I finally finished writing the theme, and began to read over the final piece. It was all there, all those days of horror and truth. Dally and Johnny were gone, but I still tried not to remember. It was no use, though. The thoughts filled my mind: the unforgettable letter from Johnny, the innocent call of Dally before he died, and the quiet, but powerful words: "Stay gold, Ponyboy."

Our gang wasn't complete without them. We couldn't get along without them. They were like the keys to a locked door, can't be opened without them.

Darry interrupted my thoughts once he walked in.

"Hey, Ponyboy, school starts tomorrow again, you better be ready."

"I know" I replied somberly.

It was getting late and I knew I had to get some rest before school tomorrow. So, I pulled myself together, and went to bed.

The next morning Darry woke me up earlier than usual.

"Get up, little buddy. You got school today." Darry shouted from the hall.

"Alright, alright I'm up." I was still rubbing my eyes, and adjusting to the light.

"Where's Soda?" I asked while getting in the shower.

"He left early. Thought you was better off getting ready on your own for once," Darry snickered.

I admitted to myself that I have been a little lazy nowadays. Ever since Dally and Johnny- don't remember, I thought to myself, don't remember anything.

I hopped out of the shower and quickly got dressed.

"You wanna ride?" Darry asked me.

"Nah, I'll walk."

I added some extra grease to my hair, and combed it through the rough edges. I looked at the clock, and realized what time it was. 6:50? I'll never make it to school on time I thought to myself.

"See ya, Darry!" I called as I dashed out of the house.

"Wait, Ponyboy did you-"

I was out the door before he could even finish his sentence. I had to get to school on time, so I kept running as fast as I could.

Luckily, I could see the large school, swarming with kids in the vast distance. I hastily continued down the cracked cement road, and heard thump, thump, thump as my heart pounded quickly to the beat of my feet darting down the road.

At last, I arrived to the school. A Mustang full of Socs pulled into a parking space. Four large Socs hopped out, including Randy, and the pavement dust from their car spread through the air into everyone's faces.

"Hey kid," Randy nodded to me without direct eye contact.

"Hey," I mumbled back.

We, the Greasers, won the rumble, but we're still considered lower than the Socs, just as Randy told me before. We'll always be the poor, tough Greasers, and they will always be the smart, rich Socs, and nothing will change that.

I saw Cherry a couple of times in school that day, and I waved to her. Reluctantly, she waved back when her friends weren't looking. I understood that her reputation was at stake, and I was okay with that.

Following the bell marking the end of school, I met Two-Bit outside on the football field. He wanted to watch the football team gather for their annual pep rally. I think he really just wanted to see the cheerleaders, though.

"What a surprise, all the Socs gathered for the pep squad!" I said, bursting into laughter.

"Oh yeah, real surprise," Two-Bit drawled on sarcastically.

The marching band suddenly broke into a loud parade, and all us Greasers were laughing under our breath. The cheerleaders and Socs cheered on for the football players, but suddenly everyone quieted down. We all looked over to the podium to see the coach making an announcement.

We stayed for about 3 hours, but it was a really long game, and we were all getting tired of watching the football team lose. I could tell Two-Bit was bored, as he couldn't see the cheerleaders through the crowd, and he got up all of a sudden to "announce" something.