Disclaimer: S.E. Hinton owns The Outsiders. Not me.

Smart class. At least that's what the people who weren't in that class called it. If you were in the "smart class" you called it the "accelerated class" because after all, you had to be brainy to be in it, right?

I'd also thought you had to be a Soc. But apparently I was wrong. I found that out the day we found it our English partners for the year. I got paired up with a hood.

"Ponyboy Curtis will be paired with Marlene Evanson," Mr. Syme announced, and I threw my friend Adelaide a shocked look. She returned it, as amazed as I.

I stole a glance at this Ponyboy Curtis and was surprised to see him staring at the ground, looking a mixture of embarrassed, tough, and surprised all at once. Suddenly he must've realized I was looking at him, because his eyes flicked up to meet mine. They didn't look tough or bitter, though. But I only held his gaze for a second before tossing my hair and mouthing the word "hood" to Adelaide. She giggled and turned her attention back to the front of the room as Mr. Syme called her name.

"All right, now I'd like you all to go and meet your partners. You probably know most of them, but just the same, you will be working with them for the rest of the semester, so just get together for a minute," Mr. Syme instructed us.

I reluctantly gathered my books and things and went over to the desk beside Ponyboy. "I'm Marlene," I introduced myself in a mumble.

"I'm Ponyboy," he answered. He sounded shyer than I would've expected. Well, not exactly shy, but not the way I thought he would. After all, with his hair greased and the rumoured switchblade in his pocket, I figured his voice would be tough and mean. But it wasn't. And that surprised me.

"I guess we're the same age," I muttered. I knew I was being rude. But I couldn't help it. I was conscious of the fact that Adelaide was watching me from across the room like a hawk. This boy didn't seem like the other greasers in our school or even our grade for that matter, but I wasn't about to trust him yet.

But Ponyboy Curtis surprised me for the third time in about five minutes by shaking his head. "I got moved up a grade," he told me quietly. "In the fifth grade."

Well, no wonder he was in the accelerated class then. He was the only greaser in our class, as a matter of fact. So how did I end up as his partner, of all people?

I nodded silently. We sat there in awkward silence for the next few minutes. I avoided looking over at him and concentrated instead on Adelaide and her partner. She'd landed a partnership with the best-looking boy in the class. She had all the luck of the two of us. Soon Mr. Syme called us to attention again.

"All right, we're going to jump right into things. And hopefully we land on both feet," he said with a twinkle in his eye. Some of the more "teacher's pet" sort of students laughed and he continued. "Your first assignment is to study your partner. Interview them, and watch the way they act. Concentrate on the smaller details. If possible, make a trip to each other's homes and study the way they are there, and their family. I want you to write at least a page on your partner and his lifestyle. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. You may begin now."

All the other pairs started asking questions around the room, but I wasn't sure where to begin. Ponyboy cleared his throat and faced me squarely.

"I'm not exactly sure how to start," he said, sounding a bit nervous almost. "I guess…tell me about your family?"

I nodded, still not looking him in the eye. "I have an older brother named Peter, whom we call Pete. And my father is in the oil industry. My mother stays at home—you know, keeping up the house and everything. What do your parents do?" I really was curious. What jobs did the parents of a hood have? Probably not great ones. Maybe his mother worked so they could meet ends meet. I was tempted to snicker at the thought, even though I knew it wasn't polite.

Ponyboy looked down at the floor again. "My parents are dead," he said simply. I was appalled at the lack of emotion in his voice and face. He sounded as though he hardly even cared that they were dead! It never occurred to me then that this cool exterior was maybe a mask of somebody really hurting still.

"I'm sorry," I said, because that was what you said to people when they told you something like that. And even a greaser didn't deserve to have no parents.

He went on, "I live with my two older brothers. Darrel and Sodapop."

I blurted out, "You certainly have strange names, you know that?" I couldn't help myself. My mother would've been appalled. But Adelaide would probably have laughed. She seemed to be enjoying getting to know her partner.

Ponyboy smiled faintly. "I know. They were my dad's idea. If you wanted to know, Darry works at a roofing company. Roberts' Roofing."

"Why, my uncle owns that company!" I exclaimed in surprise. Then I blushed a bit. It sounded as though I were bragging. I hadn't meant to, though.

Ponyboy seemed to lose some of his nerve after that. Maybe the fact that my uncle owned the company where his older brother worked was more of a distancing factor than I had thought it might be. "And Soda works at a gas station. A DX, actually. He dropped out of school a little while ago."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at hearing this. Adelaide had told me about Sodapop, but I had never guessed that this was his younger brother. She would talk about "the one hood a girl can flirt with and not get called out for it" sometimes. Now I could see some resemblance between the two brothers. But I didn't mention that I knew who his brother was.

Ponyboy seemed to be finished talking about his family, so I coughed and asked the next question. "How are we going to do the other part of this assignment?"

He looked puzzled. "What do you mean, Marlene?" And it sounded odd to hear him say my name. I realized I hadn't said his to him at all when speaking to him.

I was ashamed, to a certain degree. I was not acting fairly, perhaps, but it wasn't right that I would be partnered with the only hood in the class. Even if he didn't act like my idea of a hood.

"I mean—am I supposed to go to your house or something after school? I'm not sure that would work, you know," I said in a rush. "I'm very busy, and I'm not sure that I would be able to get a ride home, and—"

Ponyboy interrupted me. "And you don't want to go to some east side hood's house? You don't have to. I understand," he said flatly.

I shook my head. "Grades are important," I insisted. "I'm sure I can find some way home. But—I never even said anything about being embarrassed."

"You didn't have to say it," he informed me. "I already knew."

Now I was embarrassed. He couldn't be any happier about this than I was. He didn't seem so bad, really. The only problem would be Adelaide.

"What?" she said, shocked. "You're going to his house?"

I nodded. "I have to. For the English assignment. Aren't you going to Wesley's house tonight?"

"Well, yes, but Marlene," Adelaide grabbed me by the shoulders, "He's a hood!"

I sighed. "I know. But my father will be furious if my grade suffers because of my partner and I not doing the assignment properly."

Adelaide looked sceptical. "Your father will be furious if you go to his house," she pointed out. It was probably true. But I was adamant. I would do it.

"I'm going, Addy," I said firmly. "At least he's one of the nicer hoods."

"There's no such thing as a nice greaser. Not that I've met, anyway," Adelaide retorted. "Ponyboy Curtis hangs around with trash like Dallas Winston!"

I stopped in my tracks and turned back to my friend. The halls were crowded now as everyone flooded out to go home for the day. Addy and I had been sent out of math class early because she had to prepare for cheerleading tryouts.

"How do you know so much about Dallas Winston?" I asked her.

She folded her arms across her chest with a frown. "My sister rides in rodeos. She sees him there sometimes. Besides, she knows everything about people in this town. She's a cheerleader, just like I'm going to be in a few hours."

I scoffed, "Your sister doesn't know everything about everyone. Just because her boyfriend is class president and she's head cheerleader, you think your family is so important, Addy Valance."

She looked really mad now, but then she just sighed. "Why are we fighting over some hood?" she asked in a calmer tone of voice. "Are you sure you want to meet him and go to his house tonight, Marlee?"

"I don't really have a choice. I even asked Mr. Syme and he said it was vital for the assignment," I said. This was true. After class, I'd stayed back purposely to ask.

Adelaide smiled. "Good luck, Marlee. I've got to go to tryouts now. Wish me luck!"

"Good luck!" I called as she hurried away down to the girls' locker rooms. "And I'm going to need all the luck I can get at the Curtis house," I whispered to myself under my breath.

It was time to make my trip to the east side.

Hmm…so far I'm not sure how long this will be—I'm thinking if I can get it done, then it might be a three-part thing. I need a break from my parody. But that doesn't mean I'm abandoning it. Hopefully this will inspire me! Anyway, don't worry, because this is not going to turn into a romance, I promise.

Reviews? Flames? Comments? Suggestions for improvements? Please, tell me.