Young Blood ⏤ Ponyboy Curtis | ✓

12 | escalating tensions

Mr Symes hands Billie a piece of paper filled with the questions she answered the day before about her family. Mr Symes' stare lingers longer than Billie feels comfortable with as his lips fold into a thin line. His eyes hold a deep concern for Billie, which was foreign; for the only people who were concerned for Billie consisted of her three siblings.

However, Mr Symes does not say anything, which Billie is grateful for. She does not want Cynthia knowing what goes on in her home life; that is her business and nobody else's.

Billie shoves the damned sheet of paper in her book and tries to ignore her burning cheeks. Why didn't she just lie on those stupid questions?

Billie could not concentrate throughout the period, not when she can feel Mr Symes' concerned eyes on her, making her feel hot all over. But when she looks up, Mr Symes isn't looking at her. Billie knows she's being paranoid, but it's hard not to when you're a Greaser, and on top of being a Greaser, being the sister of the most hated Greaser in town.

Billie's eyes wander to Ponyboy at the front of the classroom, sitting beside golden girl Liz Cowan. Ponyboy's shoulders are slumped, caved in, as though he's trying to hide, to make himself invisible. His stance reminds Billie of herself; scared of everything and everyone around her. Both Billie and Ponyboy have targets on their backs; in fact, every Greaser has a target on their back, stuck on by the Socs in Tulsa. 

Billie tears her gaze away from Ponyboy and onto the chalkboard, copying down the notes Mr Symes has written up. In the corner of her eye, she sees Cynthia looking at her. 

But Cynthia's eyes aren't on Billie. They're on Billie's sheet, revealing the truth about her home life. Embarrassment flushes over Billie in a hot wave as she quickly flips over her sheet, covering up her answers. Cynthia's cheeks heat up in embarrassment at being caught looking and she averts her gaze to the board in the front of the classroom. 

Billie and Cynthia avoid glances at each other for the rest of the lesson, with Billie embarrassed at somebody else knowing about her home life and Cynthia embarrassed at being caught looking. 

The rest of the morning trickles by tediously, with Billie staring up at the clock on the classroom wall waiting for the hands to move instead of focusing on her schoolwork. When the bell does ring for the start of lunch, Billie rushes out of the classroom with the rest of her classmates. 

As her classmates head to the cafeteria, Billie heads in the opposite direction, to her spot behind the cafeteria. 

Sitting down on the dirt, Billie takes out her lunch; a hastily-put together ham and cheese sandwich, paired with a bruised green apple. Billie is about to take out her book to read when she hears two unfamiliar voices. 

"They won't find us here." A boy's voice. 

"They're not looking for you, they're looking for me." A girl's voice. Why did that voice sound so familiar? 

As the two teenagers round the corner, Billie sees that the girl's voice belonged to the girl Angela stood up to in the cafeteria. She is with a boy Billie has never seen before. He has a red mark on his angular jaw and a scratch on his tan neck that looked like it was made with a blade held against his neck. 

Upon seeing Billie, the two teens freeze. "I didn't think anybody would be here," the boy states, scratching the back of his head. "We can leave, if you want." 

Billie looks at the mark on his jaw and the scratch on his neck again. Then, she shakes her head. "No, stay." 

The boy and girl nod their heads appreciatively at Billie as they sit down, leaning against the brick wall. "I can't believe you tried to jump three Socs," the girl mutters, keeping her voice low to avoid Billie hearing. Even though Billie can hear what she is saying, she reads her books and eats her food, pretending as though she can't hear.