The Outsiders, sequel

The night of the funeral, I sat and cried.

It would've been alright if Two-Bit and Steve hadn't been hanging around, but they were sitting stiffly on the couch, looking pretty much clueless as to what they should do. They didn't know whether it was alright to stay, or if my tears were a sign to head home. I wish they had left.

I was on the floor with my back arched against the wall with Soda beside me. Darry was in the kitchen, making something that smelled a lot like pancakes, and Cherry had left hours ago. She didn't want to stay too long and worry her parents, and besides, she didn't know any of us real good for it to be anything but awkward if she lounged around our house all afternoon like Two-Bit and Steve did. Nobody would comfort me, or talk to me. I don't think any of them wanted to talk, but I sure did. If Johnny had been alive, I would've kept him up all night going on and on about the funeral. But, then again, if he'd been alive, I wouldn't have any funeral to be fussing about.

"I don't know if this is a good time or anything," Steve spoke up suddenly, "but my ma said we's gonna move outta this place real soon. She's sick of all the crap goin' on 'round here, and I don't blame her. I'ma go with her, too." He hung his head, clearly feeling guilty. He had a right to go with his ma, and we respected that, but it seemed like terrible timing.

Or maybe it was perfect timing.

I wished we would move. We could start over and forget everything. Me, and Soda, and Darry. We'd go somewhere real nice, where there weren't Socs and greasers. Like out in the country, except I wouldn't want to move there. It reminded me of too many things, and I didn't want to have to relive anything. Maybe we'd just travel, city to city. 'Course, money'd be the issue. And I knew that Soda liked his job down at the gas station, and Darry was fine living here. They'd want me to finish high school here, and they wouldn't want to move out of the house we grew up in.

"When you moving?" Soda finally asked.

Steve sighed. "Prolly a few weeks."

We all nodded our heads slowly. A few weeks wasn't too long, but we'd probably recover enough for goodbyes to be less painful.

"I want to get out of here," Two-Bit said quietly. "I wanna move away to somewhere different. Maybe meet me a girl or somethin', and I'd be done with drinking. For good."

We turned our heads to look at him. It didn't surprise anyone, I don't think, but it was a little strange to hear Two-Bit talking like that, like something had hurt him real bad. Tough ol' Two-Bit had finally been beat.

Would it be just me and Soda and Darry left here? Everyone'd be on a different road, traveling somewhere different. Our lives would be separate patterns sewn, and we'd probably never meet again. It was hard to think about, but then again, most things that were happening now were pretty tough to think about.

To break a long silence, the phone rang. I think we were a little relieved, but I wondered who would be calling at such a late hour. It had to be midnight.

Darry picked up and answered. "Hello?"

We waited, but he didn't say anything else to the stranger on the line. After a minute, he came into the living room where we were all sitting, and, with a tired expression, said, "That was the police."

We stared at him expectantly, holding on to the silence in case he said something else. He was quiet for a minute, then took a deep breath and started.

"Johnny's mom went and died. Just went and threw herself in front of a train… The police thought were ought to know."

I don't think any of us really cared, but it was a good thing to know. We nodded solemnly, and soaked up the silence. Nobody so much as moved. The only sound in the room was my muffled tears and sniffling. It was a little embarrassing but I guess the guys understood why I was crying, and if they didn't want to look so tough they probably would have cried too.

After about a half an hour, Steve looked like he was ready to fall asleep. Darry said they could both stay the night if they didn't want to head home, but Two-Bit refused, saying how he'd just go home and get off of our hair for the night, and Steve said his folks would worry if he wasn't asleep in his bed in the morning. Two-Bit shook Darry's hand, jokingly saluted Soda with a half-smile, and gave me one of those sympathetic looks. I couldn't tell if he really meant it, but it sure looked like it. Steve just stood up and dragged himself out the door. I was still leaning against Soda and the wall, and I didn't really know what to do then because I didn't want to go upstairs and leave the warmth and company of Soda's body. So I simply closed my eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

I awoke to the sound of anxious knocking upon our kitchen door. I was still slumped in the same position I'd fell asleep in, except Soda wasn't next to me. I looked around the living room; neither Soda or Darry was there.  I was reluctant to leave my comfort spot, but the rapid pounding on the wooden door sounded urgent. I didn't know who it was, but I was curious to find out. I stretched my arms and legs and stood up shakily. The knocking continued as I rushed through the kitchen to the door.

"Cherry?" I was surprised to meet Cherry Valance face-to-face, standing  before me, drenched in rain, shivering, and a fearful expression on her face. She had a large black hat covering her head. "What are you doing here?"

"I'll tell you in a minute, Pony, just let me in, okay?" Sirens blared on the streets and she pushed past me into the kitchen, pulling the door shut behind her.

She shook her coat off and draped it across the table. I glanced at the clock, which read 5:27. I couldn't have gotten more than three hours of sleep, but I was wide awake.

"What's wrong? What'd you do? Were the cops after you?" I asked, my voice rising with each syllable. My fists were clenched tight, and I was overwhelmed with sudden fear.

She was smiling now. She looked as if she were on top of the world. "I just robbed the 7-11 down the block."

And she was happy about this?

"I had to try something bad," she continued. "I had to… It's just… That's what Dally… And he was always so…" She was lost for words, but I knew exactly what she was trying to say.

"I know," I said, and I motioned for her to sit down. She was shaking terribly, and her smile had disappeared and was replaced by a mess of tears.

"Oh, why did I do it, Ponyboy? Why did I do it?" She stammered, holding her sleeve up to her green eyes. "I'm so stupid and childish and… stupid!" I handed her some Kleenex and she blew her nose. She baptized the table with a waterfall of shame. "What am I going to do? I can't turn myself in."

"What's going on down here?" We turned to see Soda coming down the stairs, dressed in a white t-shirt and his race car boxers. His eyes got wide when he saw Cherry sitting at our table, and he ran upstairs. "PANTS!" he yelled behind him, before returning a few moments later wearing what looked to be Darry's work pants. They much too big, but they were pants nonetheless; who cared?

"So what's up?" he repeated, his cheeks flushed a bright red. "Good morning, by the way."

Cherry was in hysterics and couldn't speak, so I spoke up for her. "Cherry robbed the 7-11."
Soda rolled his eyes and sighed. "Is that all?"

Not surprisingly enough, Darry was awake and I could hear the thump of his feet hitting the stairs. When I saw him, he looked as if he hadn't even fallen asleep. I felt a little guilty for disturbing him, but it's a little hard to stay calm and cool and collected when your friend's on the run from the fuzz.

"What's the fuss about?" Darry moaned, his eyes barely peeking open. "Why is Cherry here?"

"Robbed a convenience store," Soda stated, clearly irritated about how simple this matter was and the fact that Cherry and I couldn't've handled this in the peace and quiet of the morning without waking them up. "Cherry, you just tell 'em you was here all night. That you slept over after the funeral. Did them guys down at the 7-11 see your hair? As long as nobody saw your hair you're alright."

She shook her head, pulling the black hat off her head. "I wore this the whole time," she sniffed. "There's somethin' else ya'll should know, too… I mighta killed the cashier down at the store by accident."

We stared at her in disbelief. "It was a mistake!" she sobbed. "I smashed a bottle over his head to knock him out, but he slammed into the cash register and his face got all messed up and he was bleeding like nothing I'd ever seen before. Goll', I was so scared I only grabbed a couple Cokes and then I ran before anyone caught me. I thought just robbing the store would give me some thrill, some excitement, but now I'm so confused and I'm afraid and I'm tired and I'm wet and I'm –" Her voice broke and she collapsed on to the floor. Soda rushed to help her up.

"Cherry, you got yourself a problem now," he sighed as he picked her up in his arms and brought her upstairs. He looked at us and nodded to say that we'd better come up too. He continued talking. "I don't know how, but we'll get you outta this, don't worry. We'll figure somthin' out."

He carried her to the bathroom, with Darry and me close behind. Soda got out a wash rag and told me to start wiping her face off and get her as cleaned up as possible.

Darry pulled me aside quickly. "Pony, Cherry's not gonna be able to get away with that, you know." He looked me straight in the eye with a pained expression. He sighed before saying, "Go pack up some clothes for me and Soda and yourself. Get some of Mom's clothes for Cherry, and we'll run off. All four of us."

It was all happening so fast. I didn't know what to think, but I did as I was told. I managed to get our suitcases down from the closet and started piling up everything I could find. I didn't care what was dirty and what wasn't, if it was clothing it went in the bag. I made sure to put in a couple of Mom and Dad's things, in case we never made it back. I grabbed our change jar and took some dollar bills out of the safe. Darry glanced over at me from the bathroom doorway and nodded.

The sirens started up again, and so did Cherry's tears. Soda was trying to calm her down, using his soothing voice and all, but she was terrified. I was scared for her, too. If she really killed that cashier, she was in a whole lot of trouble and there wasn't too much we could even do about it.

I heard her squeal as there was a loud knock on the door. "Pony, stay up here with Soda and Cherry," Darry said. "Don't make any noise, and make sure Cherry stays in the bathroom. And if you hear me going into a coughing fit, hide her somewhere, 'cause that means them cops are coming upstairs to check out the place. Alright?" I nodded. I was speechless. If they found Cherry here, she'd get busted and we'd be in for it as well.

I heard Darry crack open the door and greet the fuzz, sounding confused. I waited for a coughing fit, I waited for what had to have been half an hour, but Darry didn't signal for me to hide Cherry. I was pretty relieved for that, but I wanted to know that we were safe.

Soda put a finger to his lips and crept downstairs. I heard him ask Darry in a tired voice, "What's wrong?" and listen to whatever it was that the cops were saying. I put my arm around Cherry and whispered lightly, "S'okay, Cherry, don't worry 'bout anything. Soda and Darry'll get you out of this mess. And me, too."

She leaned her head against my shoulder and let out a soft sigh. She was done crying, thank goodness, and we struggled to listen to the conversation taking place downstairs.

Cherry got up suddenly and tip-toed into the bedroom. She saw the suitcases stuffed with clothes but didn't say anything. She crept over to them and shut all the bags, then looked me straight in the eyes, and without her saying anything I knew she was gonna make a run for it this morning. And she wanted me to come with her. Me and Soda and Darry.

At last, the door shut and Darry and Soda ran upstairs quick as they could manage. We had all our stuff, and Cherry was fine with wearing our mom's old clothes. We just had to figure out how to sneak out without nobody noticing.

"I'll go out for a drive around the block, then come back when the fuzz is all gone and pick ya'll up," Soda said, and before anyone could interfere or argue, he was gone.

I looked at Cherry and she looked back and I knew we were both scared out of our minds. Even though she was the one getting in all the trouble, I was probably just as frightened as her. I didn't want anything happening to her, especially after all the stuff that's happened recently with Johnny and Dally and now Johnny's mother.

A couple of minutes later, we saw Soda pull up into the lawn and we made a run for it. Cherry and Darry and I hauled four large bags out to the tiny car and crammed inside and we were gone. Just like that. We started driving and we didn't look where we were going. We didn't look back, and we didn't really care what was lying up ahead. We just drove.

Cherry and me were in the backseat and even though I know she doesn't like me the way she liked Dallas, we held hands. It was more of a security thing, to reassure the other that everything was fine even though it most certainly was not. No words were exchanged, our eyes didn't meet once for the first couple hours of driving. I didn't know where we were going, Cherry sure didn't know, and I don't think anybody really cared as long as we could escape that little town of  horrible memories. That little town of Tulsa and all its inhabitants were all we'd had, but I think Soda and Darry were pretty sick of it and everything that had happened there was just another bunch of things we didn't feel the need to think about.

"Thank you," Cherry finally whispered. I could see the "Welcome to Arkansas" sign and I knew we'd been driving a real long time. We were all exhausted and ready to just stop, but we had to keep going, keep driving to get as far away from Tulsa as possible.

I don't think we were just driving away from the fuzz that night. We were scared that Cherry'd get caught, of course, but I think we were finally fed up with all that drama and the Soc/greaser deal, and we were getting away from that as well.

I fell asleep again thinking about how our new life would be. And if I had the choice, I'd have dreamt about it forever and ever, but sleep has to end eventually, as all things do, because nothing gold can stay.