He followed the Motorcycle Boy all the way to the pet store, where he broke in despite his brother’s protest. That night, he left the house and Rusty-James followed him curiously.

The Motorcycle Boy seemed lightly bothered by the fact that all those animals were caged up, but left when the owner closed the store. When Rusty-James said he loved the bright colors of the fish, his brother commented (for the first time showing any kind of depression or despair) that he wished he could see the colors of them. He was staring at these fish that the owner said were called ‘Rumble Fish’ because you couldn’t leave two alone together, or they’d kill each other.

A few days later, he was following his brother around town, when he went into a pet store that he’d been hanging out at a lot recently. The brothers managed to get home that night, but after that, nothing would ever be the same for Rusty-James. He couldn’t even appreciate the color’s of the bright street lights or the sound of music because he was color blind and nearly deaf. Rusty-James had never realized that the Motorcycle Boy couldn’t appreciate anything in life, because he didn’t have anything to appreciate. They would steal hubcaps and sell them, rob gas stations, and gamble in games of pool down at a local bar called Benny’s. Their father was a drunk who blew all of their money on booze, so the two brothers had to find money any way possible. Their mom had walked out on them when Rusty-James was too little to remember, and the Motorcycle Boy had been only six years old. He realized that he didn’t want to be just like him. Through all of his muttering, Rusty-James realized how alone the Motorcycle Boy was. He would either talk to himself for hours on end, or he would keep his mouth shut. Rusty-James could hear what was going on, but he couldn’t open his eyes, and he couldn’t speak, so he just sat still and listened to his brother talk more than he’d ever heard him before.

Steve was convinced he was dead, but the Motorcycle Boy said he was alright. The knocked out Rusty-James (and nearly killed him) with a crowbar and they were going to start in on Steve as well, but the Motorcycle Boy showed us and scared them off. While Rusty-James and Steve were alone, they got jumped by two guys in an alley. The Motorcycle Boy forgot that the two younger boys were with him, and he took off to do his own thing.

One night, Rusty-James, Steve, and the Motorcycle Boy all went cross the bridge that’s over a large river that separated their small, run down, poor town from the bright, booming city.

Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton