A Glimpse of Us • Sodapop Curtis

Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ｆｏｒｔｙ-ｏｎｅ

Tori

     The rest of the week was tiring so say the least. I really underestimated how tiring this was all going to be. Especially since my mind and body was not used to this schedule and stress that I was putting on it.

     Wake up go to school, get through the day and avoid Sandy, go to the diner right after work, go home, do any homework that I can get done and then go to bed and do it all over again.

     The only time I got to hang out with Soda was when he picked me up from work, and it really wasn't that much time. Not to mention that my mind couldn't fully be with Soda, not only because I was always so damn tired but because it was still on the whole Sandy ordeal.

     I think Soda noticed that too, and I could tell that he was making an effort to try and get any overthinking out of my head and I was sure thankful for that. But being tired didn't mean that my mind tired down as well, instead it was like the total opposite. Maybe it was my mind trying to activate my nervous system in order to keep me awake.

     I barely saw my brothers and if I felt like I was being torn apart from Toni before, I was sure feeling it now. Doing all of this wasn't saving my relationship with my brother, but it was saving him.

     I hadn't really seen the rest of the gang either, mostly just Johnny and Pony, but that was because I went to school with them. My whole life was getting shifted and it was a hard and weird change but now I understood why Darry just wanted to stay home all the time instead of coming out with us.

     I was so tired at school and trying to save my energy for work that it hardly even felt like I was actually physically there. I wasn't falling asleep in class but I could hardly concentrate and focus on anything, I was having a hard time keeping up with the assignments given to me this week too, and it was only the first week out of many.

     Dallas only bothered me that one time, but I know that there was a million things going through his mind. And if I wasn't worried about Chris watching me like a hawk, I had to worry even harder about Dallas. Because most likely he would ruin everything that I was trying so hard to fix.

     I was only seventeen years old and I swear I was already getting tired of this whole adulting thing. I don't know how Darry or even Soda managed to become adults over night. Though Soda was still childish, it was more so Darry that was carrying all the weight on his back.

     I know it's only been a week of me juggling work and school, but just thinking about the next ten months of hell was stressful. At least during the summer all I would have to worry about was work than both work and school

     It was already Friday, meaning that I would be getting my first paycheck for this week. Meaning, that I would have my happy little self take it to Chris. 

      But I couldn't just give him the check that had my name on it, so I would have to cash it out first but the bank isn't open that late... this whole situation was already sounding like a whole mess.

      "Are you coming to the drive in with us tonight?" Johnny asked.

      I picked my head up off the desk, squinting at the harsh light from the classroom, "No, I got work remember?"

     "The movie starts right when your shift ends, just come right after."

     That would be easy to do if I didn't have things to do right after, but I couldn't tell him that. But then again there was nothing I could really do until I changed that piece of paper into actual cash the next day, but i'm always so tired after work that the drive in just sounded like another chore rather than actual fun.