Tonight should be the night I'm suppose to be sleeping my head off, dreaming of Amelia Pons/Ruby Diaz, walking down the wedding aisle with the v-neck wedding dress and I'm standing there with tears in my eyes ready to marry the love of my life.
Instead, I'm having temporary insomnia, something that only happens to me when life starts to get shittier.
Here I am, smoking off my first cigarette (and finally finding out what a fucking cancer stick; a fucking cigarette). The taste is bitter, like smoking off a pepper instead. I don't know why I started to smoke, probably to fit in or just to get the idea of my parents worrying their butts off because here I am, trying to save Johnny and Dally from dying, maybe even getting to date Amelia, or yet even Ruby...
I'm laying with the first chapter open, not having read the first sentence yet, but had a feeling it was the same sentence that was before "When I stepped in, onto the Bright lights of the Slash J, I had only one thing on my mind "Johnny Cade,".
Instead it started off with: "Darry is going to kill me…"
Since, I'm a slow reader, the whole book took me the whole night to read, until 5:30 am in morning. It is also know Monday, I get school, meaning I get to finally maybe see Amelia.
Anyway, there has been a few changes in the book so far like:
-I'm now a main character of the book, and apparently I get jumped by Danny and his stupid gang of premature gorillas
-Even though Johnny killed Bob-Fricking-Sheldon, Johnny doesn't run away with Ponyboy, instead he runs away with me
-Johnny still falls in love with Ponyboy, who is still the 'main' character of the book
-We still go to the church, and the rest goes along with the original story
-Only one difference in the end though, I end up leaving back to Kansas
"You have one week to change everything, otherwise, shit will go down," I thought to myself.
The first thing I come to school is a the majority of Socs hanging out in the front, smoking a cigarette, and laughing around with their buddies, pushing each other as if it's fun and games.
I also saw Danny's and his Socs but Johnny and I kept the fear of them underneath us.
He's not worth it, Johnny's eyes read.
I nodded, not really saying anything.
Two-Bit, Steve and Ponyboy we're all coming with us to school today, Two-Bit came to look for a blondie to go all the way with (which I later found out means having sex), Steve came because:
"You see, when I woke up, I kind of realized I had a life to deal with. Life meaning school, so that's why I'm here,"
"That, is the most shittiest sentence I ever heard from you," I told him.
"Then you try, why did you decide to come to school, rag-head?"
"I hope I see you at school. I don't want to miss a handsome face like yours,"
"Flitty?" I asked. "You know, girlfriend boyfriend kind of way,"
"To change a story," I thought to myself, not answering his question at all.
It felt weird coming into a 1960's classroom.
Not really since I didn't go to class at all.
The hallway was like an all stereotypical highschool, not like the ones know.
We don't crave for football in my time, or in my highschool, we crave basketball.
Here, by looks, it's football.
No one was here by the time the bell rang, five minutes later and I was the only one in the hallways.
Posters of new clubs tryouts, pictures of graduates are on the school gray wall as I walk down the hallway. One Graduation Photo stood out to me apparently, the circular small frames filled with the pictures of the graduating class of 1965. It's probably because I saw a young man, probably around 18, who looked way too young, almost like a guy in a 1960's teen beach movie. He looked perfect, the guy that all the girls and maybe even guys swoon over. He had calm blue-green eyes, dark brown hair that was brushed neatly, by the looks of the pictures, there may have been no tangles and he was muscular, your normal average jock. His name, bolded out and written neatly with black jet ink, underneath his picture read 'Darrel Curtis'. I gasped a bit and was taken aback.
Darry in this picture looked so happy, young and carefree. Now, he looked dead, solemn and 'busy'.
I can see why he changed. In the original story, Darry's, Sodapop's and Ponyboy's parents died in an car accident and he had no choice but to drop out of college and take care of his brothers.
'No choice' seemed like a poor choice of word I was using to describe his situation.
While studying the picture, I felt someone cover my eyes, unable to study the photo for a bit longer. The voice whispered softly in my ear "Guess who?"
The whisper sounded like music, exactly like Amelia.
Knowing that it's her, I say "Ru-Amelia!"
Oh god, I almost said Ruby's name.
She let go of both of her hands and I turned around seeing her in a teal seville floral dress with black mary janes and was carrying a bright red satchel.
"Hey, Teddy!"
At first, I got confused. I looked at the end of the hallway until realizing that my name from here on in this world is 'Teddy', not 'Colby'.
Stupid me.
"Oh hey!" I said. Amelia looked confused but then smiled.
"What you out here for?" I asked, deciding to continue walking down the hallway.
"I don't know. I'm suppose to be at Art Class, but I skipped. Not really wanting to ruin this dress," she said, and twirled just for me to see the teal colour of a seville floral dress. Amelia looked beautiful just twirling and I just wanted to maybe touch her hair and pull her closer to me. Kiss those soft lips.
I sighed softly and smiled a bit. She looked over at me and smiled back, showing those beautiful teeth.
During the first 2 bells/classes, Amelia and I were in the hallway just talking about...well stuff.
We didn't get caught for skipping two of our classes.
"I was going to watch The Graduate after school but then decided you're here, why not watch it right now," she said to me, as she was sipping on the can of Coca Cola.
I shrugged, not having any clue what the movie The Graduate was about, and sighed a bit.
"Do you know I'm a Greaser?" I asked suddenly. I was so tired and wanted to go home, yet haven't even made a little change other than Johnny being a bit talkative when we were at Buck's party.
"I do," Amelia answered confused, not sure where I was going.
"Do you mind?" I asked.
"Our classes issue is a thin translucent light," is all she said, before sipping on her coke and excitedly telling me that she wanted to see an Anthony Perkins film after The Graduate.
By the time Amelia was done talking about half of these actors I never heard of before (except for Paul Newman and James Dean), I was laying my head on her lap as we sat on the school's back field where the basketball court was. She looked at me a little funny and without thinking,kissed my forehead. I instantly started to blush, not knowing if I should kiss back.
We may have only met for three days but I kinda like her, love her like Ruby.
"What was that for?" I breathed out, after a long silence.
"Did I ever tell you that you remind me of Frankie Avalon?" Amelia whispered in my ears.
Without thinking, I kissed her neck.
"I don't know, is it cause I'm good-looking or…?"
Amelia smiled and instead of wiping her neck, like I expected her too, she kissed my nose. It wasn't a kiss on the mouth, it wasn't quick, but it felt great.
"Both, I don't know Teddy, I just never fell in love for such short time. It could be because you're sweet, caring, and the time you played soccer with the coloured boys, I just know that you're one of a kind,"
"Wait, how did you know that I was playing soccer with them?" I asked her.
I got up from her lap and stood up, offering my hand to help her up. She smiled and took it, I felt myself blissfully aware how I was right now, the luckiest guy on earth.
"I was walking home with my brother when I saw you," she said.
We walked back into the school, not really hand in hand, we were kind of bumping into each other, 'accidently' of course.
"You want to go out with me?" I asked her. These 7 words can change a life one way or another. I should use these words for the girl I crushed on for three years, not the girl I crushed on for 3 days.
She pushed her shiny black hair back and nodded, her eyes casted downwards but her smile was so big.
"Why not? But maybe somewhere, where they aren't many people, I know I seem scared and all but I want our social classes issue to be a thin translucent light, not a bright lightbulb in a dark room. You get it?" she said still looking down at the ground.
"It's a date then" I asked her but it was more like an awkward statement. We both laughed at that and then continued to walk in comfortable silence for a few minutes. It looked like something was troubling her but I didn't want to push her.
"I know," she said quietly after a while,"but we'd better go with them. Ponyboy... I mean... if I see you in the hall at school or someplace and don't say hi, well, it's not personal or anything, but..."
"I know," I said finishing her sentence.
"We couldn't let our parents see us with you all. You're a nice boy and everything..."
"It's okay," I said, wishing I was dead and buried somewhere.
"You shouldn't be afraid," is all I could muster up.
"Why is that?"
"Is it because of your parents?"
Amelia's beautiful smile quickly wiped out of her face, she wasn't angry but kind of shocked and looked a bit...malcontented.
"I got a dad who was born poor, raised poor but in the end got rich. Didn't want to have any relations to the past. It didn't hurt him to not think of the poor...it killed him,"
I casted my eyes downwards. When she was about to leave, I held her hand, feeling some type of electricity running through my veins.
"Do you want to go to Oklahoma City with me?"
Silence, small breaths, and then a quiet voice.
"Sure, you there, makes Oklahoma City look even better on the map,"
That point, Amelia was suppose to let go of her hand, instead she didn't, we held hands like that as I idly drew circles on her palm. It felt nice to just stand there holding Amelia's hand - it felt warm and alive.
