Summer In Tulsa - The Outsiders ( Completed )

35. Before The Rumble

Allison's P.O.V

" Yeah, 5 : 00 p.m, tomorrow, at the park. " I said

" Okay. Well then, everyone should meet here at 4 : 30 tomorrow. " Darry said shutting the back door. Everyone nodded and agreed. After that Steve, Two-Bit, and Johnny left, and Dally went to Buck's. Darry had told them to spread the word tomorrow, so it wouldnt be the seven boys, if Johnny could participate, up against a bunch of Socs.
Darry, Pony, Soda, and I all went to bed almost immediately after everyone left. We would need all the energy we could get for tomorrow. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep. That night I didnt have a dream, it was weird considering the dreams I had before tonight.
The next morning I woke up last, even though it was only 6 : 00 a.m. I wasn't sure if I was home alone, or if someone was home with me. I got up and looked out the window, Pony was on the porch smoking. I walked over to the door, and walked out on to the porch.

" Where are the others? " I asked as I walked up behind him.

" They left to go tell other greasers bout the rumble. " Pony said.

" Why so early? " I asked rubbing my eyes.

" Guess they wanted to tell as many people as they could. " Pony said as he shrugged.

" Okay. Why didn't you go? " I questioned walking up to his side.

" Why so many questions? " he asked with a small smile as he looked over at me.

" I have a lot of things that need answering. " I said giggling.

" Apparently, anyway I didnt feel like seeing other people. They would probably just think I'm some fourteen year old tag along. " Pony said putting his cigarette out.

" Oh c'mon Pony, they wouldn't think that. There's no reason to, your not a tag along. Age doesn't define you, it's just a number. Age doesn't determine how smart or strong a person is, age is just a thing someone came up with. Think about it, it's just a number and a word. " I said smiling, and putting my hand on his shoulder.

" Whatever you say Ali. " he said raising his eyebrows.

" Here let me put it this way. Two-Bit is eighteen, that's his age. However, he hardly ever acts eighteen. He's eighteen on the outside, but on the inside he's a little child. And we love him for it, honestly sometimes we need him for solely that purpose. " I said laughing.

" I guess you have a point there. " Pony said with a small laugh. As we were standing there, Soda and Darry pulled up in the rental truck Darry had.

" Hey kids, what are y'all up to? " Soda said as he got out of the car.

" Hey I ain't a kid, I'm your age. " I yelled to Soda.

" However I'm still older, so you're a kid. " Soda exclaimed walking up to the porch.

" Oh yeah, well then if Darry's twenty and you're almost seventeen, that makes Darry older. So does that mean your a kid? " I asked with a small laugh.

" Dang right it does. " Soda said as he walked inside. I looked over at Pony.

" See, age is just a number. " I said walking inside the house after Soda. I heard Pony laugh.

" So how many people did you get to join the rumble? " I asked as I shut the door.

" Oh y'know just the normal, around fifty people. " Soda said as if that was a big accomplishment.

" Oh wow. " I said sarcastically.

" It's better then you did. " He responded sitting on the couch.

" Touche. " I said going into the bathroom to change. I was wearing the sweater my mom made, paired with a skirt. The skirt was a nice pastel yellow, with a purple stripe across the bottom. I didn't like skirts too much either, but it was clean. I put my hair into two low pigtails.
I thought I looked really childish, but I felt childish that day. To add to the effect, I clipped two purple bows to my pigtails. It was probably too much, but it was the cutest outfit I could afford, so I didn't mind.
The next few hours were pretty boring, we were all just waiting around till 4 : 30. At 4 : 45 the whole gang was there, and we were all trying to hide our anxiety. We were about to leave the house, but I was stopped.

" Hey Ali, even though your not going to be participating in the rumble, you may want to change. That is the shirt your mom made, and I just dont want it to get dirty. " Darry said as he grabbed the car keys.

" I guess you're right, gimmie a second. " I said as I ran to change. I put on a white tank top, that I managed to find in the bottom of my bag. Then I through on some dirty Jean's, just incase I did get dirty.
I walked back out into the living room, and we left. The drive to the park wasnt as bad as I had imagined, it actually gave me time to gather my thoughts, and prepare myself for what I was about to witness or experience.
People could get killed, and I would have to see it. I didn't think the chances of that happening were very likely, but how was I supposed to know what would happen?
We pulled up and parked the truck, I was really happy to see about fifteen greasers already there. When I got out of the truck they all looked at me in confusion, but they didn't say anything. Johnny and I were walking in the back of our little group.

" Are you going to participate? " I whispered to Johnny.

" I dont want to, but it's for Dally, so I have to. Dally would do it for me, so I got to. " Johnny whispered back, while looking at his feet. I walked over and sat on a nearby picnic table, while the boys walked over to talk to the other greasers.