ITS ABOUT TIME ➤ Ponyboy Curtis

26

𝙿𝚘𝚗𝚢𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝙼𝚒𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚎𝚕 𝙲𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚜
    ♫ - "Girl with The Tattoo" by Miguel

It was really hard to focus that day at school. I hasn't taken in any information, I was just thinking. Mostly about Georgia, and the upcoming rumble.  I was threatened with a few detentions for not listening, which I tried to avoid for Darrys sake, but I couldn't get my mind on anything else. I was lucky to make it out of school scot-free.
   Johnny was the first one out of school out the five of us. He wasn't looking too happy.   "Let's get outta here." He groaned, leading the walk home.
  "Not a good school day johnnycakes?" Steve snickered, hiking his book back further up his shoulder.
  Johnny shrugged, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. I never did understand how he could wear that denim jacket of his during hot weather. "Nothing bad, it's just no fun." He sighed.
  "It never is." Steve chuckled lowly, earning a laugh from Two-Bit.
  Steve and Two-Bit walked along side Johnny. Georgia and I walked behind them. "What about you Georgia?" Two said, turning around and walking backwards.
  Georgia didn't say anything, but grabbed for my hand. Only then did I see that she was angry, and I felt like a jerk for not noticing sooner. She peered up at me, and I responded with a questioning look. I knew if I asked we what was bugging her she wouldn't tell me, cause girls are weird like that, so I just asked her with my eyes.
   "I heard some Socy girls talking and about me. They said I looked like street trash."
  I stopped walking. The only word that should've ever be used to describe Georgia was perfect and nothing else. Not street trash.  Georgia wasn't street trash. She was perfect. So perfect that that it was a shock to me that anybody else could see her as less than perfect.
   "Don't make a big deal out of it, guys." Georgia said after we all stopped in our tracks.  "It's not a big deal. I'm just frustrated, that's all." She motioned for us to keep walking, which we did. Not without some bad mouthing, though.
  "Those dirty little.." Two-Bit started, calling the Socs every name he could think of or make up.
   Steve's face was his signature, lip curled and eyebrows scrunched. "They wouldn't know what trash was if it hit 'em in the face." He spat. "Those snobby sons of bitches."
    Johnny didn't say a whole lot, he just looked upset. He knew the most out of all of us what it felt like. We all got our share of browbeating from the Socs, just some more than others.
    I wrapped my arm around Georgia's waist. "Those Socs don't know what they're talking about Georgie." I said, squeezing her side which made  her smile for a second. I whispered the next part, "I'm never lying when I tell you that you're beautiful."
   Georgia pecked me on the check, but was silent. She didn't talk much on the way home, just listened to our Soc ridicule. They were outta line. Georgia didn't deserve their foolish talk. Those girls had no idea the girl that they were putting down.
   Georgia was the type of girl you saw in movies. She had that beauty that the big shot actress's had. Her smile. I can't even describe her smile. Georgia's smile brought out the depth of her eyes. I would subconsciously hold my breath when she smiled. It was an impromptu reaction to her beauty. Her smile made it easy to fall in love with her.
    Most of the time her face wasn't easy to read, but you could always figure out what she was feeling just by looking at her eyes. When she was angry they were hard and when she was sad they were hollow. When her eyes were  soft and luminescent then it meant she was happy.
   Her beautiful red hair always fell around her face in just the perfect way. even when she had just woken up. It would glow in the sunlight and you get to see all of the undertones and hues that were hidden before. She looked like an angel in the sun.
   I couldn't believe how much I adored her. it was a new sensation for me, to love somebody so bad that it hurts to know not everyone saw how perfect they were. Perfect wasn't a good enough word. It's so over used that it's lost its meaning. Georgia was indescribable in every capacity. It seems foolish to say, cause I bet a lot of people say this about people they love, but nothing about Georgia was plain. Georgia was complicated in the best way. Every layer to her personality and her beauty and her thoughts were just so amazing. There is so much about her, so much to love.
  These words seem so weak. feelings can't be written out. No matter how hard someone tries, they can't. Loving her felt like hunger. loving her was consuming. Nothing can give it justice. Not even me.
   Those Socs didn't know a Georgia. They didn't know what her childhood was like, and how she was living, and her dreams, and her talents. They didn't know that she's doing her best to make something of herself, something only few can accomplish. At least for greasers.
  We'll show them, I thought. We'll show them what trash can do at the rumble. Though I knew that rumbles didn't solve much, they sure did make for great stress relievers.

——

"If they're weren't girls, man" Dally scoffed, "I would beat the tar out of 'em."
   Steve, who was next to Dal on the couch, laughed. "Yeah, we could get superman over there to beat up for ya'."
  Darry flexed his strong arm muscles and leaned up against the door frame of the kitchen. "C'mere Georgie, let's fight." He said. "I'll show you how it's done."
  "Show me how it's done?" Georgia stood up.
  Darry looked at her skeptically. "What, you think you're stronger than me?"
   Georgia took a step closer, smiling. "Gimme one shot of that big head, Ima knock you out." She laughed.
  "Oh, you don't know what you started lil red." Darry chuckled, a genuine smile on his face. Smiles from Darry weren't as rare lately.
   Within seconds, Darry had her over his shoulder. Georgia squealed and laughed as Darry shook her around, eventually tossing her on the couch with a ruffle of her hair.
   The whole gang was cracking up at the scene. Georgia, with a red face, was laughing with them. Gosh I love that laugh, I thought. I would do anything imaginable just to hear her laugh.
   "Save that energy for the rumble, yeah?" Sodapop said beside me. He has just gotten off work, and was still wearing his DX hat.
  "Speaking of rumble," Georgia started, "whats the deal with that?"
  "What'd ya mean?" Steve took a sip of Pepsi.
  "Well, who's coming. Are we prepared and what not?"
  Two-Bit sat up from the floor, as it he was rising from a tomb. He has his arms crossed and everything. He was one hell of a comedian. "Whatdya' want us to do, sharpen our fingernails?"
  "Well, I don't know!" Georgia thew her hands in the air. "I've never been to a rumble."
   "And who says you're coming?" Dally scoffed, looking at Georgia as if she had just insulted his family name. "You're nuts if ya think we're gonna let that happen."
  "Let what happen?"
  "Let you.." Dallas waved his hand in the air, searching for words, "..get knee-deep brawling with the Socs."
   "I'm not gonna be fighting, Dally. I just wanna watch." Georgia argued, "What's wrong with watching?"
   I wasn't gonna tell Georgia what to do, but I wasn't too fond of the idea of Georgia coming. I mean, I would get to show off and impress her with my Soc-kicking skills, but maybe something could happen. Maybe she could get hurt, even if she wasn't fighting.
   Johnny spoke up, "Let her come, Dal. She ain't gonna get hurt." He uttered.
   "Fine then," Dallas sighed, "But ya gotta
have a blade with ya and ya gotta stay away." He pointed a finger at Georgia, who nodded her head.