The laptop that had been set on the kitchen table beeped, indicating that a message had been sent. The 14-year-old boy stuffed the muffin, which he had grabbed off the kitchen counter, into his mouth as he read the message that had been sent to him by his 16-year-old friend.

'What shirt are you gonna wear today?' It read. He quickly typed back a reply 'The green tee-shirt' and hit the 'enter' button, the message displaying in the box with all the other messages.

The laptop beeped again as he was tying his shoes.

'Ew, didn't you wear that yesterday? It's gotta be dirty by now.' He typed back another reply 'Shut up!' and hit enter. He heard his bedroom door open and looked over.

Mackenzie Jones, his oldest brother Darry's 5-months-pregnant fiancé, stood in the doorway. She smiled at him.

"Gettin' ready for school there, Pone?" The boy, whose full name was Ponyboy Michael Curtis, nodded in response. "Well, hurry up, the bus is about to leave in a few minutes."

"Alright, I'll be down there in a few." Pony responded as he zipped open his backpack and stuffed his homework into it. Then, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he closed out of the chatroom that he and his friend were in, shut his laptop closed, and was out the door.

"Class dismissed. Oh, wait, before I forget, Ponyboy, can you stay after class for a few minutes?" The History teacher, Mr. Morgan, said as the bell rang for the next class. A group of girls, known commonly around school as the 'Pop Girls' (short for "popular girls,") giggled as they walked out, occasionally glancing back at Pony and smirking nastily as if they knew what he was in for. Johnny Cade, Pony's best friend, glanced over at him.

"Don't worry 'bout 'em, Pony. They're just… well, mean." He reassured, standing up and grabbing his backpack as he walked out of the classroom with their friends Two-Bit, Steve and Dally.

"Well, it sucks that I have almost all my classes with 'em…" Pony muttered to himself. He grabbed his backpack and walked over to the teacher's desk.

"Yes, Mr. Morgan?" He asked nervously. Mr. Morgan looked sternly up at Pony, handing his History test from last Friday back to him. There was a 68% scrawled on the top.

"That's a very low score, Ponyboy."

"I know, I know…" Ponyboy said, getting a better look at the paper. He had studied the whole night before but sometimes got a little distracted. The day of the test, he could barely keep his eyes open, he was up so late reviewing.

"Ponyboy, what's been goin' on with you lately?" Mr. Morgan asked, sitting down in his desk. Ponyboy played with his paperweight, his eyes fixated on the thing. He knew he hadn't been doing well. The slip he handed to Darry earlier this week made it quite obvious.

"Is it about your parents?"

Pony teared up, his mind flooding with memories of his father and mother, Darrel and Evelynn Curtis. He nodded.

Mr. Morgan looked down at the paper and sighed. He knew what it was like; losing someone you loved like that.

"How's about I let you retake the test, champ?" He asked, looking up at the boy. Ponyboy shook his head. He hated people giving him special treatment.

"Okay…" He sighed. He knew the boy liked to write. He saw him with his journal every day in class. He'd nervously shut it when Mr. Morgan approached his desk to look over his shoulder at his work.

"…How about you write me a story? Anything you'd like. It can be fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi… just have fun with it and make it real entertainin'."

Mr. Morgan saw the boy turn his head to the left. He was considering, he was about to refuse.

"I…" Ponyboy started.

"Think of it as extra credit, Pony! A teacher is concerned about one of his top students." Mr. Morgan said. "That's not considered charity."

Pony smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Mr. Morgan." He said, walking out the door. The hallway was bustling with students talking, but one voice made the others sound like almost nothing.

"Hey, look, girls, it's the teacher's pet." Pony slowly turned around. Chloe Kingsley, one of the Pop Girls, smirked, her posse behind her as always. Ponyboy's smile turned into a frown almost immediately. He swung his bookbag over his shoulder and took off down the hallway at top speed.

He felt someone yank at his backpack, and he stumbled back onto his butt. The whole crowd of students seemed to laugh at him.

Dallas took a step forward, his bookbag falling to the ground. He was about to wring some necks.

"Dally." Two-Bit interjected, holding an arm in front of the boy to keep him from proceeding further.

Johnny offered Ponyboy a hand. Ponyboy stood on his own and gave a small, reassuring smile to his friends.

"I'm okay."

"Hey, Ponyboy, can't you even run correctly?" Chloe laughed.

"Fuck off." Steve growled, grabbing Ponyboy by his arm and pushing him down the hall to his next class.

Pony ignored the sneering faces of the Pops as he tried concentrating on the movie that was on in his English class. He felt someone flick his hair, and his teeth grit in anger. He couldn't take it anymore.

"What is your problem, huh? Did you not get any last night or somethin'?" He sneered at the girls sitting behind him.

"What, are you on your period or are you just plain bored? Do you not have anythin' better to do, anythin' at all?" He asked. The whole classroom went silent and everyone turned to him. He knew the period bit was a little over the top and offensive, but he was too mad to care.

"Mm… nope." The brunette, Madison, sneered evilly. She, Chloe, and the redhaired girl Olivia, just some of the Pops, laughed.

Ponyboy rolled his eyes and directed his attention back to the front of the room.

"Dumb bitches." The girl sitting next to Ponyboy said. She nudged him, smiling a little.

"Just ignore 'em."

"I bet you couldn't say that to our faces!" Chloe said, picking at her cuticles, overhearing what the girl said under her breath.

The girl turned around and looked Chloe straight in the eye, her courage not wavering for a second.

"Dumb." She started, looking at Chloe and Madison.

"Bitches." She looked directly at Olivia and smiled smugly, turning back around.

"I'm Madeline, but most people call me Maddie." She smiled kindly at Pony, extending a hand for him to shake.

"I know… we've been sittin' next to each other since school began…" Ponyboy said, looking down at his book and blushing.

"You're, uh… Horseboy, correct?"

"Ponyboy."

"Oh, like a baby horse."

"That would be a filly."

Maddie gave him a lopsided grin and tapped her pen against her desk.

"I'm sorry. I'm not too… bright."

"It's okay." Pony smiled. "I understand."

Maddie smiled fully and turned back to the movie, which was almost over. Ponyboy knew about the movie from beginning to end, so the test would be easy.