A Golden Life: An Outsiders Story

Chapter 3- The Soc- Charity Adderson's Story

    I tapped the side of my head with the limp curls lying flat on my head. I wear this hairstyle daily due to its efficiency of keeping tidy while I work. I require such a hairstyle due to the fact that I am practically a maid, mother, sister, babysitter, and police officer all wrapped into one. The reason I ,a mere nineteen year old girl, requires so many occupations is because of my spoiled baby brother and our practically non existent spoiled parents. My brother is one of the reckless "socs" in his little group of boys who think they can jump whoever they want. They call the kids with less luck in fortune the greasers. Sure greasers get into trouble but they all are just trying to make it and their immaturity causes them to find fun in horrid ways. Greasers are kind hearted and are all truly good they don't just jump people for the fun of it without at least some form of provocation and they fight fair. This is all unlike the heartless monster I have to call my brother. He treats me like more of a maid than a sister, but since I am the closest thing he has to an authority figure in his sad little life he fears me. And although I am ashamed of my family they think that I am the shame of the family because I am practically a greaser with a little amount of wealth.

"Stop being kind about those dirty greasers Charity," my brother and his friends always say, but I know better than to listen to those idiots. The only downside to thinking the way I do is that it gets kind of lonely. I have only met one other soc on this side of the tracks that truly acts like a greaser and is proud of it. Her name is Mary Sheldon, my brother's best friend's sister, but I call her Minnie due to her obsession with Mickey Mouse. Minnie is unlike some girls on this side like Cherry Valance and Marcia that act as though they are on the greaser's side but in reality they are flirting out of boredom; they wouldn't be caught dead actually siding with or being close to a greaser. I have no idea how they could have formed such deep rooted hatreds against them though. I mean of course I had some premature prejudices because of my prim and proper raising and their more dirty lifestyle seemed to contradict it, but I never understood the hate. This blind hatred for something you don't understand, but even this thought of mine was naive. I thought that their hatred was the only blind thing when in all truth so were my judgements of their grime. I found this out when my parents fired the maid due to lack of funds for her. She ran the household, not my mother or father, so therefore I had to step up and take her place because my parents wouldn't cut their Vegas trips short. The maid was already practically a nanny and maid wrapped in one so I took on a lot as an 11 year old girl and it shaped me and sadly it shaped Randy too.

I, obviously, wasn't good at controlling a boy a mere 3 years younger than me from falling into the wrong crowd. Therefore due to my lacking in the authoritative department caused my little brother to become a beast ridden by conformity right before my young eyes. I couldn't do anything about it and it killed me and secretly it killed Randy too just not in the same way. Randy always knew I hated his friends and all they stood for because I voiced my opinions on it, but being the younger sibling and hearing his older sibling's destain it only fueled his actions more. Randy seemed to always long for a relationship with an authoritative figure and I was a good candidate but of course everything the socs stood for pointed against me and my greaser thoughts. Therefore deep down inside my little brother wanted me to act like a normal soc to achieve a good status among his friends and our little slice of society and so we could have a little broken family. I wanted to achieve that little amount of family too but I wouldn't build it on a foundation of lies and cruelty to those beneath us. Therefore instead of a broken family we have two stubborn broken people who happen to be related. He finds a broken family in his horrific friends and I find mine in routine, in tidiness, and (when I am allowed to leave the house) in Minnie.

"Oh Mrs. Housemaid," Randy called up the stairs to me where I was still lost in thought in front of my mirror.

"What Mr. Spoiled brat," I returned the "warm family greeting".