The Curtis Sister - The Outsiders

Strawberry Milkshake

"No," Pony said. 

"Why not?" 

"You know why not" Pony glared at me while grabbing his school bag he had sat down and slinging it over his shoulder. He started to turn and head for home expecting me to follow him. 

"Maybe another time kiddo" Two-bit chimed in motioning his head for me to follow the boys home. 

I crossed my arms across my chest and stayed standing beside Ella. "I promise I will get all my chores and homework done, I will even do your chores for the next week" I pushed. 

Pony abruptly turned around looking back between me and the new girl who stood quietly beside me. She was using the tip of her shoe to draw shapes in the dirt, trying to avoid this awkward encounter between my brother and me. I can tell he was intrigued by my offer. Less chores for him meant more time he could read or write. Not particularly what I would choose to do with my free time but that's Pony for ya. 

"2 weeks?" Pony bargained. 

"Deal" I agreed quickly before he had time to change his mind. 

"Fine, Go. But be home before supper then." Pony sighed as he reluctantly let us go. 

"Will" was all I stated as I turned in the other direction and waved my hand for Ella to follow. 

When we got far enough away that I knew Pony couldn't change his mind and drag me back home I slowed my pace and let Ella catch up beside me she had a huge smile on her face and bent down to catch her breath. 

We can walk now," I say, noticing how tired Ella looks after our short distance run from the boys. I spot an old Coke can lying in the dirt and kick it towards her.

We take turns kicking the dented Coke can as we walk towards town. She was quiet for a while. Maybe still trying to catch her breath. Clearly, the girl was not a track star. 

"So were those your brothers?" She curiously asked. 

Trying not to sound like a sarcastic ass in front of my new and most likely only friend I held back. "Uh- Yeah, Pony is the other two are just my brother's lame friends that try to act like they can tell me what to do," I say keeping my eyes on the ground. 

Ella suddenly stopped walking as I kicked the can in her direction. I thought maybe she got tired again but when I looked up at her she was staring at me with raised eyebrows and a confused look  "Did you say Pony??" 

I couldn't help but chuckle silently. I suppose most people have never heard such unconventional names. "His real name is Ponyboy. My mother was an interesting woman, she liked unique names. I also have a brother named Sodapop. My oldest brother and I were named by my dad. Our names are less unique, but they're still spelled differently." We resumed walking, still kicking our now even more dented can."

"I think that's awesome, Your parents sound pretty cool. I can't wait to meet them!" Ella says cheerfully tucking some of her loose her behind her ear. 

 "Oh, my parents are dead," I said casually.  The accident that killed my parents happened with what seemed to be so long ago was just a part of my personality now. 

I think Ella was caught off guard by how causal I informed her about my parents. The poor girl started stuttering and seemed lost for words. "Oh-h Mm-my god..Baylee I am so sorry". She finally said extending her arm out and placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.   

 I shrugged her hand off my shoulder and let out a fake smile "It's really okay, It happened a while ago. Darry got custody". 

Ella blew a sigh of relief before changing the subject trying to get over the uncomfortable silence that lingered. She started telling me about herself and what it was like where she was from, How she missed the sound of the ocean and the smell of salt. We walked on passing the Movie Theater, Radio Shack, and local General Store no longer kicking our coke can that got left behind somewhere along the way. 

I found out that Ella was an only child, She and her Mom moved here with the mother's long-time boyfriend who she made clear that she hates. She swears he beats on her mom but her mom stays and asks her to never bring it up because she loves him. Ella claims her mom just doesn't want to be poor and alone again, How she was when her Father left them for another woman. A much much younger woman. 

As the afternoon went on we both started to feel more comfortable with each other's company. We just walked, talked, and laughed for hours. I explained to Ella all about how the Greasers and Socs work. Because she had greasy dark hair and lived on the poor side of town she was now a target for the rich preppy kids. Best to just stay out of everybody's way. The sun was starting to go down and we ended our tour at the Shake Shack. 

"Best milkshakes in town" I enlighten. Sadly I had no money but to my surprise, Ella was already in the process of paying and grabbing our 2 small strawberry shakes.

"Milkshakes on me, I hope you like strawberry" she winked handing me over the cold cup of deliciousness. 

Just as Ella and I turned to find a seat we were rudely blocked by a much taller boy. He was dressed in a button-up polo and khakis. He had blonde hair that set perfectly on his head. "Look fellas a new greaser girl in town" He barked to all his friends that surrounded us. 

Ella said nothing to the boy turned her head to me, and calmly asked "Soc?" I nodded and stayed silent just as Darry would want me to do.

The pretty blonde's name is Kyle he is an 8th grader, the younger brother of star high school quarterback Greg who Pony says is nothing but trouble. Greg and his buddies nearly killed Jonny a couple of weeks ago...beat him up good.

 Kyle reached for Ella's hair twirling it in his fingers "So grease I heard you say milkshakes were on you"? I stood frozen. Before I could even react Kyle snatched my milkshake out of my hand and dumped it on Ella's head "Might help with the grease". He snickered, the same as all of his loser friends. 

Ella seemed unfazed that she was dripping in the cold strawberry milkshake that she so graciously bought for me. "Yeah.. maybe" She shrugged using her finger to wipe some of the milkshake off of her face before sticking her finger in her mouth and sucking it clean. 

Kyle and his goons were all laughing, proud of themselves for ruining a perfectly good hair day when Ella unexpectedly threw her milkshake on Kyle "Might help with the face" she blurted out with a smile. 

Kyle stood stunned, Nobody was laughing anymore. His smile turned to a straight line full of hatred. The air was tense and I swear I could see anger that burned on his cheeks. 

No longer standing still, I knew I had to act fast. I grabbed her arm and screamed, "Run!" We did just that. We ran as fast as our little legs could go. The preppy assholes are running after us on our tails. I pulled Ella along knowing she was not a future track star. We finally lost them after taking shortcuts to get back to the east side.

It's completely dark now, only a street light was lighting the way. We both came to a stop and bent down hands on our knees trying to catch our breath, Ella still dripping in strawberry milkshake. We looked at each other and just started to burst into laughter.

 "Might help with the face? That was the best you could come up with?" I asked still giggling. 

Ella pushed my shoulder jokingly "Shut up that was the first thing I could think of" She took a pause and the laughter faded. "I am really glad I sat with you today Baylee"

"My friends call me "Bay," I say while the corners of my lips curve into a smile. 

🖤🚬🥤📚

Chapter Notes:

Ella stood her ground, The New girl got some balls!! 

What is everybody's favorite milkshake flavor?? 

*Hi again if you are reading this for the first time disregard this message, If you are rereading this chapter (I love you) I just made some small changes adding in some additional details and reactions. I am pretty satisfied with how it turned out. Also, you may notice I changed the title of this chapter. It felt more fitting. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Okey that is all :)