W00t w00t! Seventeen reviews! That's seriously... crazy. I love it. This is actually my most successful story yet.

And I'm using the song 'Not Ready to Make Nice' by the Dixie Chicks. Because, ya know... it like... applies.

"I've been waitin' on you for a long, long time,
Can't seem to get you offa my mind,
So maybe I'll just let you stay-"

"Naomi, could you wait until later?"

"Wait until later? What for?"

"To play that song. That's country, isn't it?"

"A little bit, yeah. Why?"

"Well, honey, I'm not particularily fond of country-"

"If you hadn't drilled it into my head at a young age, I probably wouldn't have liked opera or classical. But hey, your career choice for me didn't work out, so it's my turn now." I snapped, turning my chair around so that I wasn't facing my mother, and began to play something else.

"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away,
Now it seems as though they're here to stay,
Oh, I believe in yesterday,
Suddenly, I'm not half-"

"Naomi, what is wrong with you lately? What is it? This music- this isn't music! It's hardly anything! You'll have nothing left if you keep this up."

"Mom," I said loudly, turning back to her, "This is how I vent. Opera just wasn't my thing. I didn't even study it- did you know that? At LAPA, I took Musical Theatre. I performed in a play, just like an opera, but the notes weren't high and I had fun. But you're so terrified of me having my own life that you cut off all contact with my friends! So, now, when I come back, everything's changed and all I have is my music. And now you're taking that away from me too?"

"You'll still have your music... this isn't music. That song you were playing when I came in, that wasn't music!"

"Mom, it was music to me!"

"What kind of idea do you have? That was country, no doubt it's a vulgar song! You need to concentrate on your music, Naomi, not that mindless trash-"

"That was my music, Mom, that was my song! I wrote that song!"

There was a silence where I thought that, for once, my Mother was speechless.

"And what would be the source of these feelings?"

I hadn't expected that. I'd forgotten how close my Mom and Shirley were- Shirley, my old voice teacher who would always force me to 'feel' the song I was singing. Oh yeah, Mom was musically educated enough to know what I felt and didn't feel in my song. And she knew that I felt this.

"Just think about the words." I turned away again.

"Oh. So there's a boy?"

"Yeah. A boy that you cut off from me, and now he's married to a woman who has a little child that isn't his."

"I think he had that coming."

"It wouldn't have happened if I were here."

"What power would you have?"

"If I had've been here, he wouldn't have thought I didn't love him anymore."

"Anymore? You mean, you've known him... is it that greaser?"

I rolled my eyes.

"For God's sake, Mom, times are changing. You really have that old predjudice?"

"It's not that old. Oh, dear, Lord," She put her hand to her forehead, "You're turning into a hippie, aren't you?"

That, I had to laugh at.

"Mom, seriously. What the hell?"

"Naomi, don't you swear at me! You're growing your hair long, you're playing this strange music-"

"I think you'll find that this strange music is common with every other person my age, including my friends, and, oh yeah, that greaser too. That greaser who I happen to be in love with! And I'm growing my hair long because Grampy always wanted it that way since Grammy used to do it!"

"Naomi, I'm proud of you for doing that for your Grampy-"

"Don't say that," I said through gritted teeth, "You're not proud of me. My God, Mom, I'm your only child and you're actually ashamed of me."

"Don't say that, dear, I'm not ashamed-"

"You forgot something, Mom."

"What?"

"In your prefect little act, you forgot to try and deny that you cut me off from my friends."

"I... Naomi, I don't believe I need to defend myself forwhy I did that."

"Good. Because if you lied, I wouldn't have believed you."

I got up, and pushed by her to go outside. I was really frustrated, and I sat in the grass for a few minutes. Where had everything gone wrong? This was so messed up. I was mad at my mom, but I still felt the burning pain of her not being proud of me. I was mad at my dad for not stepping in, and I felt bad for blaming him. Hell, I was mad at my friends for just standing there while Sodapop and Sandy got married. I hated Sandy for ruining everything, I hated Sodapop for hurting me, saying he would have chosen me, and then going inside to his wife, and most of all, I hated myself for being mad at all these people and still loving them all.

Well, except for Sandy.

But there was one thing that I could do.

Forgive? Sounds good.
Forget? I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything...
But I'm still waiting.

"Naomi... I wasn't expecting you..."

"When have you ever?"

"Yeah, you're right. Do you...want to come in?"

"I think... can we stay out here?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you want."

I'm through with doubt,
There's nothing left for me to figure out,
I've paid a price, and I'll keep on paying,

"Ponyboy told me about the fight you had with Sandy."

"He did? Glory, I'd hoped he wouldn't hear that... it's not nice for a kid..."

"That's the thing. He's not a kid, he's going to be fifteen soon. The thing is... you're not happy with Sandy, and it's affecting everyone. Can you admit that?"

"You don't have to worry about us, it's not your fault-"

"Listen to me. At this rate, Marie's better off with parents who don't talk than parents who fight all the time."

"But I can't just leave her."

"I know."

"I wish I could... maybe if it weren't for Marie..."

"What would you do, if you weren't with Sandy? If there was no Marie to worry about?"

"I'd..." He fell silent, looking at his feet, "I'd have waited for you... I would have wanted to marry you, probably."

"See... Marie's your life now. Marie can be your life without Sandy. But... until you see that... I can't wait anymore. Lord," I laughed bitterly, "We keep talking about who would have waited for who... but I can't wait, and I can't hope, when you're letting a baby keep another woman in your life."

I'm not ready to make nice, I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell, and I don't have time to go round and round and round,
It's too late to make it right, I probably wouldn't if I could,
'Cause I'm mad as hell, Can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should,

"Naomi-"

"Listen, you have the easy part! You make the choice, and you get what you want! I have to sweat out the waiting! We both waited five months, and now you don't have to anymore, you can end it, but I don't know if you're going to."

"Listen, it doesn't have to be that way-"

I know you said, 'Why can't you just get over it?'
I turned my whole world around, and I kind of like it,

"It does now. It's no one's fault... well, maybe it's everyone's fault. It's mine, it's yours, it's Sandy's, it's my Mom's... but now you can change it if you want... I don't know if you want to, but I'm not going to be back here anymore. I'll come and get Pony, but that's all."

I made by bed, and I sleep like a baby, with no regrets and I don't mind saying,
It's a sad sad story that a mother will teach her daughter
that she ought to hate a perfect stranger,

"How did it get this way?"

"I don't know... it's my Mom, it was her stupid interference... she didn't want anything from me but what she considered perfect music. That's one more thing in my life that's wrong. I don't have anyone anymore. Even my friends are distant. Goddammit, you hear girls always complaining about how their mom ruined their life, but it's literal this time! She doesn't want anything from me but the music that I don't want to make!"

And how in the world can the words that I said send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter saying that I better shut up and sing or my life will be over?

"I'm sorry, Naomi, I don't know what to do..."

"Whatever you want. Just... don't let anyone affect your decision. I'm sorry to put this on you... put I have to. I'm still mad at you, you know that? Do what's right."

I'm not ready to make nice, I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as hell, and I don't have time to go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right, I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as hell, can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should

"Naomi-" He stood up, maybe to stop me, but I held up my hand to silence him.

"It's out of my hands now." I walked away, willing myself not to go back.

Forgive? Sounds good.
Forget? I don't think I could.
They say time heals everything...
But I'm still waiting.

Ah ha. The tables have turned. I'm angry at my exams and I'm taking it out on the characters.

Man. I'm really getting through this story.