Sass

Prologue

For as long as I can remember, I've always carried my own weight. I stopped needing coddling by the age of ten and became generally self-sufficient by twelve. If I'm being honest, I can only clearly remember the year of 1961, when I was twelve years old, and up; anything before that is a blur.

        1961, only four years ago, was a time of sheer insanity. Not only was I so close to my teenage years that I could taste them, but my mama died of pneumonia. We didn't really know what was wrong with her at the time, as we weren't too educated and had no money to afford medical care, but once my mama was taken in the arms of an angel, my life changed forever.

        Mama, my older brother Danny, and I lived in a cozy, yellow house in a modest neighborhood in Cheyenne, Oklahoma. My daddy left us when I was quite young, and Mama suspected he moved to the other side of the state. To this day, I'm still not too sure where he is.

        I never thought the day of Mama's death would come so soon, but looking back, I guess I'd expect Danny and I to try to rebuild our lives together- what actually happened couldn't have been farther from that.

        I will never forget the cold, dead look in his eyes as we loomed over Mama's still body, and how quickly he turned away from me, murmuring, "I think I'm going to live with Judy for a while."

        No matter how hard I screamed, cried, and begged him to stay, he left me behind to live with his stupid girlfriend, as though I was only a figment of his imagination.

        I became a shell of a human being for the next few days, with Mama's body as my only company. I never called the police or an ambulance in fear that they would place me in some random home. I still regret not giving her a proper burial.

        On the fourth day of wallowing in the cold, lifeless house, I decided to search for the only family I knew I had left: Daddy.

         Although some things are blurred out, as they are too painful to even remember, I recall hitching my way across the state in search of my father with only the clothes on my back. I met so many kind people on my journey, and for them, I will be eternally grateful.

        After days of hitchhiking and sleeping near dumpsters, I made it to some strange city that I didn't know the name of. I carefully walked down the street, my thumb pointing outwards to cars zipping by. I must have walked for about ten minutes, until a boy, who looked about sixteen pulled over and asked where I was headed.

         I was so filthy, hungry, exhausted, and full of bottled up grief, that I just lost it then and there. The boy's eyes softened and he offered to take me back to his house- his mother would know what to do.

         I truly owe Darrel Curtis my life. If he had never taken me to his home, I'm not quite sure what would've happened to me, and I'd prefer not to think about it either.

        From that day forward, I lived in Darry's home with his two brothers, Sodapop and Ponyboy, and Mr. and Mrs. Curtis. They cared for me as if I were one of their own. It was such a strange yet sweet phenomenon- having a present mother and father.

        I got along with the boys just fine. Darry took Danny's place, and I must say, he was a better older brother than Danny could've ever been. I am the same age as Soda, so we became best friends fast. Pony was only ten at the time, and I felt an immediate surge of protectiveness for my new kid brother.

        Mr. and Mrs. Curtis seemed like a complete different breed of human. They were the most selfless and kind people I had ever met; I had never known anyone that would just take in a random orphan. I never told them what actually happened to my old family, but they didn't mind... they were happy to become my new Mama and Daddy.

        I didn't cry when they were killed in an auto accident. I couldn't. My entire body went numb and I felt as if my soul fell into a deep abyss that it could never escape from. I was hit with the fact that I would never see them again after the funeral- the same day I realized that I loved them. I had to rely on my new brothers and their friends, and I knew they would be depending on me too. It was time for Lisa McCoy to toughen up. It was time to become Sass.