"Glory, Red, you got enough shit?"
"Yes, and if you were a gentlemen, you'd carry it for me."
She had just stepped off the bus, and was officially welcomed into our outfit, shaking every one's hand except for Two-Bit. He had kissed the back of her hand, which now carried the lingering stench of his beer-for-breakfast binge. She didn't care, though, right about then. She later told me, I didn't have any cares. And after all this time, it seems to have never worn off, her laid back style. Dally had introduced her as Jolene, Jo and Red being her nicknames. We all took to her real quick, probably because we all had something in common. Steve had a conversation about the piece of junk he called his Camaro, buying it from the junkyard and fixing her up.
"It's a beater, but I'm trying to turn her into a dragster."
"Really? I'm great with cars, you should let me help."
"Ha, ha we'll see, girlie. We'll see."
It was so obvious that everybody was trying to pick her up. But Jolene looked like the kind of girl who dealt with that a lot. She passed off our lines with laughs and smiles. It was almost like a dream.
"So you guys used to live on a farm, huh?" The guys had all gone home and I was walking Red around the park.
"Yeah, I still can't get used to living here, all the noise and stuff. So what do you guys do for fun around here? Do you ever go to sock hops? I love to dance, Pony."
"Yeah, Darry taught me how to dance. I've never actually gone out though."
"We'll have to do something about that now won't we?" Just as she had finished her sentence she stumbled on the porch step. Then she did the most incredulous thing, and started laughing. She flushed, and my cheeks burned from smiling so huge, too.
"Night, Ponyboy." She reached for the back doorknob. I reached out meaning to stop her hand, but instead, ended up awkwardly holding her fingertips.
"Meet me at the park? I'll walk you to school." She laughed. Her eyes sparkled and crystallized with joy.
"Of course." The walk home was the best I've ever had, it being ten o'clock anyway, but I could've skipped home that night.