My Worst Summer ||Ponyboy Curtis||

T H R E E

Ponyboy's POV:

Why did I have to do it? Why did I have to let Mark talk me into pulling that stupid fire alarm? Why did I think it was a good idea? Maybe it was at the time, when we didn't want to see our stupid math teacher again for the year, but now as I'm waiting for a bus to come pick me up and take me to a summer camp two and a half hours away, and maybe even longer depending on where everyone else lives, I know how wrong I was.

"I'm sorry, Dar. I really am. Please don't make me go," I beg him. He looks down at me, and momentarily seems regretful of his choices. But his words say otherwise.

"Ponyboy, my decision is final. You're going to camp. I spent good money on it," He tells me.

"But Mark and Bryon don't have to go to summer camp!" I yell at him.

"Well, that's because Mark and Bryon are hoods that don't have parents who care about them and want them to grow up to be good men," He tells me. I don't fight back, I don't tell him he's wrong, but he is. Because not only do Mark and Bryon have a mom who cares, and I don't. Well, not anymore at least. I have a Darry, a guardian, and one who doesn't care about me at that. He cares about my grades and how far I go in life. That's not how to parent.

"Pony, it's early. I'm tired and I don't want to fight. Get your suitcase," Darry says. I nod and run into my room, rolling out the heavy suitcase.

"God, there's a lot of stuff in here," I mumble. And then I remember that there has to be. Because I'm going to be at this stupid camp for the next three months.

Suddenly, the bus pulls up.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," I say to Darry. He and I stare at each other, frozen for a moment. Then, I feel myself latch onto my big brother. He hugs me back, rubbing my hair. After a minute or two, he lets go.

"Bye, Darry. I'll miss you," I say. He nods.

"You too, little buddy. I love you," He says. Then I turn to Soda, my other brother, my favorite person in the world and hug him too.

"I love you, Pony. Have fun," He says, tears streaming down his face.

"Man, I'm going to miss you," I say with a laugh.

"You too," He responds. The bus suddenly honks it's horn, signaling that they can't wait all day for me.

"Bye, guys!" I yell, running towards it, suitcase in hand.

"Bye, Ponyboy," They both yell, waving to me as I run up the bus's steps. I look around the bus, there are only four kids on it so far, a few of them asleep. There are three boys, all looking dead, and a girl. She's sitting in the back, wide awake, looking out the window. Her long black hair is in a ponytail with her bangs in her face. She's pretty, and I ponder on whether or not I should sit next to her, but decide against it and end up sitting in a seat alone in the middle of the bus. I sit next to the window, resting my head on it, with my suitcase next to me, blocking anyone from sitting with me.

And that happens for a while, but after about 4 hours a guy comes to sit next to me.

"Hey, dude. This seat taken?" He asks. I pick up my suitcase and lay it sideways on my lap.

"Guess not," I say, looking past him to the girl that got on behind him. She's beautiful. Her hair is a dark strawberry blonde, almost a light orange that perfectly bring out her pale green eyes. They're so... expressive. Like she has so much to say, but no one to say it to. I could stare at them for hours, taking advantage of the flecks of blue ocean or the dots of brown forest.
This girl is... breathtaking. She has a model body, skinny and petite, not to tall, not to short with a to die for movie star smile. She is without a doubt the most beautiful girl I've ever seen.

"Hey, is that girl your neighbor?" I ask the guy sitting next to me.

"Her?" He asks, pointing to the beauteous girl behind us, who just sat down towards the back of the bus with another girl who had been on for hours. I nod.

"Nah, that's my sister. Why?" He asks me.

"Because she's.... I was uh. Just wondering," I say, mentally facepalming. I can't just tell this random guy that just sat next to me on a bus that I think his sister is hot.

"Yeah, well she's my twin. My name is Liam by the way," He says, sticking his right hand out as he repositions his suitcase, on his lap, with his left hand. "She's my twin." A nice way of telling me to stay away from her. This seems to be a good welcome to camp...

"Ponyboy," I say, sticking out my hand, "Nice to meet you."

I wait for a "Ponyboy?!" Or a "That's a weird name." or some rude comment but instead I get, "You too."

"So where are you from, Ponyboy?" Liam asks me.

"Tulsa. What about you? I've been on this bus so long I'm not even sure if we're even in Oklahoma anymore," I exclaim. He laughs.

"We are. The city, anyways. Hey, why is there so much grease in your hair?" He asks. I momentarily stop, feeling my head. Was there a lot in there?

"I'm a Greaser," I say, expecting him to understand. He doesn't, just raises an eyebrow, expecting me to explain.

"A greaser. Like the poor East side kids. Not the rich Socs, who usually live on the west," I explain. He nods, starting to understand.

Liam and I end up making small talk for a few more minutes, then we go off into our own little world's, leaving me to wonder about that girl whom I don't even know her name...

A/N: It's 1:20 AM but I promised you an update so here's an update! I hope it's okay. Do you think it is?

Not much to say tonight other than I want to give a huge thank you to one of my FAVORITE writers 80swhat for making me my new cover, which I love so much! You should really check out her stories if you get a chance. My favorite of hers is Treat Me Right, about River Phoenix!
-Katy