The past four months have been a blur. The rest of January went by some what normal, then February flew by along with March and April. Life hasn't been too eventful.
Its now May, school is gonna end soon. Me, Ponyboy, Steve and Soda were walking home from the DX. Me and Ponyboy had went to visit them, but now their shift was over.
It was a bright, fairly warm day, but it started getting darker and chilly.
We passed by the lot we always hang out at, kicking rocks and drinking our last bottles of Pepsi.
Steve stopped walking and picked up a jacket off the floor. It was the only jacket Johnny had - a blue jean jacket.
"Looks like Johnny forgot it." Steve said, slinging it over his shoulder to return to Johnny.
"Wait, Steve stop." I said.
I took the jacket off his shoulder and looked at it closer. There were blood stains along the collar. I looked to the ground and noticed more stains on the grass.
I looked up and across the field, terrified of what I saw. I think everyone else heard the low moan and saw the dark, motionless lump on the other side of the lot.
Sodapop reached him first. He was face down on the ground. Soda turned him over and I felt sick. Someone had jumped and beaten him badly.
We were used to seeing Johnny all banged up and bruised. His parents would always be beating him for no reason at all. But right now, was the worst I had ever seen him. His entire body was cut up and bruised and his face swollen. There was a wide cut across his cheek bone - it looked deep too - that scar would be something he'd have forever.
His white t-shirt was splattered with blood. I stood there, just staring. I felt sick, but at the same time I wanted to beat the shit out of whoever did that to him.
Steve closed his eyes for a second and dropped down beside Soda.
It was almost like the rest of the gang sensed what happened. Two-Bit stood beside Ponyboy, his big grin was gone and his lively grey eyes looked sad and angry at the same time. Darry had seen from the porch and came over to us. Dally was there too, swearing under his breath with a sick expression on his face.
"Johnny?" Sodapop asked. "Hey Johnnycake." He gave his limp body a light shake.
"Sodapop?" He asked, but didn't open his eyes.
"Yeah its me. Don't talk. You'll be okay."
"There was a whole bunch of 'em." Johnny went on anyways. "A blue Mustang full..." Those were the same ones that tried to jump me. "...I was so scared..." He tried to continue but he ended up bursting into tears.
Sodapop just help him close and pushed his hair back from his eyes. "Its okay Johnnycake. Their gone now."
Finally, between sobs, Johnny was able to gasp out the rest of his story. He had been looking for our football, to practice. When a blue Mustang pulled up beside the lot.
They had caught him, and one of them had a bunch of rings on his hands - that's what cut him up real bad. It wasn't that they beat him half to death, Johnny was able to take that, and trust me I've seen. But they had scared him.
After that night, Johnny was more jumpier than ever. Johnny never walked by himself after that and carried a six-inch switchblade in his back pocket. He swore to kill the next person who jumped him, and I believed him.
Now Johnny was lying down on the couch as I disinfected his cuts. He didn't even wince when a put the disinfectant on, and that says a lot.
"Alright Johnny, you'll be okay. Just get some rest."
"Thanks Delaina."
"Do you want water? Or I can make chicken soup?" I said.
"Water will be fine." He said. I got up and went to get him a glass of water. Everyone else sat at the kitchen table, looking sick. Dally looked the worst.
I went back into the living room and handed Johnny a glass of water.
"Here you go Johnny." I said.
"Thank you." He said. He tried to smile but I could tell it hurt. I started to get back up but he grabbed my wrist.
"Tell Dally to come here. Please?" I nodded my head.
I went back into the kitchen and sat beside Dally.
"Hes alright." I said, patting Dally on the shoulder. "He wants you to go over there."
Dally stood up and went into the living room with Johnny.
The rest of us just sat there, not knowing what to do.
"Well, I need to head home. See y'all later." Steve said breaking the silence.
"Bye." I said, and everyone else followed suit.
Johnny slept on our couch that night. We were all tired from the pretty eventful day.
~
I woke up early the next morning because we had school. Everyone was pretty much back to normal. On the exterior at least.
Johnny was feeling a lot better now. His face wasn't as swollen and he was back to his normal self, or at least as normal as he can be now. Hes a lot more jumpier, but I would be too.
I really did feel bad for him. I had seen him take a beating from his father with a two-by-four and he didn't even let out a whimper. But last night, seeing him crying and barley able to move, I would understand why hes now afraid of his own shadow. I don't think I've ever seen Johnny as worse as I had last night.
The walk to school with Ponyboy was silent. It wasn't an awkward silence, it was a comfortable silence.
"You think Johnny's alright?" Ponyboy asked.
"Yeah, I think hes doin' just fine." I said.
"I sure hope so." He said.
The school day was normal, those girls that I used to call my friends still bothered me, Mrs. Wood still giving me a hard time. Though, I could tell she was trying to be a tad bit nicer.
When I got home from school, I finished the very little homework I had left.
Darry made pasta for dinner. It was one of my moms recipes.
Me and Darry were washing the dishes like we do every night, when there was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it." Ponyboy said, walking over to the door.
There were a couple muffled voice at the front door, so I dried my hands off and went to go see who it was.
"Hey Delaina." Johnny said.
"Hi Johnny, how are you feeling?" I asked.
"Fine, thanks." He said.
"Hey Delaina, me Pony and Johnny are going to the Drive-In. You wanna come?" Dally asked.
"Nah that's okay. I got some stuff to do. You guys have fun." I said.
"Alright. Bye then." Dally said.
"Bye Delaina." Ponyboy said as he gave me a quick hug.
"Bye." I said and kissed him on the cheek. I waved 'bye' to Dally and Johnny.
"Who was at the door?" Darry asked.
"It was just Dally and Johnny. Ponyboy went to the Drive-In with them." I said.
"How come you didn't go?" He asked.
"I didn't really feel like it." I said.
Darry nodded his head and I went up stairs to take a shower.
I put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, not bothering to dry my hair.
I walked over to my bookshelf and picked a book to read.
About half an hour later, the front door opened. "I'm back!" Ponyboy yelled.
I heard him walk up the stairs and down the hallway towards my room. He knocked on the door before he came in.
"Hey." He said, sitting next to me on my bed.
"Hi." I said putting my book down. "What movie did you guys watch?" I asked.
"'Gone With The Wind'." He said.
"Oh, I've seen that movie before. Its good, I like it." I said.
"Yeah it is. Well, I'm gonna head over to bed, goodnight Delaina." He said.
"Goodnight." I said.
~
"Alright class, today we will be doing a test since we finished chapter eleven in math." Mrs. Wood said.
The whole class groaned, not wanting to do a test.
"I know, I know. But the sooner we start the test, the sooner we finish it, and the sooner we can have lunch." She reasoned.
The class still wasn't satisfied, but never the less, did the test.
The test wasn't hard, it was more of an assessment.
When I was done the test, I sat in my desk, staring off into space.
A jab in the back of my head interrupted my thoughts. I turned around and it was Lisa.
"What do you want?" I whispered.
"The answer to number twelve." She whispered back with a smirk.
"Like I would tell you." I said, and turned back around, facing the front.
She jabbed me again in the back of the head, this time using the pointy part of her pencil.
I didn't bother turning around, knowing it will only feed into her attention.
Another jab at the back of the head.
I raised my hand, "Mrs. Wood, can I go to the bathroom?"
"I don't know, ca-"
"I very much can, now, I'm going to the bathroom."
I heard Lisa lightly snicker as I walked towards the door.
I turned around on my heels, facing her. "Anything you need to say?" I said.
She just rolled her eyes.
I clenched my fists in anger, and walked out the door.
Once again, I didn't actually have to go to the bathroom, but I knew that telling the teacher about Lisa's shenanigans wouldn't do much.
I finally made it back to the classroom. I opened the door and didn't even step inside before Mrs. Wood stopped me.
"Outside." She said.
I stepped back and leaned against the wall beside the door.
"Yes Mrs. Wood."
"Did you ever think, you might have anger issues?" She asked.
This bitch was serious?
"No." Okay, maybe I do, but I don't need to tell her that.
"Well I think-"
"Save your breath." I said, and walked back into the classroom. She sighed and followed me in.
"Is everyone finished their test?" Mrs. Wood asked.
Everyone said yes and she gave us permission to eat our lunch.
I pulled out my sandwich and began eating. Today was one of those days where I actually wanted to go outside.
The recess bell rang and we all went outside.
Me and Ponyboy sat in our usual spot outside; against the brick wall of the school.
"So, what did Mrs. Wood have to say to you this time?" Ponyboy asked me.
I smirked, thinking about how ridiculous she was being. "Well, as you may have heard, I asked to go to the bathroom and she was being a smart ass. Lisa was laughing and I turned around and asked if she had anything to say. She rolled her eyes and I walked out of the classroom."
"Let me guess, you didn't actually have to go to the bathroom?" Ponyboy said.
"Yeah, I rather pee in a hole in the ground than use the school bathrooms." Ponyboy laughed at that. "But I said I had to go because a pencil was being jabbed at the back of my head."
"By who?" He asked.
"Who do you think?" I asked. "So when I came back, I didn't even step into the classroom before Mrs. Wood told me to go outside. She asked if I thought I had anger issues, I said 'no' she started to say something but then I cut her off and told her save her breath and I walked back inside." I said.
"So she just straight up asked you if you thought you had anger issues?" He asked.
"Yeah, pretty much." I said. Ponyboy chuckled and grabbed my hand. I leaned my head on his shoulder and sighed.
"You wanna go to the park after school?" I asked Ponyboy.
"Yeah sure."
It was silent for a moment before Mary-Elizabeth came up to us.
"Aww, look at the love birds." She said. I rolled my eyes and Ponyboy immediately let go of my hand.
Since she was standing close enough, I picked my foot up and kicked her in the shin.
"What the hell?" She said.
"Go fuck yourself." I said.
"I'm gonna tell Mrs. Wood you said that."
"Do it. I'm not scared of you. This isn't second grade." I replied. Ponyboy chuckled a bit at my insult.
Mary-Elizabeth scoffed and walked away.
"How did you kick her while sitting down?" Ponyboy asked me.
"Skill." I said, and grabbed his hand again.
Twenty minutes later, the recess bell rang. Me and Ponyboy got up and walked inside.
"Miss Campbell, Mary-Elizabeth just told me what happened during recess. We don't do that, or use that kind of language. You will be getting another after school detention." Of course she had to say it in front of the whole class.
"Listen, last time I had detention with you, I almost died on the way home. Now, unless you want the principal to hear about how you think I have anger issues, a detention won't be necessary." I said. "And you," I pointed to Mary-Elizabeth. "I warned you." I said.
She tried to hide it, but I could tell she was scared.
"That is not my fault you 'almost died' while walking home last time. Consider yourself lucky, I don't need to get fired because of you." She said, putting air quotes on almost died.
I smirked, because I will be telling the principal anyways.
The rest of the day went by as usual. At the end of the day, after the teacher dismissed us, I dragged Ponyboy down to the principals office.
"I thought we were going to the park." Ponyboy whined.
"We are. I just need to take care of something first." I said.
I made it inside the office and walked up to the secretary.
"Hi, I would like to talk to Mr. Hale please." I said.
"Why?" The secretary asked.
"Because, I need to talk to him about something that happened in class." I said. She nodded.
"And how can I help you sir?" She asked Ponyboy.
"Oh, I'm just here with her. I don't need to talk to the principal or anything."
"Alright, go ahead and knock on his door. Young man, you can wait on those chairs over there." She directed the last part to Ponyboy.
I walked over to the door of the principals office and knocked.
I heard a faint 'come in' and I opened the door.
"Oh, Delaina. What happened this time?" Mr. Hale asked. I was a regular in his office, so he knew me by name at this point.
"Well, to answer the question your probably thinking, no Mrs. Wood didn't send me here." I said.
"Okay, so then why are you here?" He asked.
"Well, just before lunch, I asked Mrs. Wood to go to the bathroom. She let me and when I came back, I didn't even step in the classroom before she told me to go outside. So I did. She then proceeded to ask if I thought I had anger issues, to which I responded with 'no'."
"Do you know why she might have thought that?" He asked.
"Just before I asked to go to the bathroom, one of my class mates was poking me in the back of the head with a pencil, trying to get me to give her test answers. I said 'no' and she continued to do it. That's why I asked to go to the bathroom. But Mrs. Wood decided to play a game and said, 'I don't know, can you?' so the girl that was poking me with a pencil laughed and I asked if she had anything to say."
"And what is the name of the student that was poking you with a pencil?" He asked.
"Lisa Avery." I said.
"I thought you two were friends?" He asked.
"You crack me up." I said sarcastically. "My friends dumped me after my parents died. They started bullying me."
"Does that bother you any?" Mr. Hale asked me.
"I couldn't care less." I said.
"Well, I will be talking to Mrs. Wood as well as Lisa. You have a good day Delaina."
"Thank you Mr. Hale. You too." I said. I grabbed my bag and left his office. I walked back out to the main office and pulled Ponyboy off his chair by his arm since he didn't notice I was back in the room.
We walked out of the school and made our way to the park.
We got to the park and we put our bags on the bench. I went on the swings and started rocking legs back and forth, pushing myself.
Ponyboy got on the swing beside me and started pushing him self as well.
"So, why did you need to talk to the principal?" Ponyboy asked.
"Oh nothing, I just told him about Mrs. Wood and how she thinks I have anger issues. He said he'll talk to her." I said.
"But she said not to tell the principal." He said.
"That's exactly why I did it."
I started to get really high up on the swing, so I jumped off. Ponyboy looked at me like I've just grown three heads.
"How'd you jump off from that high?"
"I just did. Its not that hard. You try." I said.
"I'll pass." He said, and started dragging his feet on the ground to slow down.
I went over to the monkey bars and attempted to do them. Key word; attempted. I got about half way when my hands started to hurt like hell and I couldn't hold on anymore. I let go and landed on my feet.
Ponyboy came up to where I was by the monkey bars. He went over to the ladder thingy and climbed up it and started to do the monkey bars.
I wasn't surprised when he made it to the other end.
"I don't have the upper body strength for that." I said. Ponyboy chuckled and went on top of the dome thing. I don't know what it's called.
(This thing lol ^)
After sitting up there for a bit longer, we decided to head home before Darry started worrying 'bout us.
Ponyboy and I held hands as we walked home.
"Do ya think Mrs. Wood is gonna get fired 'cause you told the principal about what she said to you?" Ponyboy said.
"Nah, I don't think so. If anything she'll get a warning or something." I said.
When we got home, I told Darry about what happened, and he was pretty amused by it. But he wasn't very impressed when I told him I cussed Mary-Elizabeth out. He also thinks that it's possible I have anger issues.
I'm not gonna deny it. I guess I do get mad over stupid shit but I can't help it, I enjoy cussing people out.
A/N
Wow this was a long chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it!
Also, I remembered in the book when Ponyboy and Johnny were in the church and Johnny got a copy of 'Gone With The Wind' for them to read and Johnny said something about how him and Pony watched the movie, so I thought I'd include that part here.