One-shot about how may have ended up publishing Ponyboy's theme. (The book we know and love.)

Note: Disclaimer: *This is just something random I thought of that may or may not have already been done... I seriously don't have the time to go skim through every one of the thousands of Outsiders stories to find out... So... If you feel like I copied your work or something, just know that no "copyright" was intended, it was just a coincidence. I also don't own The Outsiders, or Gone With the Wind. (But I did, in fact, read it. Just because it was mentioned in the Outsiders. I know. Pathetic.) *

Oh yeah, and I'm not sure if they had report cards back then, but they must have had something close to it, right? :)

Without further nonsense, here's the story.

Ponyboy's POV

I sat at my desk that afternoon, glumly awaiting the end of the school. Today was report-card day, the day every student detests. On usual years, I wasn't so worried--- Before, I had always gotten decent grades, and I still remembered when I got my first report card...

Mom and Dad had still been alive back then, and they had been so thrilled when I'd proudly shown them my remarkable grades--- Well, remarkable compared to Soda's, anyway. He had been so jealous when Dad took me to Dairy Queen and happily ordered me everything I wanted...

But that was years ago.

When Johnny and Dally had died, my grades fell by so much that it got Darry talking to the counsellor at my school. I was still too dazed to care, so when Mr. Syme offered to boost my mark to a passing grade if I did a good job on that theme, I hadn't planned on working too hard on it.

Boy, did I surprise myself by writing 80 pages of it. It was so long I had to ask Darry for some money to buy more paper. Paper, of all things! I'm sure you can imagine the look on his face when I asked. I think he thought I was compulsively writing to "release all my anger and frustration of the unfairness of life".

At least, I THINK that's what he mentioned to Soda one night. I know for a fact that what he said made Soda laugh uncontrollably for quite a long time. You know the best part, though? I think he might have been right.

Of course, it took a while to finish, even at the furious pace I was going at. I remembered hardly eating a thing for 4 whole days. At the end, I'd used a total of 8 pens, and 107 pages of paper.

I think it actually provided some relief for me, writing all that stuff down. It was like what Ashley Wilkes did in Gone With the Wind--- Writing letters to Melanie about what he REALLY thought of the war to relieve bottled- up stress that he couldn't say aloud.

I hardly noticed when the bell rang. Everyone else hurried to homeroom for their own dreaded report card, while I walked as slowly as possible, not wanting to see my sure-to-be-awful grades. What would Darry say when he saw them? He knew I was failing, but he didn't know I was failing pretty much every subject...

Except maybe English. Mr. Syme hadn't said anything about my theme yet, and I had no idea what he thought of it. A thought suddenly occurred to me... What if he wasn't marking for the LENGTH of the theme? Because that was about all I had. What it he got so bored reading it that he fell asleep? What if...

Squashing my imagination had always been hard, and was especially hard now, for some reason. Maybe because English was the only subject I wasn't completely sure I failed in.

Sweat was breaking out on my back as I entered my homeroom. I had been so slow in walking that I was the only one there. , the teacher handing out report cards, shot me a dark look as I went in.

"Ponyboy Curtis?" She asked. My report card was the last one in the box she had left.

"Yeah." I mumbled, took the card quickly, and left the room. I didn't open it until I got outside.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the wide envelope.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

Ponyboy Michael Curtis

Math- C+

P.E- A-

Science- C

Social Studies- B

English- A+ (Please See Mr. Syme)

Was this some sort of joke?!?! I couldn't possibly have gotten a B in Social Studies! I had failed every test any never handed in any homework since the accident!

PE... So what if I was in track?! Running wasn't the only thing we had to do... And I had skipped so many practiced these days... Impossible.

And English. Was it possible? Could my theme have earned me an A+?? It was just long... No proper grammar or anything... And what did want to see me for?

I was dumbfounded. For a minute, I was rooted to my spot, not able to move.

Then I started sprinting to my english teacher's room. Hopefully he was still there... He HAD to be there. I needed an explanation!

The classroom was empty. Frantically, I searched the parking lot. There was my English teacher, about 3 steps away from his car.

"Mr. Syme, wait!" I yelled as I ran over, not bothering about being respectful.

"Whoa, there, Ponyboy!" My. Syme said, as I almost ran into him. He smiled, like there was some inside joke in his words that I should have caught. But that wasn't important right now.

"Mr. Syme, how did I get an A+ in English?" I asked bluntly.

He looked at me quizzically, as if it were obvious. "Well, you did such an exceptional job with your theme that it would be downright ATROCIOUS to give you anything but! Oh, and I'll bet you're wondering about your other grades as well. You see, I notified your Social Studies teacher about your theme, and after she read it, she agreed to give you a B, since the problems you wrote about were so similar to the essays she assigned that you didn't hand in." He smiled, then continued, "And as for PE... I think you earned that mark, don't you? Rescuing those kids from that burning church in spite of having your own life on the line... That requires a great amount of bravery as WELL as physical stamina."

I grinned. "Thanks, Mr. Syme." Happy for the first time in weeks, I turned and started to walk away, but he stopped me.

"Wait, Ponyboy. I'd like to publish your theme, if that's okay with you. It's truly an exceptional piece of work, and would inspire a great number of kids like yourself in years to come..."

"Wow Mr. Syme, ... If you really think it'll help... Why not?" I smiled again, and waved a goodbye to my English teacher as I started home.

This day had really been full of surprises, and maybe what I'd written might actually benefit kids like Dally and Johnny... Maybe I could help save lives. Of course, not many people would read a book a 14-year old kid wrote, but this was definitely a start. And I knew exactly what I would call it--- The Outsiders

I laughed out loud as I realized something incredible. I had found my "calling in life", as Darry called it sometimes. Who knew a greaser kid like me could have gotten their own story published? For the first time in months, I felt like myself again, completely. Boy, would Soda, Darry, and the rest of the gang get a surprise when they saw me like this. I had truly gotten over something I'd thought I'd never get over--- In my own, unique way.

So, did you like it? I think the last part's a bit cheesy, but I love happy endings, so be happy with me!

Review please! They light up the most unhappiest days for me.

*Random comment: Did you catch Mr. Syme's inside joke? :)