~Emily~
When we came back downstairs, it was still early afternoon. Steve, Dally, and Two-Bit had left to go to Buck's bar, Darry went to work for an extra shift, and Soda and Alice were
in the living room talking to Johnny.
Johnny excused himself and started talking to Pony. "Hey guys," Pony said, "Johnny and I are gonna go down to the lot and play football."
"Okay. Take a blade with you, just in case." Soda replied.
When they left, Sodapop and Alice immediately ran to me and pulled me over to them. Then they began bombarding me with questions.
"What happened?"
"What did he say?"
"What did you guys talk about?"
I told them pretty much everything, leaving out the specific topics of what we were talking about.
" Wow!" Alice said. "What movie are you in? 'The only person I can talk to like this'. That's literally the most romantic thing I've ever heard!"
"You know, if he was that close to you, you could have just kissed him." Soda said.
"I know, I know. But like, I was really nervous!" I replied truthfully. "And plus, I don't even know if he likes me back or not."
Soda rolled his eyes. "He definitely does."
I sighed. What about Cherry? I just don't know what to believe.
***
The next morning, Monday, my alarm started beeping loudly at 6 am like it does every day.
I rolled off the bed and walked over to the window where I opened up the curtains. I squinted at the sunlight as my eyes adjusted from the darkness.
I opened the closet and began looking for something to wear. This was pretty easy since I don't have much. I finally decided on a pair of light blue jeans, a plain white t shirt that Dally probably stole from somewhere, and, of course, my leather jacket.
I got changed and then put on my sneakers that I wore every day. I smiled when I saw them, remembering the conversation I had with Ponyboy the day before. From now on, every time I wore these shoes, I would remember the way I felt yesterday. I don't mind that.
Then I walked into the kitchen (our house is all on one floor). Dally was eating an apple while putting his shoes on, he was obviously in a hurry.
"I gotta go. I'll see you later tonight, alright?"
I nodded. "Yup. Bye, love you."
"Bye Em." He ran outside and jumped in the car, and then he was gone.
For breakfast I made myself a bowl of oatmeal, then I finished getting ready. I checked the time; 6:45. School started at 7:30 and it took me about 20 minutes to walk there, so I needed to get going.
I stepped outside and immediately felt the cool air on my face. It was only October, and it was already getting colder here in Tulsa.
