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When Cherry brushed her hair in the mirror, she was suddenly thrust back into memory. Back to when no one even called her Cherry at all. Sherri was seven years old when she begged her mom to let her dye her hair. She had been begging for months. She was sick of her annoyingly straight jet-black hair. One of her friends had offered to teach her how to use curlers, which satisfied her for a little while.
Unfortunately, for young Sherri, she felt isolated. Different. And that somehow dyeing her hair could solve all of her problems. Maybe she was right.
When her mother had bought the at-home red dye kit, it had taken her by surprise. Her mom explained that she wouldn’t look right blonde anyways. Sherri had frowned at this, but when she finally looked at herself in the mirror, she felt this was for the best.
And now, somehow sixteen, Cherry, with her consistently colored hair, was getting ready to head to the drive-in.
She liked to think that the new identity had made her happier. It made her more popular among the kids at school, at the very least. The same kids who used to stare. But that was in the past, so it didn’t matter to her.
Now, she was Cherry Valance, queen of the Socs. She had a whole reputation to uphold.
“Hey,” Marcia’s voice called behind her. “You okay? You’ve been starin’ into space.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Cherry smiled softly.
“I hope so. You’re our ride to the drive-in.” Bev nodded, next to Marcia.
Bob and the other boys normally drove them, but since they were out at practice longer, they couldn’t make it in time. Cherry had to ask her step-dad if she could take his car, which she hated. She didn’t especially like talking to her step-dad. It was too bad her little Stingray couldn’t fit three people.
***
“Out of the cooler again, Dal?”
“Yeah,” Dally nodded at Johnny, offering him a cigarette. Stupid cops, nabbed him for being who he was. For looking like he did. He was used to it by then.
Dally looked sadly at Johnny. Johnny was his usual skinny self, but with a seemingly fresh bruise on his face. Dally frowned at this, before trying to do his signature reckless grin. “You hungry, kid? I can take you to the drive-in tonight.”
“Yeah, sure, man.” Johnny half-smiled, and that was enough for Dally. This poor kid, raised in the home he was. Dally just wanted to get him away from all that.
“If you want, we can bring Ponyboy too.” It was more of a light suggestion, but it brought a full-on grin from Johnny’s face, before he looked away, embarrassed. Dally chuckled at it.
Johnny nodded slowly, before squinting at Dally’s face. Dallas suddenly felt a wave of self-consciousness. He knew what Johnny was staring at. He swallowed.
“One of the cops did that, didn’t they?” Johnny’s voice was calm, with a slight air of curiosity.
“What’re you talkin’ ‘bout?” He playfully nudged Johnny. “C’mon, let’s go.”
As he turned away from Johnny, he let his tough smirk fade, and replaced it with sheer, vulnerable bitterness.
***
Cherry did her best to drive and listen to Bev’s backseat prattling at the same time. She was talking about the latest scandal at school, but Cherry didn’t have the time to keep all the facts straight.
“And then he cheated with Hazel.”
Marcia gasped a little bit, halfway invested in her gossip. Bev always had the most to spill out of the three of them.
“Chet can’t keep a girl for his life,” Bev rolled her eyes. This was common knowledge. Chet liked to flaunt his bachelor status, but most figured it was because most girls hated him. Hell, Chet would rather stay with a guy than be serious about a relationship with one of the West Side girls.
Cherry pulled into a parking spot, while Bev scowled at the amount of greasers already at the drive-in. Cherry, however, grinned, “We’re early. Gives us a bit more time to get snacks from concessions. “
Bev still had a few things to say about Hazel and Chet, so Cherry waited to listen. She turned down the loud radio, playing Ticket To Ride. Marcia was about to go to the concession stand, but waited when she saw Cherry was staying.
***
When Dally jogged up to that Soc’s car, he wasn’t looking for trouble. He was just heading over for kicks, acting all wild because he could. The movie had only just started, so what else was he supposed to do? Pony and Johnny had headed off to go buy a few cokes, so there was no one to tell him no.
“Hey,” he said coolly, walking up behind their car. The girls sat on the hood of the car, facing away from them. He saw a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead. He put the pieces together that she must be Cherry Valance, a big-time Soc girl. He had never met her in person, so he supposed that made things more exciting.
“Ladies, you want a man here for you, look no further,” he continued. This caused the blonde to whip her head around and look him up and down.
“Sit down, country!” she half-yelled at him. The brunette giggled at her friend, but only shot him a quick glance. Cherry had yet to pay him any attention.
“I ain’t from the country,” he chuckled. He nodded to the redhead, “Hey, Cherry.”
The girl finally sighed exasperatedly, and spun to face him. Whatever he was going to say suddenly escaped his mind. He was caught off guard. Cherry Valance, the queen of the Socs, was Asian. Just like him. He stood there stunned for a few moments, before feeling resentment grow inside of him. It made no sense.
Dally, always feeling like he was beneath everyone else.
Dally, so sure almost everyone hated him.
Dally, constantly getting hunted down by the cops.
Dallas Winston, the model hood.
Cherry Valance, on the other hand, was celebrated.
Cherry, always invited to her boyfriend’s beer blasts.
Cherry, never getting in trouble with anybody.
Cherry, the girl everyone wanted.
No, she was nothing like him. Not at all. He tried to carry on smoothly, trying to get closer to them. “Hey, doll, would you mind if I escorted you to the concession stand?”
At first she raised an eyebrow before calmly saying, “Take a hike.”
Cherry sure had a lot of audacity to say that to him. It was almost intriguing. Before he could move in again, her brunette friend turned to face him.
“She said to buzz off,” she glared, with a look that said, Can’t you take a hint?
Whatever hope he had left for finding something to like about Cherry Valance crumbled quickly. He turned around, grimacing. Dally went off walking, muttering things like, “She’s not even a real redhead…”