𝐢 𝐝𝐨 ; s.c.

𝚜𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚎

what a way to begin a long day.

she turned the record player down before quickly throwing on a green t-shirt and light wash denim jeans that had paint splattered across them, reflecting her innermost feelings: scattered. she put on her converse and grabbed her backpack that she had prepped the night before.

she walked outside to find two-bit already waiting for her in his beat up truck.

"c'mon, ellie, could you get any slower?"

"sorry," she mumbled as she got into the passenger seat. as soon as she was settled, she heard the engine revving up obnoxiously, and shot a sideways glance at her brother. she knew what was to come—

"two-bit, why is it that every time you drive, ya gotta burn rubber?"

he turned to look at his younger sister. "shoot, kid, it's more fun this way. why drive gradually when you can get an adrenaline rush out of it all?"

"please keep your eyes on the road."

when they got to the curtis house, everybody was inside waiting for them.

"what took y'all so long?" steve asked through a mouthful of cereal.

"this little ankle biter wanted to sleep through the day," two-bit chuckled, seeing that the insult went over a seemingly sleep deprived ellie's head.

"excuse me?" she said as the jibe finally clicked in her head.

two-bit shoved her playfully and went back outside while everyone else followed. they'd be walking, since his truck couldn't possibly fit seven people inside.

she found herself treading alongside dally. "didn't think you'd be goin' to school, dallas."

he looked down at the younger girl and smirked. "me and my buddies are probably gonna cause trouble then beat it out of there. if you thought i'd actually show up to do some learning, you'd have to be real stupid."

ellie looked down at her feet, holding onto the straps of her backpack for lack of anything else to hold. "oh."

dallas walked ahead to catch up with two-bit, johnny, and ponyboy, and she soon found herself in between sodapop and steve, the both of whom had way too much energy for her liking.

"so, betty, ain't ya excited for your last year of junior high? next year, you'll get to be in school with the rest of us," steve said ecstatically, ruffling the top of ellie's hair.

"stevie, you're actin' like this ain't your first year of high school, or that it's not all in one big ol' building," soda laughed, "you ain't any better than lizzie."

this caused a good natured dispute between the two friends, and ellie could only try to laugh at them, for her worries about the upcoming year were burdening her shoulders, and it hadn't even started.

she had only gotten a couple hours of rest; lately, her sleep schedule was very scarce. she tended to stay up most nights and still wake up extra early. and, no matter how tired she was, she found it difficult to be able to close her eyes and just let go. she could feel her body slowly becoming accustomed to staying awake for so long, and it was present in the way her body reacted to the lack of dozing.

skipping meals was also becoming a regularity for ellie, and it wasn't even intentional. most of the time, it simply slipped her mind. others, however, she just couldn't find any enjoyment that comes with eating her favorite foods. it was all so sickening in many ways.

when they got to the school, pony and ellie split up from the rest of the group, heading to their secretaries to receive their schedules.

"looks like we've got three classes together, pone," ellie noted, comparing the two agendas.