Sorry it took me a few days to update. A busy weekend plus getting ready for school equals writer's block. I hope to make it up in this chapter
Monday went by like a blur. I had settled into the normal school routine, and everything was smooth sailing. My grades were staying up, which made Darry happy. He was hard on me when it came to school work. I guess he's hoping I'll earn a scholarship to college and become someone important. I still had three years of school to worry about that, though. Senior year could take as long as it wanted to get here. College seemed foreign and a long way off. Besides, I didn't want to leave home.
Tuesday biology changed the whole week. It wasn't really out of the ordinary, but my whole week was different. My whole life was different. When I walked in, Mr. Fredricks, as always, was taking homework and writing today's lesson on the board. As usual, I was early for class, so I sat daydreaming until Mr. Fredricks started. (Usually by a shrill whistle) Tuesday, I was thinking about running to the park and back after school. That is, until someone walking into class broke my thoughts.
It was that girl again. She waltzed in like she was carrying the world – and liked it. Her dark brown hair was pulled all the way back into a bun. Some small hairs had escaped from the majority, and were framing her face. She brushed them away sub-consciously while handing the teacher a note. He read it, frowned, and then scratched his head.
The next thing he did sent chills up my spine. He looked at me and actually acknowledged I was there. "Okay," Mr. Fredricks sighed, "Welcome to class, Sarah. Ponyboy Curtis," he turned to me and I swallowed. "This is your new lab partner." I didn't have a lab partner yet, because the class was uneven. I normally just did what I could by myself, then joined another group when I had to. I kind of had liked it that way. "Okay, Mr. Fredricks," I looked him straight in the eye. Through his eyes, I saw a dedicated, worn out high school teacher filled with frustration. There was more to it than receiving a new student mid-semester. I couldn't quite place what it was.
The girl walked over and self-consciously sat down next to me. This close, I could see that the confidence she had walked in with was a mask. "I'm Sarah," she said meekly, seeming almost afraid to look me in the eye. "The name's Ponyboy. Good to meet you." I swallowed the lump in my throat, thankful that my voice didn't squeak. I looked her directly in the eyes. She had deep brown eyes, like Soda's, only hers were lighter. There was a spark in her eye, and it gave her a mysterious look that was somehow soft. I could tell that she was nervous.
Mr. Fredricks whistled just then, and everyone took their seats. Class was normal Tuesday bio. We studied from textbooks, mostly. Plants were the topic, so Mr. Fredricks had us observing some grass in little paper cups. It was weird finally having a partner. I hadn't realized all the work I did by myself. Doing it myself was natural. I actually had to stop myself a few times and let Sarah do it with me. Not that she was just sitting there. She was into all of it, planning it out and working hard. She had a lot to catch up on, but she caught on quick.
Right before the bell rang, Mr. Fredricks told us our homework. "You are to make some sort of diorama with your partners, displaying plant growth, nutrition, and reproduction. It's due next Tuesday. You will be graded on how much you contribute." Everyone in the class groaned, except Sarah. I was surprised. I wouldn't have liked it if my first day in a new class I got a time-consuming project. "Brrriiiinngg!" All the students immediately started grabbing their stuff and hurrying into the hall. Mr. Fredricks gave one last attempt at sounding authoritative. "Remember, dioramas due by Tuesday!" No one really listened. I felt bad for him. It wasn't his fault most of the kids thought they knew everything. Some of them would forget, as always.
I hurried out the door, trying to catch up with Sarah. She was already halfway down the hall. Good thing I ran track. "Sarah," I had caught up pretty quickly, "Uh, listen, when do you want to get started on the biology project?" My knees were shaking again. Glory, what was wrong with me? I really needed to talk to Soda, and take whatever ridicule I got. "Before it's due would be my preference," She smiled, and I saw her eyes sparkle. They were dancing with pleasure at her own joke. I couldn't help but grin. "Sorry about that," she put a more mature air on, "Um, how is tomorrow after school?" I thought a minute. As long as I ran it by Darry first, it worked. "That's fine. I just have to run it by my brother. What time and where?" She looked puzzled when I said that I had to ask my brother. I had forgotten that she probably had parents. Something sank in my gut, reminding me that I was different than most kids.
For the sake of acting cool, I pretended that I wasn't hurting inside. "It doesn't matter. Do you want to do it at my house?" she asked. "As long as that's ok." I didn't want to impose or anything. "It's fine as long as a little noise doesn't bother you." Ha! I bet she had no idea was noise really was. "Nah," I tried to look cool, "Noise doesn't bug me." She caught on to the fake cockiness right away. I saw her eyes dance with amusement. "Okay, my address is 217 Mill road. Do you know around where that is?" She was middle class, then. Man, was she ever lucky. "Uh, yeah, sure. Is four okay? I should probably drop all the rest of my stuff at home first." I quit trying to act cool. It wasn't working, anyway. "Sure, see you then," and she walked off down the hall.
I stood there for a minute in dull shock. That girl was beautiful, and her confidence made her easy to talk to. As I watched her walk away, I noticed every curve. When I caught myself, I could have slammed my head against the wall. Lucky for me, Steve and Two-bit did the honors. "Hey Pony!" Two-bit was ultra loud. "Whatcha doing?" He thumped me on the shoulder. A bit too hard, too. Wham! So much for slamming my head into the wall by myself. Good ol' Two-bit. "Ouch! That hurt, greaser!" I was just messing with him, but it really had hurt. I could feel a bad headache coming on, and a bump was definitely growing. He grinned, and was about to thump me again, but I stepped out of the way. "What do y'all want?" I was a little annoyed, now. "Lunch" Two-bit swung his car keys. I had forgotten what time it was. My stomach growled.
At home later that night, I resigned to asking Soda about girls. I wanted to avoid it, because my head was still pounding from before, but necessity comes before desire. I waited until he was hopping into bed to ask him. As he crawled under the covers, I walked over and sat on his bed. "Hey, what do you need, kid?" Soda pop always could tell when I needed to talk. He sat up and I lay across his bed with my feet on the floor. "Soda..." I almost couldn't bring myself to asking him. "Yeah?" he looked intently at me, concern hidden in his face. "What's wrong? You ain't sick or something, are you?" "No. Soda, I need help...." I trailed off, then forced myself to continue, "...with girls." Soda automatically smiled. But it wasn't a teasing smile. It was one of those, 'my kid brother is growing up' smiles. That began the longest talk of my life.