𝐢 𝐝𝐨 ; s.c.

𝚍𝚘𝚜

as she continued her walk around, killing some time before she actually made it to the dingo, elizabeth looked up at the sky and noticed the light grey color. it was a stark contrast from the dark and threatening clouds of the previous night. it seemed like the rain had left, but there was still a lingering sense of melancholy in the air.

elizabeth continued to drag the stick along the buildings, thinking about everything that had happened the night before. she was still haunted by the vague and unsettling dreams she had, and her head was pounding from the rain. she was alone in a town filled with socs and greasers, and for some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about ponyboy and how he had called her "echo". he was the main one who calls her that, but the rest of the gang uses it occasionally, or as an adjective to describe the girl. it was a strange name, but something about it resonated with her. like it was something she could relate to, even if she didn't completely understand it yet.

she didn't like the feeling of not understanding.

it made her feel like she didn't have any sense of control, not that she had much to begin with.

she sat in a booth in the corner of the dingo, staring outside, towards the sky as she patiently waited for her server.

the sun's warming rays timidly peeked through the puffs of bubbling raindrops that were hanging on, refusing to descend from the sky.

tears not heavy enough to fall.

tears too light, because the turmoil is simply not great enough. why cry when the reason is too small?

besides, deferential ladies don't cry.

a voice broke through her thoughts. "excuse me, miss, are you ready to order?" a girl, only a couple of years older than her, was standing there, with a notepad and pen. she was pretty, with china blue eyes and blonde hair. her name tag read "sandy." she was like a life-sized doll.

to be honest, elizabeth was intimidated.

"oh, yeah, could i, uh, could i have some, uh, pancakes? that'll be all." elizabeth stumbled over her words, not used to speaking for herself, especially not to or around strangers. usually, she'd have someone to order her food so she wouldn't have to.

"what kind would you like, sweetheart? we have others besides the standard kind." sandy smiled warmly at elizabeth, "we have strawberry, blueberry, chocolate chip, confetti..."

"anything but blueberry," elizabeth said, a little too quickly. she hated blueberries. they were always either too sour, too mushy, or grainy feeling. or, all of the above. "please," she added quietly.

"you hate blueberries too, huh?"

"indeed i do," elizabeth laughed softly.

sandy gave her a twinkling, genuine smile. "i'll be right back with your food, sweetie."

elizabeth went back to gazing out the window, not particularly looking at anything, but just thinking. what about, she wouldn't be able to tell you, because one thing in her mind quickly led to another, so she wasn't intensely focused, but just busying her mind.

after a few more minutes of pure reverie and inattention, her food arrived. "thank you, ma'am."

"no need for the formalities, call me sandy," she laughed as she walked away.

elizabeth placed two of the pancakes to the side to put in a to-go box later. she began cutting one up delicately so she didn't accidentally shred it to pieces in the process (which usually happened when she made her own, but that could've just been because of the fact that they were undercooked).