Everyday Life

How to Fix it

Ponyboy had finally woken up. Johnny was glad. He really needed to talk to him. He didn't like feeling the way he did. He didn't like feeling jealous of his sister. But the feeling was there and it didn't need to be. He didn't want to blow up on his sister for no reason. For a reason she can't help.

Johnny was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast when Pony came in. Pony fixed his plate and sat beside Johnny.

"Hey, Ponyboy, can I, uh, t-talk to you in a minute." Johnny stuttered.

"Sure Johnnycake."

Johnny smiled. He was glad that Pony agreed to talk. But unlike Pony, Malissa could tell there was something wrong. She was concerned about what happened last night. She remembered how Johnny had snapped at her. How his hand was shaking. It wasn't like him. He still seemed off this morning. He was stuttering. But why? He was talking to his best friend.

She was about to ask but as soon as she opened her mouth to speak Johnny jumped up and went into the living room and sat on the couch. Malissa looked over her shoulder at her brother then back at Ponyboy. She wanted to tell Ponyboy about last night but decided not to. She figured that Johnny would tell if he wanted to.

Pony finally finished eating, leaving Malissa at the table by herself. She sighed and picked at her food. She heard footsteps then seen Sodapop come into the kitchen with his DX shirt on.

"Hey, Malissa," He greeted happily. He then noticed she was picking at her food. "You not hungry?"

"Yeah, I guess." Sodapop could sense something was bothering her, but he didn't have time to ask because Darry was yelling at him to hurry up and get in the car.

Soon it was just her. Johnny went up into Ponyboy's room talking about God knows what. Once she finished her food, she got up and went outside for a walk.

...

"You need to tell her."

"What?" Those words caught Johnny off guard. He wasn't going to tell Malissa how he was feeling. He couldn't. "N-no. I can't."

"Come on, Johnny, everyone gets jealous of someone or something every once in a while. That's just normal. You have every reason to be jealous."

"But I don't want to be. That's the problem. It's not her fault. I don't want to be mad at her, especially if she can't control what happens at home. We can't fix it, Ponyboy. It's not like an 'I'm sorry' will fix it. Nothing can fix it."

"Look, I know you don't want to be mad at her. But if you hold this in it's only going to get worse. You said that when you go home you can tell the difference in how you get treated. That makes you jealous. If you continue to see that it will only get worse. No matter what you see those feelings won't go away."

Pony was right but Johnny didn't want t tell. Not at all. He wasn't. Jealousy can go away on its own. He just has to let it die down.