Edith George- An Outsiders Fanfic

Twenty-One

Thursday came along rather quickly and the younger Curtis boys were informed about Edith staying over for the few days. She was going to be there from Thursday evening to Monday evening. Her parents needed a few hours to drive and they figured having three days to visit and help would be much more helpful and beneficial than two days.

Edith yawned, her eyes groggily shutting with every word her teacher spoke. She was growing tired and her head was slowly slipping from her hand. Class was going to end in twenty minutes anyhow. Edith was going to be heading over to the DX station so she could see Steve and Soda. She didn't know if Steve was going back to the Curtis place or not, but she figured Sodapop was anyhow and she'd walk him. Seeing as Pony was staying behind to do a bit of track and Johnny hadn't showed up. Two-bit ditched at second period and came for lunch, then left again.

Falling asleep, Edith's head lied on her desk and her books were open. From across the room, Tristan glared at Jason, who looked at Edith with a smile. He hadn't spoken to her since they agreed to remain as friends who live in the same town. She figured it would be less of a hassle for her and more beneficial for him if he weren't tied down or jumped for no reason.

Tristan on the other hand still had a big crush on Edith, he couldn't get rid of it and to top it off, Jason made fun of him because he got to kiss Edith, but Tristan did not. That had caused a fight that night where Jason won and Tristan had went to the hospital to get two stitches for the cut below his nose where the blood wouldn't stop seeping out from.

By the end of class, Edith was the last to leave and the teacher walked down the rows of the desk. He smirked and stopped by Edith's, leaning against the desk in front of hers and he tapped a ruler onto the free desk next to her. She got spooked and jumped, her books falling on the ground. "What?" She questioned, looking around. She noticed it was her teacher. "Oh, it's just you."

"Yes, just me. Now, that book, have you finished it?" He asked her.

"N-no." She shook her head. "I'm a few chapters in."

"Well, I suggest you finish it because your grades aren't looking too high."

"A sixty-five is all right to me, besides, not everyone is good at English, Sir." She replied.

"No, but they put an effort."

She sighed, looking away. "I have been. I mean, I've been caught up with different things."

Since she had stopped hanging around with Jason, things seemed to have lightened up for her. The teacher knew of her parents leaving for the weekend and wanted to make sure she had everything done. Because she was busy doing other things, she wasn't getting too much work done. Edith was aware of this, but did not say a thing because she didn't think it was a big deal. Now, he was asking her to finish the book.

"Well, these things you're caught with can be dealt after school studies. Now, this ain't gon' be like Ponyboy Curtis. You're a strong student, but with this grade, I'm afraid it looks back on your card."

"I'll have the book finished for Monday."

"And if not?"

"You fail me."

"Your parents?"

"You deal with them." She nodded and got up, grabbing her books and pencils. She gave him a kind smile and walked out of the class room.

Leaving everything in her locker, she grabbed her house keys and jacket, pulling it on and then left with the few others who hadn't left yet. She flattened the bottom of her dress and looked down at her shoes, they were still perfect without a scratch or mark. She hummed a tune as she walked to the DX by herself and thought. She had brought her book home for English, but she didn't quite know if she was going to read it or not. With the boys, there were too many fun things to do or she wanted to just sit around and listen to conversations.

Arriving at the DX, she noticed Sodapop pumping some gas and she hit the side of the pump with her fist, spooking him. He turned, afraid it was the Soc boy who'd gone inside to pay. He signed of relief when he noticed it was only Edith. "You're late, what happened?" He asked her.

"You know that book I was reading?"

"That Flies book?" He asked her, she nodded.

"Well, my English teacher says the class is done and I'm not finished. He doesn't want me to be like Pony and have to do a makeup assignment."

"I wouldn't want ya to either." He laughed. She hit his shoulder lightly and looked down at the nice car. 

"Wow, Pontiac GTO." She noticed.

"Wait, how'd you know what car this was?" He asked her.

She shrugged. "You and Steve talk all the time about cars, how could I not?" She answered. "Personally, I like the Corvettes. Their style is more of my style and they're fast. I'd get those flat tires."

He laughed. She was doing so well until she mentioned 'flat tires' instead of tires without trim, which could also be called flat tires, but she seemed kinda like she knew less by using that term. He laughed. He really did like hanging around with her, with or without the gang.  "Corvettes are nice, but expensive. What about a Ford?"

"Pick up?" She asked, he nods. "I wouldn't mind, that, nope." She nods. "When do ya finish? I'm ready to go."

"After this guy comes back." He says, looking over her shoulder to see if he could see the Soc or not. He was still inside, finishing up. "Darry says you're staying over tonight...We should do something." He suggests nonchalantly, not minding if she said 'no' or not.

She looked over to meet his eyes, but missed the opportunity to reply when the boy from the car came back outside. He gave Sodapop a kind smile and winked to Edith, who blushed and turned away. Soda rolled his eyes and returned the nozzle to it's rightful spot at the pump. Edith noticed the way he reacted and she punched his shoulder lightly. 

"What, can't a boy wink?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Didn't say nothin' 'bout it." He shook his head and turned, walking between the pumps and headed inside.

"You did so!" She called, jogging after him, holding the bottom of her dress down. "What was that about? You never do that." She contradicted, curious about this new side.

"Who cares? I've seen Pony do it before."

She crossed her arms and stood in front of the door so he could not enter. Steve looked up from inside behind the counter, smiling and shaking his head at the two. "That's Ponyboy, but you, no" She shook her head and exaggerated her words. "No, you don't do that sorta thing. You don't give two shits half the time."

"Maybe because you're living at my place, I kinda gotta look out for ya more."

"Good excuse." He pushed her aside gently and she gasped, following him inside.

"Steve!"

"What?" He asked, looking away from the register and set his glass Coke bottle down. "Tell me, is it different that Soda got defensive when I asked why he reacted different when that Soc winked at me?"

"Uh, I couldn't give two shits, but if I must, it's different than normal, sure." He shrugged. 

"Ha!" She called, pulling herself up on the counter and crossed her leg over the other, pulling her dress down. She gazed around and Soda headed for the back to sign out and Steve did too, telling Edith not to touch anything or talk to anyone.