The Outsiders: Newcomers

Shepards and Winstons

𝕰𝖒𝖒𝖆'𝖘 𝕻.𝕺.𝖁

My alarm went off around six in the morning and caused me to jump out of my sleep. I was having a real weird dream I lived in a tree house and my parents were there. Except they were super happy. Like they were before we went broke. But for some reason the gang was also there. I shook the dream off and stopped the alarm clock. I got ready for school, deciding to wear a normal white shirt and jeans. I noticed all the girls at my school put a lot of effort into their outfits. And not just the Socs. The greaser girls all wore short denim skirts with extremely tight shirts, some being belly shirts, or really short dresses. I was surprised the school didn't have a policy against it.

It kind of disgusted me. Only a greaser who had no standards would date a girl like them. And believe me, there were very many. I'm the type of person who hates attracting attention to myself. People make comments about how I'm skinny and pretty and I tell them to stop and appreciate themselves. Other girls would deny it and call themselves fat or ugly which really irritated me, or say they know and want to hear more. But besides that, I just never really cared about my appearance or anyone else's.

I went into the bathroom and did my routine then went to the kitchen for breakfast. Grandpa was still asleep in the recliner, so I made myself some eggs and toast and ate quickly. When I finished, I brushed my teeth and put my converse on. I grabbed my bag and left the house, walking towards the bus stop. When I got to school, I heard somewhere on the campus a kid yell, "Ah, cut it out, Shepard!" The name rang familiar. I remember it was the name one of those greasers used when asking who I was. I also remember Winston was one of them. Winston sounded very familiar, but I couldn't place where I heard it.

I climbed the steps to the school and found my locker. Pony was already there so I figured I'd ask about the names.

"Hey Pony." I said.

"Hi, Emma." He said with a wide grin.

"I've got a question." I said kind of quietly, wanting to keep it kind of private because from what I've heard, people don't like Shepards or Winstons. I figured it must've been a gang or something.

"Shoot." He replied.

"So, my first day here, some greasers tried jumping me. I kicked one guy in the groin and punched the other. But, I guess they were taken aback. They asked if I was a 'Shepard' or a 'Winston'. What are either of those? A gang? A nickname?" I asked.

Pony seemed kind of amused and I lifted a brow.

"So, you see the Shepards are a gang. The leader is a kid named Tim Shepard. He's got a younger brother who goes here named Curly Shepard, and a sister who goes here named Angela Shepard. The rest of the gang ain't Shepards though. Just friends." Pony explained.

I nodded. "Curly was the kid who was buggin' you at lunch yesterday, right?" I asked.

"Yup." He answered. "Anyway, Winston is Dal's last name." He said.

I snapped. "I knew that name was familiar!" I said.

Pony nodded. "You here about them a lot. Especially on our side of town."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Well you see, Dal' is......dangerous. Only with certain people though. He'd never hurt one of us. Or you. He's real nice whenever a girl one of us knows is around. Soda once dated this girl named Sandy and he was real nice to her. Steve has a girl named Evie and Dal' is good to her. Steve even had a cousin visit once and he even went far enough to watch his swearing. He's actually always like that with girls he knows and actually likes. He still cusses but not as bad." Pony said.