Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own The Outsiders, but I do own all the characters that you don't recognize from the book.
Chapter One- The Way It Should Be
It was Monday morning again. Cherry Valance had slept over at her friend Maggie Richardson's house. The two girls were both running for Homecoming Queen this year, Cherry had never agreed to do it before, and Maggie said she wouldn't do it alone. They agreed there'd be no hard feelings, though. Cherry had convinced her parents to let her spend the night at Maggie's for 'school', even thought they hadn't gotten one bit of 'school work' done.
Cherry rolled over and tapped Maggie on the shoulder. The two girls had thought it would be a good idea to sleep in sleeping bags on the hardwood floor of Maggie's bedroom. Bad idea. Cherry was usually a very heavy sleeper, but that night she hadn't slept at all.
"Mmmm?" Apparently the hard floor hadn't affected Maggie because she was still sleeping when Cherry leaned over to wake her.
"Maggie, we have to go to school," Cherry said pulling her sleeping bag down and crawling out of it. Maggie just rolled over and looked at Cherry. She began rolling up her sleeping bag as Maggie closed her eyes again. Cherry whacked Maggie with the now rolled up cloth she was in her hand. "Maggie!" Cherry said a little louder now. No luck, Maggie just pretended she couldn't hear her. Cherry was getting annoyed so she walked to the light switch and stood by it. "And God said…" Cherry waited for Maggie to sit up abruptly, but it never happened. "Let there be light!" she finished the sentence and flicked on the switch. Maggie rolled over and shoved her face in her pillow.
"Okay, okay, you win. I'm up, I'm awake. Just turn that thing off, would you?" Maggie sleepily stood up and put her hand over her eyes. She stumbled past Cherry and out into her hallway. Cherry couldn't help but laugh as Maggie opened one eye to look at her friend. "What?"
"You look ridiculous!" Cherry walked over to the overnight bag she'd packed and dug through it to find a peach-colored skirt and a matching blouse. She studied it closely as Maggie walked back into the room.
"Nice outfit, you match real well," she giggled and Cherry shot her a look telling her to shut-up.
"For your information, I have a white sweater, too." Maggie nodded and flopped down on her bed. Cherry untied her hair from the ponytail she'd worn to sleep, and then slid her feet into a pair of fuzzy slippers. "I'm going to get a shower, if you don't mind," Cherry said politely. Maggie nodded and Cherry padded into the hallway and then to the bathroom. Maggie pulled the pillow on the bed closer to her before resting her head on it and closing her eyes.
Cherry walked back into Maggie's bedroom wearing the peach skirt and blouse she had carried out with her. Her wet hair fell loosely to her shoulders, and she was fidgeting with the toothbrush she was carrying. She looked up as she entered the room to find Maggie sitting at her vanity, running a rust-colored brush through her long brown hair. She smiled at Cherry, who only looked toward her bag which was now sitting on the bed.
Maggie got up and began carelessly ripping through her closet. Cherry held back a laugh, as Maggie pulled out a short grey skirt and a black and white striped shirt. She held it up and examined it in the mirror. "What do you think? It's new, an early Christmas gift." Maggie winked at Cherry who laughed. Christmas wasn't for another two months.
"I like it," Cherry said as she sat down at Maggie's vanity. Maggie laughed and opened her bedroom door. Cherry sniffed and began brushing her hair, because she was lacking a blow-dryer, she decided to just pull it back into a low ponytail. She applied a little make-up and then stood up to finish packing up her bag.
Maggie walked back in the room a half an hour later, a fresh coat of make-up applied, her brown hair flowing around her shoulders, and wearing her new outfit. Cherry smiled and then reached up to put in a pair of silver earrings. Maggie nodded and then walked toward Cherry. "I like those, they're very silver," Maggie commented as she grabbed her text books from her nightstand. Cherry laughed.
"I love silver jewelry," Cherry picked up her bag and text books and began walking out of the bedroom, Maggie following at her heels. "Good morning Mrs. Richardson," Cherry said politely as she entered the kitchen. Maggie's mother nodded at Cherry and then to her own daughter.
"Will you be eating breakfast with us, girls?" Mrs. Richardson was a young woman with light brown hair and tended to over accessorize. Maggie's father had left them when Maggie was only three, and Maggie hadn't known anything about him. Her mother was always on the run with men, though, so she was used to not really having a parental figure about.
"Sorry, mom, we have to get to school to put up our flyers." Maggie waved a pile of white paper in the air and then grabbed a bagel from the counter and handed it to Cherry.
"No thanks," Cherry said politely, "I don't usually eat breakfast." Mrs. Richardson smiled at Cherry and then turned her attention to the coffee mug sitting in front of her.
"I didn't know flyers were required for girls running for Homecoming Queen," Mrs. Richardson said. Cherry laughed.
"Well, they aren't," Cherry picked at a piece of loose fabric on her overnight bag that was slung over her shoulder. She loved Maggie's mom, she was always asking questions, trying to be involved. Cherry's parents weren't like that, in fact, most of the time they could care less what she was up to.
"But we thought they'd be a way to help promote our image," Maggie said walking toward the door. "I'll see you later, mom." Cherry followed her friend and then turned to Mrs. Richardson.
"Thank you for letting me spend the night, Mrs. Richardson," she said. Mrs. Richardson winked at her and then Cherry walked out, closing the door behind her. She always wondered why Mrs. Richardson still went by Mrs.
"You wanna take your car and then you can just drop me off here after school?" Maggie questioned, stuffing a silver key in the pocket of the jacket she was wearing. Cherry nodded and headed for her car that was parked across the street. She opened the door and then unlocked the passenger's side. Maggie got in, placing her books on her lap.
The two girls got out of Cherry's Sting Ray and began walking up the steps to the school building. Tons of students were milling about, some were chatting under the trees, others were sitting on the benches, reading. Cherry shielded her eyes from the sun as they approached the double doors.
"Hey," Marcia Sanders was standing against a set of lockers, talking to a few of their friends. Cherry smiled and walked toward her with Maggie in tow.
"Hey, Marcia," Maggie said smiling. She handed her a flyer and Cherry smiled. "You don't have to vote for me, but you should pick between us," she gestured toward Cherry. Cherry playfully hit her friend's arm.
"She means you should vote for her," Cherry corrected. "I don't even want to run, it's too preppy for me." Marcia laughed. Maggie gave Cherry a silly look and the three girls began walking down the hall. Maggie stopped at her locker and looked at her friends.
"I'm really excited for the Homecoming Dance, though. I hope someone will ask me," Maggie played with a strand of her hair and Marcia looked over at Cherry.
"Oh, please!" Marcia said rolling her eyes. "You say that every year, as if you never had a date before, and every year, some really special boy asks you." Marcia loved reminding Maggie of her past. See, Maggie wasn't exactly all for commitment, she always wanted a date or a boyfriend, but when she got one, she couldn't hold on to him. Cherry always thought it came from her mom always hunting guys and never being satisfied.
"Yeah, and once you get a date, you never see the guy again," Cherry reminded her as she turned to leave. "Hey, I'll see you later." Marcia tapped Maggie on the back and followed Cherry down the hall. The two stopped at Cherry's locker. Cherry spun the combination on her lock and then looked at Marcia.
"What's up?" She noticed Marcia was looking across the hallway, to a group of kids messing around at the water fountain. Marcia shook her head. Cherry tried to follow her gaze but all she saw was Ponyboy Curtis, Two-Bit Matthews, and Steve Randle along with some other greasers she didn't recognize. Ponyboy and Two-Bit were her friends, she'd met them a while back, but she'd never admit it to her friends. She didn't really know Steve, but she'd heard about him and talked to him a couple times.
"Ponyboy Curtis is kind of cute, don't you think?" Marcia's look was far off and Cherry could tell she was seriously considering it. Then she snapped back. "I mean he's cute for a greaser." Cherry laughed.
"Yeah, and he's a little younger than us," Cherry added. She turned back to her locker before Ponyboy could see her looking at him. Marcia laughed, Cherry always had to point out the obvious, it was her thing.
"Hey, ladies," Bob Sheldon said as he snuck up behind the girls. Bob was Cherry's ex-boyfriend, but they had remained friends, even though Cherry would have preferred them to be light years apart. Marcia smiled and Cherry forced a half smile.
"Hey, Bob," Marcia laughed and then popped a piece of gum in her mouth. Cherry shut her locker and faced Marcia.
"Well, I guess I'll catch up with you at lunch," she said watching Marcia chomp heavily on her gum. Marcia nodded and began walking the opposite direction. Bob waved after her and then turned to Cherry.
"So, do you have a date to the Homecoming Dance?" he asked smiling. Cherry shook her head and turned to walk to her class. "Then you'd like to go with me, right." Cherry turned in disgust to Bob and stopped in the middle of the hallway.
"No, I wouldn't, Bob. In case you forgot, we're not exactly a couple anymore." Bob pretended to be hurt, even though he knew all he had to do to get a date was walk up to any girl and ask. But he wasn't over Cherry, and he wanted her back. Cherry continued walking as Bob followed her.
"I saw you looking at those greasers in the hall, Cher," he said as Cherry picked up her pace. She gripped her books tightly and clenched her teeth.
"Yeah, so?" Her cheeks began to get hot, she hated it when Bob trashed other people, especially greasers. Cherry never really understood the difference between greasers and Socs, but she did know enough that they didn't socialize with each other.
"So, they're greasers. You're not. End of story." Cherry glared at Bob, but he kept talking. "Look, Cherry, they live on the edge, they live on the North side, they don't care about anything. We, on the other hand—" Cherry stopped again.
"No, we are not better than them. And you live on the edge, too." She turned and walked away, hoping Bob wasn't going to follow her this time. Bob didn't follow her, he just stood there, in the middle of the hallway, thinking about what Cherry had said. But, that wasn't the way things should be. He sighed as he walked slowly to his classroom, Cherry never seemed to make any sense.
Yeah, what do you think? It's a pretty interesting start, but I'm not completely sure where it's going. I have a pretty sweet idea though. Anyway, please R & R, because no one ever seems to.