RIVER→ Sodapop Curtis

07

"shut your mouth, baby stand and deliver."

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The drive to wherever we were going consisted of no speaking, just Elvis Presley's soothing voice floating throughout the car. I leaned my head against the window, looking to see if I recognized anything so far.

He parked the car in a spot of grass and when I looked ahead, a huge grin was plastered onto my face.

The river.

I practically jumped out of Andrew's beat-up truck and started running towards the water. It was fall, so the water was cool, but I still put my feet in it, the dark, blue water swirling around my toes. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the water that I used to smell everyday as a child.

A breeze flew by, causing some water to splash on me. I screamed at how cold it was, making Andrew laugh. Finally, we both sat on the bridge, our feet dangling off of it like they used to do. "How is this supposed to make me accept Greasers again?"

He chuckled. "Look at it this way, the water is all different colors, right?"

I nodded my head, waiting for him to continue. "And sometimes on a bad day when the weather is rough, the waters clash together as if they're having an argument about where to go."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What are you talking about, Andy?"

He sighed, shaking his head. "Kota, what I'm saying is, no matter how much these waters clash together and fight, they still come together and create a wonderful body of water called an ocean, or a lake-"

"And a river." I finished his sentence, understanding what he said.

He shot me a small smile. "Believe it or not, Dakota, there is good in this world."

I scoffed, gazing at the water. I could see my reflection in the river and scrunched my face up in disgust. I didn't recognize the person staring back at me and I doubt I ever will. "Yeah, well believe it or not, Andrew, there's plenty of bad in this world. And that will never change."

I stood up and started walking back towards the car, my wet feet making footprints on the bridge. I could hear Andrew following me as I got into the car and his door opened, him sitting in the driver's seat.

"I know there are bad people in this world, Dakota, but what you need to understand is that there are good people. You just haven't met the right ones."

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"What's wrong? You seem a little glum today." Marcia frowned at me.

Cherry scoffed. "Well, I don't know, Marcia, maybe her boyfriend just died."

Marcia rolled her eyes and walked away, just leaving me and Cherry. "I'm sorry about that, Kota. How you holdin' up?" Cherry asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

I shot her a small smile. "I'll be alright. I always am."

She nodded her head. "That's because you're the strongest person I've ever met. You will make it through this. I promise."