A Boy Named Pony - A Sequel to East West Sunset

Chapter Fourteen - Betty

All around me, all anyone could talk about was the winter formal. It was only early November - far too early to worry about a Christmas dance - but people wanted to distract themselves. The draft was coming up, too, only a month off now, and we could all feel the tension. Still, that was an adult's game. We were high school students. The dance took precedence in our minds.

I decided to spend most of my time thinking about the dance, too. I'd been to the winter formal only once before, during my freshman year. I'd gone for the experience of it. It had been pretty fun, with the music and the dancing with a couple of other girls, but overall it left me feeling vaguely lonely. I remembered stepping outside to be picked up by my dad, crossing my arms around my chest to keep warm, tired and melancholic. I came alone and I left alone. There were still couples slow dancing in each other's arms across the gym floor when I left.

I'd forgone the formal for the next two years afterward, and I hadn't regretted it much. Now, though, I was warming up to the idea of a school dance. It helped that I had someone to go with - even if I was getting a strange vibe from him lately.

That's why I focused my attention on the dance. Plan the dance in my head, then worry about whatever it was that was going on with Ponyboy. It wasn't healthy, but I figured it would save me from getting hurt, at least for the time being.

"So Betty -" a girl I'd never really spoken to before, but recognized as being named Delia Yrkovich, leaned over and gave me a friendly smile. 

I reflexively tensed at being addressed by someone I didn't know. I'd been in this algebra class for most of the semester already, and was relatively accustomed to most of the people in it, but ... I still wasn't used to how freely other people spoke to me after I'd started dating Ponyboy.

"Y-yeah?" I asked, my pencil still poised over the problem I'd been solving in my workbook.

"I'm sure you've heard the rumours about the winter dance?"

"Sure. I'm real excited." I offered Delia a grin that I hoped matched her energy but which was probably too tremulous.

"And you're going with Ponyboy Curtis, right?" one of Delia's girl friends popped into the conversation, resting her chin on her hands with interest.

"Um, yeah, probably."

"Well, duh, since they're going steady and all," Delia said to her friend.

"I know! That's why I asked, just to be sure," the girl chirped. "You're real lucky to be going with a guy like that."

My grin was much more genuine this time. I swallowed the urge to respond with a happy, but probably obnoxious, 'I know. ' "Th-thank you?" I squeaked.

"He sure is nice, Ponyboy Curtis. He take you on a lot of dates?"

I noticed that there was a pretty big crowd of interested girls listening to our conversation now, both obviously and discreetly. Adrenaline zipped through my veins at being placed at the center of attention.

"Yeah, he takes me on a few. We're actually going on one today again," I said, feeling a little like a reporter at a big television interview.

"Ooh! Where to?"

"Just walking around downtown. Window shopping and stuff." I left out that it was because I was concerned about him that I suggested we meet up after school - not really for a traditional "date."

"Ah, getting an early start on Christmas shopping. He's so thoughtful!"

Quickly, (too quick for me to follow, really), they switched to teasing another girl about her potential date to the dance, while still remaining around my desk. It was nice, to be included in the conversation. Now that everyone's attention wasn't squared solely on me, I could relax a bit, and participate in the easy banter a little less awkwardly. They were nice, I realized - and I cursed myself for all the wasted time. Of course it would take me until senior year to realize that my classmates were actually real nice people! Delia, and her friend (who I learned was named Susan), a girl named Jo Lynn, Taylee, someone named Jada; I learned most of their names and tucked them away in my mind, along with this surprisingly good memory.