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Witness: Johnny
Bio: I’m a sixteen-year-old greaser, and also the youngest of the gang except for Ponyboy, but smaller than all the others with a slight build. I could say that I’m the gang’s pet and everyone’s kid brother. I am very appreciative for the gang and my ability to always depend on my companions. They showed me love and affection, in which my parents had failed to provide me with. My father would always beat me, and my mother mostly ignores me except for the yelling from time to time. Ponyboy would describe me as “A little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers.” The constant danger and threats caused by the Socs (a wealthier gang) on the streets doesn’t help either. Living in this condition is killing me. I’ve been so scared and am jumpier than ever. I’m always the fragile victim who gets beaten up, and the outsider, without the sense of belonging. Timeline: EVENING MOVIE: It was rather dark outside when we went to the Nightly Double drive-in movie. Ponyboy and I followed Dally to the rows of seats in front of the concession stand to sit down. Only two Soc girls were there. As expected, Dally went to sit right behind these two good-looking, sharp-dressed girls. He started talking awfully dirty, loud enough for the girls to hear. I immediately felt embarrassed and left hastily to get a Coke, not wanting to be involved in Dally’s tricky business. As I came back, Dally got himself an armful of cokes to offer to the two girls. Just as the redhead of the two threw her Coke at Dally’s face in return, I knew this wasn’t going to turn out well. Alongside with that dangerous smile on his face, Dally started to put his arm around the redhead. I couldn’t stand it anymore. They were sweet, innocent Soc girls who were for once unlike the greaser girls we’ve known of, whom are loud with swear words and wear too much eye makeup. I reached over and stopped Dally. “Leave her alone, Dally.” Both of Dally and Ponyboy’s faces were filled with shock. It is not anyone’s deal to tell Dallas Winston what to do. I bet, if it was anyone else who told Dally to back off, Dally would’ve flattened him right away. It was one of the advantages of being the gang’s pet. Dally walked off without coming back with a frown on his face and fists jammed in his pockets. The redhead smiled at me as she thanked me for making Dallas leave and allowed us to sit in the front row with them. I immediately knew that talking back to Dally for the first time was really worth it. These are some real cute girls. Within some brief chatting, I learned the two girls’ names: Cherry, the redhead and Marcia, the other one with short dark hair. Ponyboy and I also discovered the reason why Cherry and Marcia are here alone. They came with their boyfriends, but found out that the boys had brought some booze along. So these two girls walked out on them, leaving the boys irritated. Just as the four of us were sitting together in silence mid-way through the movie, a strong hand grabbed down onto my shoulder and a deep voice said,“Ok, greasers, you’ve had it.” It was like my heart stopped pounding. The deep voice sounded for all the world like a Soc. I almost jumped out of my skin as I hesitantly looked over my shoulder. And there was Two-Bit, smiling back at us. I decided to shut my eyes for a second while controlling my smothered breathing, trying to not remind myself of the time where I got beaten up the most badly by a blue Mustang full of Socs. A while later, Ponyboy went to get some popcorn with Cherry, and Two-Bit stayed with us to watch through the movie again while he and Marcia were hitting off just fine. AFTER THE MOVIE: It came to our realization that Cherry and Marcia didn’t have a ride home. Although they wanted to call their parents for them to come and get them, Two-Bit talked them into letting him to drive them home in his car. While we were walking to Two-Bit’s house to pick up his car, there was a blue Mustang coming down the street. THE blue Mustang. I almost choked and started trembling all over. It was the exact one as the Mustang full of Socs that beat me up. Cherry declared that it was Randy and Bob, their boyfriends. She told us to act natural, and maybe they wouldn’t spot us. Marcia signed in relief as the car passed us slowly and went right on by. We continued walking and the chatters carried on, which made us forget that the boys were here, until the blue Mustang came down the street again, even more slowly. As the Mustang stopped suddenly beside us, the two Socs in the front seat got out. My breaths automatically got heavier. I stared at the Soc’s hand wearing three heavy rings...the three rings that had cut my face up that time they jumped me. Both Bob and Randy apologized to the girls for drinking, despite that Cherry and Marcia were clearly still mad. It wasn’t until Two-Bit and Bob got on to the topic of fighting then did Cherry agree to ride home with her boyfriend. AFTER THE GIRLS LEFT: Two-bit left Ponyboy and I lying down on the ground watching stars as I smoked a cigarette. I couldn’t take the Socs anymore. It wasn’t fair. Mustang’s a tuff car. The girls only left us because we are greasers who could have hurt their reputations. I felt the bitterness of jealousy deep down inside. I just wanted to escape, to a place where there are no Socs or greasers, but only plain ordinary people. It seemed like Ponyboy also felt the same way. We talked and dreamed of big towns and country. Listening to Ponyboy rattle on and on put me to sleep… The chill of the night woke me. I shook Ponyboy awake, who was asleep beside me and told him to get home quick while I would just stay out for the whole night. Ponyboy left. WHEN PONYBOY CAME BACK: “Johnny?” I jumped when Ponyboy called my name. “Come on, Johnny. We’re running away.” I asked no questions. We ran for a few blocks until we were out of breaths. Ponyboy was crying by then. I handed him a cigarette as he asked for one and told me the story: Dally had hit him. Ponyboy couldn’t take him anymore. He said that Darry didn’t used to be like that, not until their parents passed away. I responded back by telling him that I’ve got no one. No one in my house cares about me nearly as much as Sodapop cares about Ponyboy. Ponyboy commented that I’ve got the whole gang and that I’m the gang’s pet, but I know that it is not the same as having your own folks to care about you. Ponyboy suggested to go walk to the park and back for him to get cooled off enough to go home. I agreed. AT THE PARK: The park was about two blocks square, with a fountain in the middle. Just as we were wandering around the park, we noticed the headlights of the blue Mustang that made us both jump. I swore under my breath. They’ve came to look for us. The five drunk Socs in the car came straight at us. I was pretty sure my skin was as white as a ghost from how fast my heart was pounding. I prepared a tuff look on my face as my hand reached to my back pocket, remembering my switchblade. “You know what a greaser is?” Bob asked, “white trash with long hair.” Ouch, that stung like nothing before. One Soc suddenly caught onto Ponyboy’s arm and twisted it behind his back just as he shoved his face into the fountain. He’s drowning Ponyboy…He’s killing him…The others are going to beat me up with the rings…just as they did before… I was panicking and terrified. Ponyboy looked like he was unconscious. My brain wasn’t thinking when I grabbed my switchblade and stabbed right onto Bob. I killed him. All the other Socs ran away. Relationships: Ponyboy - He’s my best buddy out of the whole gang. We are both very quiet around others, but also understood each other without talking. Soda Pop - He’s Ponyboy’s older handsome brother as he’s also in our gang. Pony tells me some real nice things about Soda. I’m also very thankful for him helping me when I got beaten by the whole blue Mustang full of Socs. Darry - He’s Ponyboy’s oldest brother and also a member in our greaser gang. Pony doesn’t particularly dig him as Darry is always very strict about Pony. Dally - I should say that he’s the toughest of our gang as he got arrested when he was 10 years old. But of course, I’m the gang’s pet and he favoured me and protected me. Cherry - Cherry’s a redhead Soc girl. I met her at the movie theater with Ponyboy and Dally. I was instantly fond of her as she was a real cute girl and had a sweet personality. She appreciated me for making Dally leave and chatted with Ponyboy and me throughout the movie. Marcia - Marcia’s Cherry’s friend, a pretty Soc girl with short dark hair. I also met her at the movie theater as she was there together with Cherry. Randy - Randy's a very rude Soc who's Marcia’s boyfriend and Bob’s best friend. He was sitting on the passenger seat in Bob's blue Mustang and also wanted to beat me up. |