Disclaimer: Any characters from S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders are used here for the purpose of a fanfiction story, and not for any financial gain.
Thanks go to Bookworm2u and BlackLightningDX for the beta-reading. :-) And also, sorry to you all for taking so long to update this one. :)
A week passed. Gina tried to get back into her normal routine of classes and work, but she couldn't help but nervously wonder if she'd scared off Skystrip and Cicero.
One day, the warbling of her telephone startled her out of an intense period of reviewing for her English midterm, and Gina noticed the caller ID was showing a number she didn't recognize. Warily, she picked it up and said, "Hello?"
"Is this Gina Kavanagh?" The voice sounded familiar, a bit hesitant.
"Yes. Who is this?"
"Ah, this is Skystrip Curtis."
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't recognize your telephone number! How are you?"
"I'm doing okay. We've finalized the packing and moving and the house is going up for sale. But I wanted to call you about the manuscript you left with us." She could hear Skystrip taking a deep breath, as though he were about to plunge into a pool.
"Cicero and I had some long conversations about this, and we finally agreed to go ahead with publication. Since you were given the documents by Uncle Darry, the royalties would go to you. Yes, we could do this ourselves, but frankly, neither of us really wants to deal with literary and publishing agents and all that.
"So the only thing we ask is this: Please put the royalties toward a good cause."
Gina paused, then spoke. "Thank you very much for agreeing to go ahead with this. Your father's story was very moving, and I think many other people will feel the same way. I wasn't even thinking about royalties when I asked you about publication a while ago, but I've thought about it since we talked, and I decided that the best thing to do would be to send the royalties to groups and organizations that try to help abused children."
"That's perfect. I think our father would have done the same if he had gotten this published. Please keep in touch, Gina."
"I will. Thanks again!"
The click of the phone on the other end punctuated Gina's sudden giddiness and nervousness as she thought on what would have to be done to get the book done.
Eventually, it came to pass that an agent was able to convince a publisher to print the book, with a short introduction by Gina and Ponyboy's sons, and The Outsiders was born.
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Author Notes:
Plot bunnies are hopping again. :-) Thanks go to all who reviewed.