After School Detention

I sat at my desk, just staring at the flat desktop. I was in detention. The other Socs (short for Socials) had been there other times before for God knows what reason, but I'd never been there. I looked up. I heard a banging sound out in the hallway: Dallas Winston. Great, now he was coming to ASD too.

I sighed and let my head drop the rest of the way to the desk. This was gonna be awesome. (Note the sarcasm there.) The door opened, and Dally strutted in. "Hey, Cherry." He sat down next to me, slinging his bag to the floor.

I pursed my lips. "I'm not supposed to be speaking to you."
"So?" Dally replied in that cocky way of his. I rolled my eyes and pulled out my work. "Lay off, Dally, I got work to do." Dally shrugged and commenced to make annoying mouth noises. "Will you stop?" I turned around to look at him. Dally ignored me and continued what he was doing. I shook my head. No use in waisting your breath on him, I decided. I scribbled down some vocab I'd learned in English today.

After that, I opened my novel and began to read. I was stuck here until at least five o'clock, and it was four now. Reading was better than nothing.

Dally flicked my pigtails. "Leave me alone," I snapped, glaring at him. Dally only smirked and rubbed my back. "Are you real?" he asked teasingly. "Of course I'm real, you dumbass. Leave me alone or I'll call the cops." Dally reeled back in fake horror.

"Oh, I'm so scared! This girl's got me shakin' in my boots," he gasped. I heard snickers from the other delinquets. "You should be," I muttered under my breath, and went back to reading. Dally laughed and turned to the guys. "Hey, fellas, one of ya'll should ask her out," he said. I scoffed. "Like I'd go out with you jerks." Really, I didn't mind that Dally and the guys were flirting with me. I was just telling them to screw off to put on a show. Seriously, it's what we Socs do.

I've learned that not all Greasers are like Dallas Winston. Ponyboy Curtis is one of the dreamiest guys I know. And, Johnny Cade...I think I was starting to have a crush on him. "Yo, Cherry." Steve Randle, who was sitting behind me, nudged me. "Wake up!"

I whipped around. "Leave me alone, you hood!" I yelled, totally ticked off. I ran out of the room, slamming the door behind me. I thought I heard some "Oohs!" from behind. "Rejection!" Dally shouted, taunting me.

I heard footsteps. I turned around slowly, not sure what to expect. But I was safe; it was only Ponyboy Curtis. "What's up with you?" He had a curios expression on his face. "Detention," I mumbled.

"Whoa, that sucks." Ponyboy shook his head. "Yeah," I agreed, "and that hood- Dallas Winston- would not leave me the hell alone."

"Don't worry about Dally," Ponyboy told me. "He's only actin' like that 'cause he's upset. He's gone through so much in his life. We lost our parents at a young age. That's why he's so rotten." I was shocked. "Poor Dally," I said softly. "Yeah." He nodded. We walked side by side down the hall. "You outta detention now?" he asked.

"Nah, but now that I'm out, may as well leave. I'll just ride around or somethin', my parents'll never find out," I said. "Let's take a walk," Ponyboy suggested, and I agreed. We walked out in the schoolyard. Ponyboy was naturally talkative, and I did all the listening. "Johnny and I are so close," he concluded the whole sad story.

"I sleep with him in the lot whenever something bad happens at home." I shook my head. "That's terrible."
"It's life" was his answer. I supposed he was right: It was life. "Life is like your ex," I said suddenly. "You can sob over it, or you can pick yourself up and move on with it."

"I guess it is," Ponyboy said quietly. I heard a car honk. "Yo, Cherry!" my boyfriend yelled. I sighed. "Well, I gotta go," I told him. "It was nice talkin' to ya, Ponyboy." I turned to go, but added in a low voice, "Remember, you didn't see anything."

Thanks for reading!