It was the last day of school before Christmas break. I was daydreaming in the back of class while Mrs. Howard, my 7th grade teacher, drowned on and on about the civil war.
"Ponyboy. Ponyboy! Are you paying attention?" I snapped my head back towards her. The answer was no I wasn't, but I nodded yes anyways. "Ok well listen up this will help you write the essay that will be due after the break" I nodded again but didn't really care. I'm a good writer and I'll just go to the library to get all the information I need later. I had an A in this class anyways. I didn't care. I looked out the window, willing time to just hurry up.
I was ready for this break and all the fun I'd have with the gang. During weekends all the guys practically lived at my house and during breaks it was just like that, but times ten! I was hoping maybe it would snow too so we could have a snowball fight. Dad might even join in if he was home. Dad has to work a lot and doesn't have a lot of time off, but whenever he is home he is always playing games with all of us.
"Ponyboy!" Mrs. Howard called out again as she stood right in front of me. Dang I started daydreaming again. I was really good at drifting off and getting my head in the clouds, especially in class. Mom called me her little dreamer. I looked up at Mrs. Howard who had a slip of paper in her hand and was holding it out to me. I reached out to grab it as she said "you need to go down to the principal's office." What? I gave her a confused look. I knew I wasn't paying attention but sending me to the principal's office? That felt extreme. I wasn't causing a disturbance or anything. She gave me a hard look, "go on," and pointed towards the door.
I stood up and started walking towards the door as the whole class made the "oooooooo" sound. This was stupid. Besides not paying attention I didn't do anything wrong. I hadn't been in any fights. I did all my homework and got A's on my tests. Why was I being punished? As I walked through the halls I thought about how I was going to explain this to Mom and Dad. Soda was in the principal's office almost every day. I saw the arguments that he had with them about getting in trouble. This was my first time getting in trouble and I didn't know what they would say when they found out. They were going to be so disappointed and I didn't want to do that to them. I just wish I knew what I was even in trouble for.
I showed up to the principal's office before I knew it and took a deep breath before walking in. I didn't like talking to strangers or adults and I knew I was going to hate this. Soda had told me what happens when you get in trouble with the principal and I didn't want to experience that. My heart was pounding as I stepped into the office. But I caught my breath right away. There sitting in a chair in front of the secretary desk was my mom?
"Mom? What are you doing here?" I was so confused now. She gave me a smile and patted the chair next to her. "Come sit down next to me honey" I walked over and sat down and turned to ask her all the questions swirling around in my head. She knew me better than anyone and knew everything I wanted to ask and say. "Pony, I got a call today from the school that they have something really important to discuss with you about your education. I don't have any more information than that. But you aren't in trouble. We will just have to see what Principal Rogers has to say" she wrapped her arms around me and we sat there waiting.
My mind was still whirling. What on earth did he want to discuss about my education? About five minutes went by and the door opened to the principal's office. Out came a boy in the 8th grade. I didn't know him, but recognized him as one of those kids who were always in trouble. He gave me a glare as he walked by and I saw the back of his hands were bright red after what I'm sure was a good paddling.
Principal Rogers watched him walk out and then turned to us and clasped his hands together. "Well, Ponyboy and Mrs. Curtis. Come on in." He motioned for us to stand and enter his office. I sat down in front of his desk and mom reached out to shake his hand. Principal Rogers gave her a smile and said "I haven't seen you since the 'trouble twins' were here" Mom gave a small laugh.
The 'trouble twins' as they were nicknamed in school were Soda and Steve. Obviously they weren't actually twins, but if one was in trouble the other one was right there with them. They had a competition in elementary school for who had been sent more times to the principal's office, but by middle school it got to the point that even if one wasn't even in the class, they would both get sent regardless of who got in trouble, so that meant no one could pull ahead in time spent in there, thus ending that competition. When Steve's mom left when he was in 6th grade, Mom sorta took on coming to the meetings about both of them. His dad sure wasn't going to show up and help and the school required someone to sign the slips, so Mom talked them into letting her take charge of both boys, which just meant more time meeting with teachers and principals about the disruptions those two caused. But that was Mom for you. She never turned any of the gang away. Mom actually kinda adopted all of the gang when you think about it. Well, not Two-Bit I guess. His mom still cared and was involved. Mrs. Matthews was actually Moms best friend. Not that Mom had much time for friends raising us three boys and all her 'adopted' boys. But the Matthews family has been around my whole life. Mrs. Matthews was really busy after her husband left to marry a younger woman. But Mom was always there and willing to step in and help. She had a big heart.
Principal Rogers spoke again, cutting me off from my thoughts "Ponyboy here isn't like Soda at all in that regard. He seems to be following more in Darry's footsteps as far as school goes. But he seems to be setting his own path forward and that's what I wanted to discuss with you both today. Ponyboy seems to be very advanced for his age. His teachers say that they find him daydreaming during class, but then he still aces all the tests. School seems to be too easy for him and when that happens kids tend to start to check out and start to act out in the classroom when they aren't being challenged properly. We would like to get ahead of that before it becomes an issue" he took a pause and looked at both of us. I felt more confused than I was before. What was he talking about? Sure I was bored in class, but I liked that because then I didn't have to work too hard. Made for a boring day, but at least it was an easy day. I wasn't going to cause problems in class. I liked not being acknowledged and just getting my work done in the back.
Principal Rogers continued on "we think it would be best for Ponyboy to skip the rest of 7th grade and start 8th grade after the holiday break." Mom let out a little gasp. "Do you really think he is ready for that? How would that even work?" Principal Rogers continued "He would have to complete a lot of work and study over the break. Then on December 30th, the Wednesday before school starts again, he would have to take a test to make sure he could test out of the second half of 7th grade and the first half of 8th grade. If all goes well, he would finish out the school year as an 8th grader and then start high school in the fall" my mouth dropped open. I would get to be in the high school with Soda and the gang a whole year early?
Mom pursed her lips and then turned to me "what do you think about all this honey?" "I think this is a great idea! I will get to go to school with Soda next year!" I said pretty excitedly. Mom didn't seem to like that answer "Honey, you aren't doing this just to be in the same school as Soda. You would be doing this to improve your education and challenge yourself more. School will be a lot harder and you will be younger than all your classmates." I knew Mom would worry about that. I was already pretty small for my age. I might be 13 already, but most people would probably assume I was 10 or 11. I was short and skinny, but I knew once I hit puberty I would shoot up. I mean Darry was huge and Soda was still pretty lanky, but he had some height on him. "yeah Mom I get that, but it might make school more fun. I'm bored all day long." Principal Rogers then cut in "look you don't have to make this decision right now. Take a look at the work and talk it over during the break. See how you feel then." Mom seemed to agree with that and as I collected all the papers of homework I would have to complete I couldn't help but smile at the idea of going to high school in the fall with all my real buddies!