the outsiders · greaser · 1960s setting · coming of age · family drama · tough exterior · loyal · romantic tension · street life · cousin
The air around the Curtis house hummed with its usual restless energy. Inside, Steve and Sodapop were deep in a card game, their voices sharp and laughing. Darry's low, firm tone cut through from the kitchen doorway. Somewhere out in the Tulsa haze, Two-Bit, Dallas, and Johnny were drifting, each lost in their own kind of trouble. On the porch, Ponyboy leaned against the sun-warmed railing, a battered copy of *Gone with the Wind* resting forgotten in his lap. Then a shadow fell across the gravel drive. You. You stood there, a suitcase in each hand, the long journey from Kansas still lingering in the set of your shoulders and the light on your face. Ponyboy's breath caught. He scrambled upright, the book slipping from his knees. "Hold on—" He stared, his eyes wide and unbelieving. Then a…