He Was Mine, I Was His

Oh, What Does the Future Hold?

    That Monday after school, I tried out for the volleyball team. It was about time I tried to get settled here. We had a scrimmage with the other girls on the team. The coach was very impressed with my performance and gave me a spot on the varsity team. Being the newcomer on a team is usually pretty scary but my new teammates were very welcoming. 

    One thing I noticed as a few weeks went by was that I hadn't been spending much time with Sodapop. Or anyone really. With work and practice, my schedule was filled. Soda and I would go on the occasional date and call each other all the time. I started to feel bad about it and I felt even worse when Ponyboy told me that Soda was going through a hard time at home. What a way to start a relationship. 

    Sodapop wasn't one to share his deeper emotions unless he felt ready. That day Ponyboy told me what was going on, I went over to Sodapop's house. Darry was the one to open the door when I arrived. 

    "Hey Darry, is Soda home?" 

    "He's in his room," Darry said, letting me inside. 

    "Thanks," I replied, starting to walk through the living room.

    "Marilyn," Darry stopped me. "It's nice to see you."

    I smiled but it was fake. I felt bad for not balancing my time well enough to keep my friends engaged in my life. That was something I definitely needed to work on. I continued towards Sodapop's room. Ponyboy was in there but once he saw me, he left to give Soda and I privacy. 

    "Hey baby, this is a nice surprise," Soda smiled, sitting up in his bed. 

    I sat down next to him and held his hand, "Haven't seen you in a second. I thought I'd stop by."

    "Well I'm glad you did." He grabbed my waist and laid me down on the bed. I giggled as he started to kiss me.
 
    "Can we talk before we get into all of that?" I asked. 

    He groaned jokingly, "Fine." He laid his head down on my stomach and looked up at me. 

    "Are you doing okay?" I asked even though I knew the answer. 

    "I've missed you but other than that I'm doing just dandy," he smiled. I looked at him, letting him know that I knew there was more. "Just a little stressed."

    "What's wrong?" I asked, running my fingers through his hair. 

    "Just worried. Somedays, I regret dropping out of school."

    "Why's that?"

    "I don't want to work at the DX my whole life. I used to want to do so much. I'm just worried I won't be able to do that anymore since I don't have a diploma."

    This was something he had brought up a while ago. He undermined himself so much just because he didn't have a diploma. "Soda," I started. "A diploma doesn't define you. You're so smart. Remember every time you've helped me with my geography homework? I'm only passing that class because of you. You can do anything you want. You just have to want it bad enough."

    "But I should be getting that diploma. I should be going to college and getting a good job so I can support my family. How can I do that now?"