Johnny's perspective of the Murder Scene

Emily Lu

We were standing in the park when the Blue Mustang pulled up. It stopped on the road right beside us and five Socs came out, including Randy and Bob. I stared at Bob’s many rings and I remembered who the Soc was that jumped me.
“Hey guys, look, it’s the same White Trash that tried to steal our girls,” Bob spit out, a little loudly, unable to control his voice. He was swooning and his words was slurred. They were all drunk.
I knew that they wouldn’t back off without a fight, even with a good bluff. I looked at Ponyboy and saw that his face was red with rage. He knew it too.
Pony made the first move. He spat at the Socs, a large ball of saliva, in response to Bob’s verbal blow. It landed on Bob’s newly polished, fancy, black shoes. His lip curled in disgust when he saw what had just happened and suddenly, he made his move. The fight was on.
I was tackled to the ground as I attempted to bolt but Bob and two other Socs pinned me to the ground with ease. They slugged me a few times and then went to help the other Socs. Two of them grabbed Pony’s hand and pulled them back, holding him captive. Then, Randy and one other Soc began pushing him towards the fountain and I caught a few of Randy’s words, “Hey, Greaser! Need a bath?”
I stood up carefully and saw that they were dunking his head in the park fountain, attempting to drown him. Already, there was blood spreading in the water and Pony seemed on the verge of passing out. Permanently.
I slowly reached my hand into my back pocket and pulled my switchblade out, so filled with anger that I was ready to do anything. I knew that any second, Pony would die and so as I advanced on Bob, I knew what I had to do. I took the blade and stabbed the Soc in the back, digging deep into his flesh. The feel of pushing the knife into his back made me sick, like someone had just beat me bad.
Bob was still for a moment, and then, he collapsed beside the fountain. All of the other Socs seemed dazed; when they realized what had happened, they all bolted out of the park. In only a few seconds, it was just Ponyboy and me. I was still on top of Bob, with my hand gripping the knife, my knuckles pure white. And then suddenly, I realized I had killed someone. I knew that it had been just self-defense, but I would still be charged with murder. Just the thought of killing anyone chilled me.
I sat next to the dead Soc for a while, thinking about what would happen to me. Would I be charged with manslaughter? Would I be found guilty and be sent to jail and end up as a JD like Dally? Would my parents even care? These thoughts filled my mind and sent shivers down my spine. I had killed Bob. I actually killed him. And now, I was wanted. Not wanted by my parents, or wanted by my friends, but wanted, as in ‘Dally’ wanted.
I knew I had to get away, or else the fuzz would lock me up in the cooler. I stood up, and carefully picked my way around the pool of blood surrounding Bob, heading towards Ponyboy’s still body. I kneeled down next to him. He was breathing regularly and his eyes were open.
I took a slow, deep breath, “I killed him Pony, I killed that Soc.”
Ponyboy didn’t answer. Everything was still for a moment and I realized Pony’s shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.
“I had to Pony, it was either you or him,” I said, my voice high, almost a whine.
Ponyboy jumped up, his face shiny with tears, his eyes wild.
“I don’t care! You killed someone Johnny. You stabbed him and you think it’s ok? Johnny, you and I’ll be wanted for life and I’m scared, Johnny, I’m scared!” screamed Pony.
I stood up now, too. I began shouting back at him, “Shoot Pony, I saved your dang life! But I guess it wasn’t worth saving because you seem as if you’d rather be dead than alive right now! Anyways, if I hadn’t saved you by killing him, I wouldn’t be wanted either, and you’d be dead. You hear that? Dang dead, ”
A silent moment followed, and I slowly sat myself down. Now, it was my turn to start crying. I broke down the way I did when Bob’s rings scratched my face, and I was embarrassed about it too. Ponyboy sat down on the curb beside me and put his face in his hands.
“What are we gonna do now Johnny? We can’t go home, the fuzz will be on us the second we knock on the front door,” asked Pony.
“We go find Dally, that’s what we’re gonna do,” I replied. “There’s a party at Buck’s place tonight. He’ll be over there.
And so we set off to find Dally, with the weight of murder on my shoulders.