ITS ABOUT TIME ➤ Ponyboy Curtis

4

𝙿𝚘𝚗𝚢𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝙼𝚒𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚎𝚕 𝙲𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚜
   

The door shut behind Two and Georgia with a bang. Two-Bit always slam the door, on purpose or not. All eyes were on me the very moment they left.
I said with annoyance, "What are you looking at?", even though I full well knew the answer.
Sodapop was grinning like a chessy cat and his brows were dancing. "You like Georgia, don't you?" He jabbered. I knew that was coming. I knew while I was talking to Georgia that the gang was gonna tease me about it. They tease me about everything and I think it's because i'm the youngest. I'd never really shown interest in girls until this point, so when they saw me talking to Georgia they saw an opportunity to embarrass me again. It was the jacket incident all over again.
    When I was about twelve years old, I decided on wearing a leather jacket for no reason except I thought it made me look tuff. I guess it didn't because the gang laughed at me for days and told me I looked like a nincompoop. They still bring it up and even have a photo of me wearing it that they hung on the fridge.
I felt my ears get hot. "No." I gulped.
Sodapop laughed, "C'mon Pony, don't deny it. We all saw you droolin' over her."
Dallas snickered and took a sip of beer. "You're lucky that Two-Bit was busy watching the T.V, man. He woulda went ape." I had never seen Two-Bit angry at anyone but the Socs, so I knew that wasn't true. Two-Bit liked fights, but he wouldn't fight me. He's too lazy to argue with anyone. Dallas was only trying to scare me and I'd be lying if I said it didn't work for a few seconds.
"You know that ain't true. Two-Bit treats Ponyboy like an angel." Steve scoffed, and that was true.
Two-Bit and I got along good. I liked him real well because he kept us laughing at ourselves as well as at other things. Steve was acting like Two-Bit liking me was something bad. Just cause he hated my guts didn't mean everyone else had to. There was no reason for Steve to be annoyed about it except for his hatred for me. He thought I was a tagalong and a kid; Soda always took me with them when they went places if they weren't taking girls, and that bugged Steve. The feeling was mutual so I never let it bug me too much.
Johnny spoke, "I reckon he'd be glad to have you as a brother-in-law."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Joke all you want." I said tiredly.
"They're only kidding Ponyboy, don't get your feelings hurt." Darry sounded like his normal self; cold.
The jokes continued on for several minutes after that. I'm not gonna lie, some of the jokes were pretty funny, but I didn't want to let them know that. I about had enough when they started making wedding plans.
"We're only kidding Pone, Where'ya going?" Soda called after me as I walked to my room.
Dallas let out a sudden and loud hoot of laughter, "Off to his room so he can dream about his girlfriend."
Steve then made a joke about what I would be dreaming about, which I'm not going to repeat. It was a real hit because even when my door was shut, I could still hear them cackling.
I didn't know why it bugged me so much. The gang made fun of each other all the time. Something about this time in particular made me uncomfortable. I noticed Gone with The Wind was sitting on my nightstand once I got into bed. I decided to take Georgia's advice and read before I tried to sleep. I knocked down two chapters before I started getting drowsy. Georgia was right. How hadn't I thought of this before? Probably because I don't use my head, and you need to use your head to think. That's what Darry's always telling me. I thought about Georgia while I was going to sleep that night. Not it a pervy way like Steve suggested. I couldn't get her out of my head, but it's not like I was trying to anyway. I replayed our conversations in my head, over and over. It was strange how confident I was when talking to her. I mentioned before how easy it was to talk to her but it was more than easy. I was amost being cocky, smug even. Like Dallas is when he's talking to girls. Knowing him, he's probably slept with half of the female population. Being like Dally was the last thing I wanted. No offense to him.
  

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

I woke up very late in the afternoon. For the first time in a while I was able to fall asleep easily. I also didn't have a nightmare. Sodapop used to sleep in my room at night because him and Darry thought it would help. After a while I said that they went away even though they hadn't. I felt bad for Soda and him having to sleep in his kid brother's room. The nightmares kept coming every night. Until I had used the trick Georgia taught me.
The house was empty when I walked out of my bedroom. Darry and Soda had already gone to work and I was wondering why they hadn't woke me up. Maybe it was because they knew I had nothing planned before our football game. It was was around 4:20 and Soda and Steve got out at 4:50, so I got myself up and went to take a shower. I put on some dress clothes afterwards and spend five minutes or so hunting for a hint of beard on my face.
I searched through the fridge and found some eggs that I cooked up for breakfast. Usually I would eat cake, but Darry and Soda ate it all before work. All three of us like chocolate cake for breakfast. Sodapop always made sure there was some in the icebox every night and if there isn't he cooked one up real quick. All three of us were crazy about chocolate stuff. Soda says if they ever make a chocolate cigarette I'll have it made.
"Anybody home?" a familiar voice called through the front screen. It was Johnny. We always just stick our heads into each other's houses and holler "Hey" and walk in. Our front door is always unlocked in case one of the boys is hacked off at his parents and needs a place to lay over and cool off. We never could tell who we'd find stretched out on the sofa in the morning. It was usually Steve, whose father told him about once a week to get out and never come back. It kind of bugs Steve, even if his old man does give him five or six bucks the next day to make up for it. Or it might be Dally, who lived anywhere he could.
"In here!" I yelled, finishing up my eggs
Johnny came into the kitchen and sat down across from me at the table.
"Want some?" I offered. Johnny shook his head and a comfortable silence filled the room.
Once I cleaned my plate off in the sink Johnny stood up. "Ready to go?" He questioned.
I walked to the bathroom with Johnny close behind. "I just need to brush my teeth and then I'll be ready."
Johnny sat on the rim of the bathtub while I began brushing. "Make sure to scrub good. Georgia might not kiss you if ya have egg-breath."
I leaned to the left and kicked him in the shoe lightly. "Hush up, Johnny." I mumbled incoherently. My mouth was full of toothpaste, making it hard to understand what I was saying, but Johnny got the gist and laughed it off. I was glad he was getting a hoot out of it, cause I wasn't. Hopefully the gang wasn't going to tease me while Georgia was around. After I was settled getting ready, Johnny and I rounded the house and walked across the street. We stopped in front of the Mathew's residence. I was nervous. Johnny could tell.
"I'm sorry I was teasing you, Ponyboy." He said.
"Oh, it ain't that;" I said while looking at my shoes. "I mean, not all of it. The teasing ain't fun but it ain't wrong. I really don't know what's the matter. I'm just mixed up." There was a reason and I was denying it. Growing up as a greaser, I hadn't seen many great examples of love. Not that I'm calling what I was feeling was love, I just hadn't seen a lot of it. The closest thing I saw was Sodapop and his old girl, Sandy, but it ended bad—she was two-timing him and got pregnant. When she ran to Florida, Soda cried for days. I didn't think that something like that was going to happen to me, I was just nervous because I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know what being in love was like.
"No reason?" Johnny said as he walked up the porch stairs. "I don't know about that, Ponyboy." He was teasing me again. But more subtly this time. Even though Johnny's quite shy, he can act just like the rest of the gang once you get to know him. He was much more confident than he was a year before when he was jumped by a few Socs. They had caught him and beaten him half to death. They had scared him. After the night of the beating, Johnny was jumpier than ever. But the Socs has begun to lay off us and Johnny was turning back to his old self.
I furrowed my brows defensively. "Yeah? What?" I questioned.
"On c'mon Pone, I'm just saying that you seem to like Georgia a little bit." He knocked on the door before I could say anything.
The door opened a few seconds later and revealed Georgia, wearing a pair of blue, low-cut jeans and an old Mickey Mouse shirt of Two-Bits.
She greeted us with her sunny smile. "Hey guys, ready to head out?"
"Yeah, what about you?" I cursed myself for asking such a dumb question. Of course she was ready, why would she be standing there all pretty and perfect if she wasn't?
Georgia stepped onto the porch and shut the door behind her. "Yep, I got ready an hour ago with nothing better to do." She said, descending the porch stairs and starting down the street. Me and Johnny followed after her.  After a few minutes of talking and walking, we got to the DX and greeted Soda and Steve.
Steve gave us a quick glance. "Hey ya'll." He said before returning to the car he was fixing up.
Sodapop jumped off the hood. "Hey guys!"
Him and Johnny emerged into conversation, leaving me and Georgia standing silently.  She was observing—looking around the parking lot and down the street. I just stared at the hole in the toe of my tennis shoe. Georgia turned took at me. "So, do you guys play football a lot?" She asked suddenly.
"Yeah. We usually play a few times a week but we don't run on a schedule or anything."
I was looking for something to say to her, but Steve walked over. "Ready to play some football?" He questioned, like he was some king, while wiping his oily hand on a rag.
"You bet!" Soda sang. He has a pep in his step and was ready to play.
"How come you and Darry didn't wake me up this morning?" I questioned Soda as we walked down the road on our way to the lot.
"We didn't wanna wake you. I haven't seen you so sound sleep since you were a kid." Soda   told me before falling back to walk next to Steve and Johnny.
Georgia, who was now walking on my left, turned to me. "Sounds like you slept well." She gave a smile, something she seemed to do a lot. I wasn't complaining.
"Yeah. I read before sleeping. Thanks for the idea." I said, returning her smile. I liked her smile. I found myself getting anxious thinking of something to say. I wanted to talk to her but I couldn't get any words out. Remembering the night before, I was wishing I had the same confidence. Instead of being smooth like Dally, I was questioning every move I made.
Georgia leaned her head forward to get a better look at my face. "Are you worried about something?"
I was suddenly aware that I was chewing on my fingernails. It's a bad habit I have. "U-uh. No." I stuttered "I didn't even realize I was doing that."
She smiled and looked forward. "I used to have trouble with that too, but I started getting my nails done and I stopped." She showed me her red, shiny, fingernails. "The lady puts some sort of gel on it and they get too hard to bite through."
I went to touch them but pulled my hand back before I could. "Can I feel them?"
"Yeah, sure."
I tapped them with my fingernail and they made a "click click click" sound which I though was funny. I hadn't ever though about girls getting their nails done. For some reason I always thought they were real. Mom used to get her nails done like that. She told me that they magically grew in her sleep, and I believed her.
I told Georgia that and she laughed. "I wish they did. Then I wouldn't have to go to the salon every two weeks."
I didn't know there was much upkeep when you got your nails done. "Sounds like a hassle."
"Yeah, but it's worth not having my fingertips bleed."
"I don't think getting my nails done would make me look tuff."
Georgias lips curved to a smile. "You're tuff-looking already. A little color won't do you any harm." She laughed, and my face got hot.
It's not every day you get complimented by a girl like Georgia—a natural beauty inside and out. She was a real smart girl too. Smart enough to know when a guy was tuff. I don't know who she was seeing but it sure wasn't me. We continued down the sidewalk in silence and listened to Soda and Steve joke with each other.
Stepping off the sidewalk and onto the grass, a breeze blew past me, cooling me off a little. I like the summer because of that—it can be hot for hours and then a breeze can cool you of in seconds. The old oak tree thats planted at the center of the lot had its leaves dancing in the wind and the rest of the guys sitting under it. Except Darry, he was standing. We were getting each other riled up while Darry told Georgia the teams. She opted out of playing so we decided she was going to be the ref. Dally, Two-bit, Soda and I were up against Johnny, Darry and Steve. Whichever team Darry isn't on gets the extra player. It's only fair. We all got into positions and Darry signaled Georgia. "Alight Georgie, whenever your ready."
Georgia stepped forward. She counted down as if we were racing. "On your mark...get set...GO!"