Life to One 3

O*N*E

Time Jump*

It's been 5 year since Rachel's medical scare...

Bella's POV

"Babe! Hurry up! We are gonna be late for Rachel's school meeting!" I scream at Soda.

"I'm coming Bella, I dont wanna look like trailor trash in front of her teachers." Soda grumbles.

I roll my eyes. Ever since we put Bella into school (shes in 1st grade) Soda has been so worried about his appearance in front of the school staff and other parents. I can understand why, but Soda never struck me as the kind of guy to care about what other people think.

But first, to catch up on the latest, Rachel is now 7 years old. Soda and I have been together for about 2 years now. Things have been...rough. Ponyboy is 17 now. And the gang is well...busy. Everybody has kind of gone their separate ways a little. I mean, occasionally you have Two-Bit come over for an hour or two or Dallas stops by to see Rachel. But Ponyboy moved out and Soda and I share a room with Rachel. Darry is still the same though. He still works like a dog, and I think its gettin to his head a little bit that the gang is slowly disengaging. Sodapop now owns the DX. And Steve...well, he was deployed. He isnt supposed to be back for a while. And soda is devastated. Johnny lives with Pony. But like I said, the gang is just a little messy right now. Things will get better soon.

"You ready yet PepsiCola?" I ask.

"Yea, just one more second." He grunts.

I grab Rachel and help her tie her shoes and I put her in the car. Before I go back inside Soda finally bursts through the door.

"Finally." I moan.

He starts the car and we pull off.

The car is full of silence.  Not even Rachel says a word. A glance at Soda.

"I love you babe" I whisper as I grab his hand.

"Love you too" he sighs.

It's not before to long that we reach the school.

"What's this meeting about again?" He asks

"Not sure, something about parent participation in the school. " I answer.

"Boringggg" soda whines.

We walk into the school and see parents swarming around the elementary auditorium. We hurry and take our seats since we don't know anyone here"

"Alright. Alright. Parents, please take your seats." A lady booms over the microphone.

About that time a tall man walks out onto the stage. And I freeze...Tommy.