*Green Eyes and Blue Eyes*
"what is it?" Janes asked me.
"would it be alright if three friends could stay with you for a little while?" i asked. Janes looked over at the three boys.
"them?"
i nodded. "it would only be for a little while!"
"it is fine with me, Amber. but may i know their names first?" i smiled sheepishly.
"oh, i said. "right. well"--i walked over to Dally--"this is Dallas Winston, but you can call him Dally and--"i pointed at Johnny--"this is Johnny Cade and--" i walked over to Ponyboy and smiled at him--"this is Ponyboy Curtis." he smiled back. Janes had a look of suspicion on his face.
"wait a minute," he said. "those boys have the same name as...the ones in that book that you are always obsessing about. i remember you made me watch the movie with you and you cried imencely for an hour strait after we watched those two boys die. oh, what were their names? Johnny and Dally." i wanted Janes to stop right there. i was getting really embarrassed. my face was in flames and my palms were sweaty. i looked at Ponyboy out of the corner of my eye and saw he was smirking. Dallas was staring at me funny and Johnny--i dont know. he just looked at me like he would look at any other regular person. but he had a smile on his face. "you just dont keep quiet about that book and movie. and you are always talking about that one boy with that very strange name i can never forget. who would? and whenever i call it strange your face gets as red as a cherry and you yell at the top of your lungs that its lovely and unique and that his father was an origional person. isnt the boy Po"--
"okay, thats enough!" i said. "Janes, shut up please. and, yes, these are the boys from the book." than i smiled to show Doc that i didnt mean the whole shut up thing. he looked at me puzzled.
"how?" he asked.
i shrugged my shoulders. "i was kinda hoping you could help figure it out. you believe me, right? i mean, when i say that they are who they are." Janes nodded.
"of course." Dallas was chuckling at what Doc had said earlier, than Johnny said, "wait, whattya mean 'when those two boys die'?"
i looked at Ponyboy. he was still smirking but his eyes said, "we need to tell Dally and Johnny." i agreed with a head nod and we did.
"what do you mean we die?!" Dallas asked both Ponyboy and i.
"uh...well, you die," i said.
"but why?!"
"i dont know!" i said in a small voice. "ask Ponyboy!"
Dallas and Johnny turned to Ponyboy. he looked at them sheepsihly. i rolled my eyes and got back into the argument. "while Pony and Johnny hide out in the church there is a fire," i said to Dally. "and there are little kids stuck in the church. Johnny gets"--
"yeah, yeah, yeah, we know this," Dally said.
"you mean," i said. "that it actually happened?" the three boys nodded. "great," i muttered to myself. "another detail to add to the mystery." i grunted.
"anyway, Johnny gets bad burns and dies in the hospital the next night. you, Dally, are so devistated that you commit suicide."
"how?" Dallas asked.
"well," i said. "you pull your bluff on the fuzz."
"i what?"
"you pull that gun that you carry around unloaded on the cops. but they dont know its unloaded so they shoot you to death." there was silence. i pulled in a sharp breath and said, "so, Doc, you gonna let them stay?"
Janes smiled. "of course. any friend of your's is a friend of mine, Amber. they can stay for however long they need to." i smiled, then i told Janes all the things the boys needed, like the cell phones for example. he nodded. then i pulled Ponyboy to the side. i grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and wrote down my number. he looked down at me as i did that. i pulled the paper off the pad and folded it. i jokingly kissed it and shoved it in his front pants pocket. he cocked an eyebrow.
"for good luck, silly. youll need it if im not gonna be here. oh! you also need my address!" i wrote that down too and gave it to him. he smiled. "just visit when you wanna. i'll come over here later tomorrow to come check on you guys."
"why?" he asked, joking around a little. "we're big boys. we can handle it." i giggled and smiled.
"please, Ponyboy. you dont know a thing about my world. without me, youd be lost right now. from now on, till we can figure out how to get you home, i am your mentor." we stood there for a minute, not saying a word. Dally and Johnny were off talking with Janes, asking him questions of the sort. "so, have any questions? anything else you need from me?" i asked Pony.
"naw," he said. "im good for now. i'll let you know." then he smiled at me. i smiled too and ran up the basement stairs. before completely disapearing into the upstairs, i turned and waved goodbye to Ponyboy. then to Johnny too, cause he was curiously looking at me. but not at Dally. he too interested in Janes's inventions. i rolled my eyes and laughed. then i thought, such strange boys...
----
i woke up the next morning with the boys on my mind. but really mostly Ponyboy. i wonder if he slept well, i thought. did he dream of anything? then i heard a tapping at my window. probably a bird. but the tapping grew rappid and louder and more annoying so, reluctantly, i walked over to my window in just my bra and gym shorts and thought, what the hell...?
i pulled the strings to my shades and my eyes grew wide. sitting on part of my roof was Ponyboy. i quickly opened up my window, not even remembering what i was wearing, and asked him, alarmed, "what are you doing here?! why are you sitting on my window sill, or roof, or...whatever?!" he embarrasingly looked down at my chest, and his ears got hot. curious to know what he was looking at, i looked down too. my ears soon got hot too, and so did my face. i looked up at him and found him staring at my face. we stayed there frozen for a couple seconds. then i said, "uh, uno momente, Ponyboy."
"what?" he asked.
"one moment," i said, rolling my eyes. i pulled the shades back down, leaving the window open, and found my favorite tanktop that flattered me the most. i quickly threw it on annd opened the shades again. Ponyboy was smiling. "what?" i asked, pulling a bench from the side. i sat on it at the window. he shook his head.
"so thats what you go to sleep in every night?" he asked curiously. he cocked an eyebrow, something he had, no doubt, learned from his friend Two-Bit Mathews.
"that doesnt matter," i said. "what matters is: what are you doing here?! do you realize my parents couldve seen you? id be dead, and so would you. you think my dad would like the idea of a teenage boy waiting at my window?! youre so lucky both my folks left early for work, and my sister is sleeping over at a friends house. oh, Ponyboy, i oughtta..."
"well, golly, im sorry i came over, Amber. you said i could when i wanted to. i wanted to," he said, a little hurt. then i felt bad. i grunted.
"oh, it aint that, Ponyboy. nevermind. i just didnt get much sleep. thats all."
"why?"
"oh." i looked away. "no reason." truly curious, Pony leaned a little more into my room, so he was a little closer to me. his eyebrows were furrowed and he seemed really interested in what i had to say.
"oh, just a dream keepin me up all night. thats all. aint nothin to it," i said with mock sureness. but Pony shook his head.
"Amber," he said. "theres somethin you aint tellin me." he leaned a little closer, making it seem like if he leaned just a tad bit more he'd fall into my room, onto my lap.
"theres a person on my mind. but you cant know who it is. i cant allow you to know. noy yet, anyway."
Ponyboy nodded. "i understand." then there was silence. the morning breeze drifted into my room, blowing my a hair along the tiniest bit. i stared into Ponyboy's greenish-grey eyes (but i like to say green). the golden sun stood behind him, lighting up his hair a little. he casted a shadow into my room. wow, i thought. the gorgeous Ponyboy Curtis is sitting on the window sill of the window in my room. i must still be alseep.
i sighed and said, almost to myself, "you have such nice green eyes." then my face got red. i looked down cause i had realized what i had just said. Pony got a little red too, but he also smiled a little. "did i say that outloud?!" i mumlbed to myself, horrified.
"theyre not green, theyre grey!" he said. "i hate most guys with green eyes. i like to believe my eyes are more grey."
"i like 'em better green," i said. "the green makes you look tuff, spelled with two f's." he smiled and looked down.
"thanks. ya know," he said, looking back up at me and into my eyes. "i like your eyes too. they aint green but theyre a very pretty shade a blue. theyre like the deep ocean, holdin the many colorful array of fish and water's many secrets. theyre a tuff blue, spelled with two f's."
i blushed, but didnt look away. this was a very weird conversation. "youre too sweet, Ponyboy," i said. "but my eyes aint all that great."
"sure they are," he said. "like i said, they remind me of the ocean, or water. i like water."
i smiled, then i thought of another random thing to say. so i said it. "ya know, Pony? i aint never had a boy waitin at my window for me before. youre the first."
he smiled and chuckled a little. "tuff enough," he said. i smiled back and giggled, then invited him inside.
"what is it?" Janes asked me.
"would it be alright if three friends could stay with you for a little while?" i asked. Janes looked over at the three boys.
"them?"
i nodded. "it would only be for a little while!"
"it is fine with me, Amber. but may i know their names first?" i smiled sheepishly.
"oh, i said. "right. well"--i walked over to Dally--"this is Dallas Winston, but you can call him Dally and--"i pointed at Johnny--"this is Johnny Cade and--" i walked over to Ponyboy and smiled at him--"this is Ponyboy Curtis." he smiled back. Janes had a look of suspicion on his face.
"wait a minute," he said. "those boys have the same name as...the ones in that book that you are always obsessing about. i remember you made me watch the movie with you and you cried imencely for an hour strait after we watched those two boys die. oh, what were their names? Johnny and Dally." i wanted Janes to stop right there. i was getting really embarrassed. my face was in flames and my palms were sweaty. i looked at Ponyboy out of the corner of my eye and saw he was smirking. Dallas was staring at me funny and Johnny--i dont know. he just looked at me like he would look at any other regular person. but he had a smile on his face. "you just dont keep quiet about that book and movie. and you are always talking about that one boy with that very strange name i can never forget. who would? and whenever i call it strange your face gets as red as a cherry and you yell at the top of your lungs that its lovely and unique and that his father was an origional person. isnt the boy Po"--
"okay, thats enough!" i said. "Janes, shut up please. and, yes, these are the boys from the book." than i smiled to show Doc that i didnt mean the whole shut up thing. he looked at me puzzled.
"how?" he asked.
i shrugged my shoulders. "i was kinda hoping you could help figure it out. you believe me, right? i mean, when i say that they are who they are." Janes nodded.
"of course." Dallas was chuckling at what Doc had said earlier, than Johnny said, "wait, whattya mean 'when those two boys die'?"
i looked at Ponyboy. he was still smirking but his eyes said, "we need to tell Dally and Johnny." i agreed with a head nod and we did.
"what do you mean we die?!" Dallas asked both Ponyboy and i.
"uh...well, you die," i said.
"but why?!"
"i dont know!" i said in a small voice. "ask Ponyboy!"
Dallas and Johnny turned to Ponyboy. he looked at them sheepsihly. i rolled my eyes and got back into the argument. "while Pony and Johnny hide out in the church there is a fire," i said to Dally. "and there are little kids stuck in the church. Johnny gets"--
"yeah, yeah, yeah, we know this," Dally said.
"you mean," i said. "that it actually happened?" the three boys nodded. "great," i muttered to myself. "another detail to add to the mystery." i grunted.
"anyway, Johnny gets bad burns and dies in the hospital the next night. you, Dally, are so devistated that you commit suicide."
"how?" Dallas asked.
"well," i said. "you pull your bluff on the fuzz."
"i what?"
"you pull that gun that you carry around unloaded on the cops. but they dont know its unloaded so they shoot you to death." there was silence. i pulled in a sharp breath and said, "so, Doc, you gonna let them stay?"
Janes smiled. "of course. any friend of your's is a friend of mine, Amber. they can stay for however long they need to." i smiled, then i told Janes all the things the boys needed, like the cell phones for example. he nodded. then i pulled Ponyboy to the side. i grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and wrote down my number. he looked down at me as i did that. i pulled the paper off the pad and folded it. i jokingly kissed it and shoved it in his front pants pocket. he cocked an eyebrow.
"for good luck, silly. youll need it if im not gonna be here. oh! you also need my address!" i wrote that down too and gave it to him. he smiled. "just visit when you wanna. i'll come over here later tomorrow to come check on you guys."
"why?" he asked, joking around a little. "we're big boys. we can handle it." i giggled and smiled.
"please, Ponyboy. you dont know a thing about my world. without me, youd be lost right now. from now on, till we can figure out how to get you home, i am your mentor." we stood there for a minute, not saying a word. Dally and Johnny were off talking with Janes, asking him questions of the sort. "so, have any questions? anything else you need from me?" i asked Pony.
"naw," he said. "im good for now. i'll let you know." then he smiled at me. i smiled too and ran up the basement stairs. before completely disapearing into the upstairs, i turned and waved goodbye to Ponyboy. then to Johnny too, cause he was curiously looking at me. but not at Dally. he too interested in Janes's inventions. i rolled my eyes and laughed. then i thought, such strange boys...
----
i woke up the next morning with the boys on my mind. but really mostly Ponyboy. i wonder if he slept well, i thought. did he dream of anything? then i heard a tapping at my window. probably a bird. but the tapping grew rappid and louder and more annoying so, reluctantly, i walked over to my window in just my bra and gym shorts and thought, what the hell...?
i pulled the strings to my shades and my eyes grew wide. sitting on part of my roof was Ponyboy. i quickly opened up my window, not even remembering what i was wearing, and asked him, alarmed, "what are you doing here?! why are you sitting on my window sill, or roof, or...whatever?!" he embarrasingly looked down at my chest, and his ears got hot. curious to know what he was looking at, i looked down too. my ears soon got hot too, and so did my face. i looked up at him and found him staring at my face. we stayed there frozen for a couple seconds. then i said, "uh, uno momente, Ponyboy."
"what?" he asked.
"one moment," i said, rolling my eyes. i pulled the shades back down, leaving the window open, and found my favorite tanktop that flattered me the most. i quickly threw it on annd opened the shades again. Ponyboy was smiling. "what?" i asked, pulling a bench from the side. i sat on it at the window. he shook his head.
"so thats what you go to sleep in every night?" he asked curiously. he cocked an eyebrow, something he had, no doubt, learned from his friend Two-Bit Mathews.
"that doesnt matter," i said. "what matters is: what are you doing here?! do you realize my parents couldve seen you? id be dead, and so would you. you think my dad would like the idea of a teenage boy waiting at my window?! youre so lucky both my folks left early for work, and my sister is sleeping over at a friends house. oh, Ponyboy, i oughtta..."
"well, golly, im sorry i came over, Amber. you said i could when i wanted to. i wanted to," he said, a little hurt. then i felt bad. i grunted.
"oh, it aint that, Ponyboy. nevermind. i just didnt get much sleep. thats all."
"why?"
"oh." i looked away. "no reason." truly curious, Pony leaned a little more into my room, so he was a little closer to me. his eyebrows were furrowed and he seemed really interested in what i had to say.
"oh, just a dream keepin me up all night. thats all. aint nothin to it," i said with mock sureness. but Pony shook his head.
"Amber," he said. "theres somethin you aint tellin me." he leaned a little closer, making it seem like if he leaned just a tad bit more he'd fall into my room, onto my lap.
"theres a person on my mind. but you cant know who it is. i cant allow you to know. noy yet, anyway."
Ponyboy nodded. "i understand." then there was silence. the morning breeze drifted into my room, blowing my a hair along the tiniest bit. i stared into Ponyboy's greenish-grey eyes (but i like to say green). the golden sun stood behind him, lighting up his hair a little. he casted a shadow into my room. wow, i thought. the gorgeous Ponyboy Curtis is sitting on the window sill of the window in my room. i must still be alseep.
i sighed and said, almost to myself, "you have such nice green eyes." then my face got red. i looked down cause i had realized what i had just said. Pony got a little red too, but he also smiled a little. "did i say that outloud?!" i mumlbed to myself, horrified.
"theyre not green, theyre grey!" he said. "i hate most guys with green eyes. i like to believe my eyes are more grey."
"i like 'em better green," i said. "the green makes you look tuff, spelled with two f's." he smiled and looked down.
"thanks. ya know," he said, looking back up at me and into my eyes. "i like your eyes too. they aint green but theyre a very pretty shade a blue. theyre like the deep ocean, holdin the many colorful array of fish and water's many secrets. theyre a tuff blue, spelled with two f's."
i blushed, but didnt look away. this was a very weird conversation. "youre too sweet, Ponyboy," i said. "but my eyes aint all that great."
"sure they are," he said. "like i said, they remind me of the ocean, or water. i like water."
i smiled, then i thought of another random thing to say. so i said it. "ya know, Pony? i aint never had a boy waitin at my window for me before. youre the first."
he smiled and chuckled a little. "tuff enough," he said. i smiled back and giggled, then invited him inside.
You were actually close to Soda. Danny played with Grace and Logan all the time. You couldn’t even begin to imagine how they felt.
You hear the front door open. Darry was home now. You take another deep breath, and sit at the kitchen table.
Just breathe.
He walks into the kitchen. “Hey babe, what’s wrong?” He asks, setting down his wallet and keys.
You swallow. “I got a call.” Is all you manage to say.
“About?” He asks, eyebrows raised.
“Soda’s dead.” You blurt out.
The look on Darry’s face would haunt your memory for the rest of your life.
He just sat down on the floor in pure shock, mouth open, eyes wide.