The Outsiders: And the girl from the future

Another day, another dollar.

AMBER'S P.O.V

I lay there still. I couldn't move my body. I couldn't see, I couldn't open my eyes. Darkness. I could feel where I was, and I could hear everything. I felt under me, I couldn't move, but I still felt the cool, uncomfortable sheets I laid on. When I was eight, I broke my shoulder and had to stay in the hospital for a week. All I remember were the uncomfortable sheets that I was forced to lay on. I guess they never do change the sheets in hospital rooms. I could hear voices around me. Voices I didn't recognize. Doctors I presume. I could hear and feel my surroundings, so why couldn't I move? Why couldn't I open my eyes?

All I could do was lay there. I felt so helpless. So..... Useless. The voices fell silent. I heard footsteps and shuffling. Still silent. I heard another round of footsteps and a smell filled the air. Ponyboy. I could freaking smell him. I wanted to smile so bad, but I remained motionless. Then a voice so manly, it could only belong to Darry spoke up. "How is she doc?"  A silence.

  "Well," He started, "She is looking good physically, not too many scrapes, and no broken bones. She has sustained only minor injuries and the dehydration and starvation has been taken care of." I felt relieved for only a moment before I realized, if I'm fine, how come I can't wake up? I knew that something followed his previous statement. "But..." He said confirming my suspicion "She seems to be in some sort of comatose."

COMATOSE? I wanted to yell. I didn't exactly know what that meant, but a voice I recognized as the one and only Sodapop asked for me. "In English!" He yelled.

Then the doctor explained: "She is unresponsive to our physical tests and she has shown no signs of waking up..... what I am trying to say is that we don't know how long she is going to stay asleep."

My heart sunk. I was right here! I am awake! I can hear you! I can feel! I just can't open my stinkin' eyes! No one spoke.  Suspense hung in the air until I heard footsteps come near me. A soft, warm hand picked up my hand and held it. I'd felt this hand before. It was Ponyboy. "Oh Amber..." He moaned with sadness. I could tell he was crying. He pulled up a chair and presumably sat down in it keeping my hand in his.

"I'm going to stay here until she wakes up." He said.

"Pony we don't know how long that could be.." Soda contradicted. I wanted to yell at Soda to shut the hell up, but alas...

"I don't care. You guys can go home and get some sleep. I'll stay here." 

'Thank you Pony, for staying with me' I thought. I felt like this would be an appropriate time for me to cry, and I wanted to cry. But I guess I didn't have control over that either.

"Visiting hours are 9:00am to 9:00pm, you can come back in the morning, the boy..... Can stay." The doctor told him.

Then I heard a few people leave, but Pony kept his hand tightly around mine, rubbing the top of my hand with his thumb. One pair of footsteps came from the corner of the room all the way to my bed. I felt this un-named person touch my face and my hair gently, shyly, sweetly. "Ya know I was the one who's found her in the first place." Right when he said that I didn't even have to recognize his voice to know it was Johnny. "Sylvia, Dally's ex-girl, was getting awful mean, and I stepped up. Never thought I'd had the courage. But I did it cause' she looked different from all the other girls, she looked kind." I couldn't comprehend the words he said. He was so sweet. How did I ever get so lucky to stumble upon Johnny Cade, the kindest boy alive. Even though he got a bad home life, he still manages to be an amazing person. "Ya got yourself a real catch there Pony." Johnny said. "See ya in the morning." wanted to get up and hug him. I wanted not to be in a "Sort of comatose". But I guess things just don't turn out well for me. The only real good thing that has ever happened to me was the gang, and that took somehow traveling back fifty years to do it.