans to bed. My eye was throbbing. My face must be pretty swollen.
"Hey." I said standing up. Two-Bit looked back at me and winked.
"Hey. You want anything? Darry said the fridge is all yours." He said finishing a chocolate cake and washing it down with a beer. I walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. All I saw was beer, eggs, bacon, and a half eaten chocolate cake. I grabbed a bite sized piece of chocolate cake and the eggs. After I popped the piece of cake into my mouth, I searched the kitchen for a pan. I found one in a low cupboard. After I made myself two sunny side up eggs, I sat down next to Two-Bit on the floor.
"So what do you do for fun while everyone is gone during the day?" I said starting on my first egg. His eyes didn't leave the TV.
"Well, sometimes I go around town getting drunk or causing trouble. Or even just wander around town. Or stay here and watch TV until someone comes home. Or hang out with Dally. But Dally is in hiding, I guess, so we can't do that." So Dally wasn't employed either. Good to know.
"Well, what do you want to do today?" I said, finishing my first egg. He smiled at me this time.
"Wanna get drunk?" He said. I hated alcohol. Since my mother is an alcoholic, I promised myself I wouldn't try it anytime soon, since I didn't want to turn into a drunk like her.
"Sorry, Two-Bit. Since my momma's a drunk, I don't drink. We could do something else though." I said now starting my second egg.
"Smart. We could go around town causing trouble? Or just go around town." He said shutting off the TV. I finished my egg and put my dish into the sink, promising myself to clean my dishes later. I brushed my teeth with the new tooth brush Darry gave me, and fixed my hair with some hair grease. Two-Bit joined me for this, because as he said it, "You have to perfect the swirl." I laughed and use grease to tuck my curly baby hairs behind my ears. I usually put just enough grease in my hair, so that my bangs loosely hung in front and my hair behind that got softly slicked back. But since today was a new day in my new life, I decided to style my hair differently. I took my bangs and used grease like glue to stick my bangs around in a loop. My result looked like this:

Minus the headband. But instead of putting the rest of my hair into a ponytail, since my hair was too short, I slicked it back like my usual.
"Perfect the swirl."I said mimicking Two-Bit's words.
Two-Bit and I walked into town and followed the main highway that cut through the middle of town. As we walked up the sidewalk smoking a cigarette, I looked at my shoes. My sad, old white Converses, the soles almost falling off. They reminded me of myself, holding on, not wanting to let go, yet feeling as if nothing is holding me together. I realized I was fumbling around with my fingers and needed to cool down. When I think too much I become twitchy.
"Got a weed?" I said to Two-Bit. He smiled and handed me a cig, while I took out my own classic metal lighter. I took a long drag of my cigarette. My nerves melted away.
"Where are we going?" I said taking in my old town.
"We're gonna go visit Steve and Soda. They work at the DX." He said taking a drag of his weed. I nodded flicking my ashes onto the sidewalk.
We made it to the gas station and Soda and Steve were messing around outside when we got there. Soda took his hat off when we walked up next to them and goofily said. "Howdy ma'am." I laughed taking another drag. Steve just side eyed me.
"Loosen up Steve. She was just playin' weren't you J?" Two-Bit said taking a drag.
"J is my new nickname now huh? And yeah, I'm sorry you got your ass whooped by a girl. But in all seriousness, don't be a sore loser. There shall be more times to fight to come." I said taking yet another drag. The guys laughed at my remark and Steve went inside the gas station.
"Y'all want anything?" Soda said gesturing to the gas station.
"Nah I'm good. Just bored is all." Two-Bit said throwing his cigarette. I shook the ashes off of mine and took another drag.
"Got any cigs you recommend? I'm in need of my own box." I said awkwardly. Soda shook his head yes and I followed him into the gas station. Two-Bit followed us. The inside of the gas station was nothing special, just a plain old gas station. Soda led me to a rack of cigarettes and showed me the best ones. I picked out some Matterhorns, my favorite. I paid Soda and flung my old cigarette out the door. I wanted to see how long I could go without a cig. He went behind the counter to put my money in the register and Steve went outside to help a customer. Two-Bit was wandering around the shop picking up random things. Soda turned to me and propped his head up on one hand.
"So, June, tell me a bit about where you came from."
"Well, what about your customers?" I said starting to bounce my leg. Damnit. The wheels in my head started turning.
"There ain't gonna be any of those around." He said laughing. I shrugged.
"What do you wanna know?" I said.
"Start with when you left Tulsa." He said with a twinkle in his eye. I stiffened.
"Well, I vaguely remember my old home, or when I left. But I do remember hearing mom and dad screaming every night and huddling close with Johnny. One time we even heard glass shattering. I remember going to 1st grade, worrying about Johnny's first day of Kindergarten. I also very vaguely remember punching a boy in my class in the face because he was teasing me for being a girl. I had gotten in trouble many times before anyway, so this was the last straw for my parents. They called my Aunt Fel in New York to come straighten me up. She took me away from my Johnny. If only I wasn't so stupid to cause so much trouble.... Anyway, my first few years in New York were miserable. I got in fights nearly every day, middle school was the worst. It was time to find friends, I had decided. Some of the snotty girls in my class would make fun of me for dressing like a boy and for writing to my brother. I was so fed up with it, that I got in a nasty fight with her and sent her to the hospital. She was so defenseless! It was actually kinda funny, seeing such a nasty person look so helpless. Well, then I spent 2 years in Juvie and that totally 'set me straight'. In fact, that's where I met the most amazing people. We ended up going to the same high school, and we formed a gang. Robert, the one that gave me this jacket, and Mary, were my best friends. We all grew up rough and were fed up with life. We dropped out of high school our Sophomore year and ended up ranking in the top 10 toughest gangs in New York. We called our gang The Heaters. We all got tattoos to show our dedication: a simple gun with a bullet coming out of it. Just a few days ago, when I had heard about Johnny, I said goodbye to my friends. It would be great to visit them or something soon. So that's my story. Depressing, but true." I said realizing I hadn't been standing still the whole time. I was rocking back and forth on my feet. I couldn't take it anymore. I reached into my jacket's pocket and pulled out my lighter and new cig package. I lit one and took in a deep drag. When I let it out I looked up at a wide eyed Soda.
"Golly, and I thought we had it bad here in Tulsa!" He said dusting himself off. I laughed. Two-Bit came into view in the corner of my eye. He had a arm full of food and a bottle of Vodka.
"Empty your jacket Two." Soda said already typing the items into the register. Two-Bit rolled his eyes emptying a bunch of more food, including a cigarette package, onto the counter.
"$17.42 is your total." Soda said. Two-Bit flipped his wallet out and gave him a 20.
"Keep the change." Two-Bit said while Soda pocketed the money. I looked out the window. Steve stood leaning into a lady's car looking like he was attempting to flirt, but failing. He was splashed in the face with a Coke and the lady drove off. Steve walked inside wiping Coke off his face looking defeated. I laughed with Soda and Two-Bit.
"Let's go get Pony from school, June." Two-Bit said checking an imaginary watch.
"Ok. Bye Soda. Bye Steve." I said winking.
"I get off at 6. Come pick me up." Soda said as we were leaving. I don't know if he was referring to me or Two-Bit, but I planned on going.