I didn't go over to the Curtis' for awhile after Johnny and I got jumped and that night I cried in Sodapop's room. I saw the guys around school, but I always tried to dodge away from them. Sodapop, of course, was in my math class, but I noticed he began skipping a lot. That was until he just stopped showing up altogether. Sandy informed me he'd dropped out. I was disappointed, but I knew he had a lot of troubles in school, except for gym.

I got into the habit of sneaking in through the window in Ryan's room every time I got kicked out instead of going over to the Curtis'. He began leaving it unlocked because he got tired of me waking him up in the middle of the night, not that he minded, but even I agreed it did get old after awhile.

My grades in English weren't getting better, either, despite Ryan helping me. We were taking it slow at first, and then moving up. I was doing pretty well: I was understanding Gatsby a lot better and I understood what F. Scott Fitzgerald was meaning about the whole thing with the 'American Dream' and stuff up until I was forced to leave school early to take care of my little brother, who had gotten a seasonal flu. I missed a lot of school to stay home and help him, making me fall even further behind. And it wasn't just a little bit, either.

"Do you really not know how to read?" a soc girl asked me one day. I'd been out in the courtyard at lunch trying to read. It was going pretty well, too. I was really starting to get the hang of it and I was becoming more confident with it. And then that girl came up to me and asked me that stupid question. I ignored her. "I mean, I could help you, if you want."

"I have someone helping me," I replied shortly, trying to remain calm.

"Oh, a man whore like Ryan Cooper? Really?"

I felt my face go hot as I looked up at her. Ryan may not have been very good at settling down in a relationship, but he wasn't a 'man whore'."What's it to you? I'm not any of your concern. You can go back to painting your nails now."

She rolled her eyes. "I just thought you'd want a little one-on-one time with someone your own age."

"I have plenty of people my own age."

"What about girls? You got any girl friends?"

"Yeah, tons," I replied.

"Who?"

I didn't respond. She knew as well as anyone that I didn't necessarily get along with a lot of girls. Evie and Kathy and Sandy were different; I had to tolerate them. They were my best friends' girls. But in general, I just didn't dig girls. I liked hanging with the guys because they let me fight and they knew I could stick up for myself and, in cases where I couldn't, they'd always back me up. I was more fond of watching Mickey at seven in the morning on a Saturday with Two-Bit, both of us getting as drunk as we could at the ass crack of dawn than I was going shopping or reapplying lipstick a million times in a single hour. Sometimes Steve let me help him work on cars and I actually knew quite a bit about them because he knew them better than the back of his own hand.

When I didn't say anything, she smirked. "I thought so," she said.

"Just leave me alone," I said, my voice cracking slightly.

"Leave you alone, huh?"

"Yeah," I said, my voice more firm. I was losing my patience.

"Leave you alone?"

"Yes, leave me alone."

"Oh, leave you alone, you say?" I was on my feet in an instant and, just as fast, she was falling backward on her ass.

"I said to leave me the hell alone!" I shouted.

"Hey, hey!" someone said, pulling my arms back as the soc girl sat there in shock, her split lip now bleeding. She looked genuinely shocked that I'd actually punched her. I guess, I was, too.

"Miss Marshall!" a voice boomed, making me shrug out of whoever's grip. It was Ponyboy. Somewhere in the background, I heard someone cackled uncontrollably. That'd be Two.

"Yeah, I'm going," I said, already knowing the principal was about to march me down to his office. I grabbed up my bag, shoving my book inside of it and I followed him to the office.

"Causing a disturbance! Failing half your classes! Skipping school!"

I sat there and let him enjoy his yelling fest. I thought his head would explode, his face was so red.

"Well?" he said, his voice so calm it scared me.

"Well what?" I asked.

"No argument?"

I shrugged. I wasn't in the mood. "What's there to argue? I'm a shitty student. I realize. But you people don't know what goes on at home and it's not fair that you really don't care either. If it were any of those socy bastards out there, you'd have child services on their families in an instant. But none of us greasers matter to you. Keep on yelling at me and telling me how shit I am like I don't already know."

"Miss Marshall, I don't appreciate that kind of language in my office."

"And I don't appreciate the way you treat us lower class folk as opposed to those rich assholes out there," I snapped, pointing toward the door. "I'm done here. Remove me from the enrollment list."

"Miss Marshall-"

"No, I'm done here."

"Miss Marshall!"

"I said I'm done!" I grabbed up my bag and left the office. I didn't go back.

I let myself into the Curtis house, very quickly discarding my bag onto the floor, followed by my coat and boots. I moved over to the couch and plopped down, something Darry would have gotten after me for. I was grateful the house was empty. I flipped on the TV and sat watching Leave It To Beaver.

I must have fallen asleep because next thing I knew I was being woken up by Steve and Sodapop and Two-Bit.

I screamed as Two-Bit threw me over his shoulder. "Now we got two dropouts! Glory! Y'all are gonna leave me in school by myself! Ponyboy's already skipping grades, now we got kids just droppin' like flies."

"Shut up, Two-Bit, and let me down!" I hollered. He set me on my feet.

"Gee, doll, that was real good. She didn't know what hit her at first," said Steve.

"Good," I said, although I was starting to feel bad about punching her. I may have gotten into a few scraps in my time, but I never particularly liked fighting. I'd been hurt enough by people, I didn't like others to feel it, too. Unless they truly deserved it, which I guess that soc girl did. She was really getting under my skin. And I had a temper like no one else. She shouldn't have pushed me like that. She would have walked away without a scratch on her if she'd'a just let me be.

"What was she sayin' to you, anyhow?" asked Sodapop as he unbuttoned his work shirt.

"I don't even remember," I admitted, scratching the back of my neck. "Gee, I've slept since then. Can't help it when I'm all cozy on your couch. But she deserved it. She was really getting under my skin and I wasn't gonna tolerate someone talking to me the way she did."

"Whatever it was, Ponyboy and I saw it. I couldn't stop laughing! We was talking, you know, and then we looked over and saw you hollering and then WHACK!-- man, down she went! She looked like Curly Shepard that one time with the Jack-in-the-Box! I ain't never seen a broad so surprised in her life like that girl was after you hit her! Glow-ree"

I couldn't help but laugh at Two-Bit. Now that he'd put his two cents it, the whole situation was just hysterical to me and I started laughing. The two of us went on with our laughing while Steve and Sodapop both looked at the both of us like we were nuts.

"I need to go to work," I said once I'd sobered up from my laughing fit. "I gotta be there soon."

"Wanna ride?" Two asked and I nodded.

"Yeah. Get there quicker."

"See you guys later," Soda called and me and Two-Bit waved 'bye and we left. We got to my house and I changed as quick as I could and Two-Bit took me to the grocery store.

"Thanks, Two-Bit!" I called and he waved before taking off.

I did a shit job at work that day, but I went home smiling like I was a hero. The whole time, I couldn't stop staring at Amy and Brad when they weren't looking or paying attention to me. The way they looked at each other made me wonder if my parents ever looked at each other like that. They must have at one point to have had me. I never knew my dad. We left California when I was real little and Mom never talked about him. Except there was one time where I was peeking into her room because I heard her both crying and humming to herself and I wondered what she was doing. So I went peeping and I saw her looking at a photograph. I didn't know who it was, but I assumed it was my dad. I found out two things that day:

Me and my momma look a lot alike when we cry.

My momma loved my daddy.

I never knew why they split. She always said it was 'cause he walked out, which is why we ended up in Tulsa instead of back in upstate New York because my grandparent's didn't necessarily agree with Mom's choice in marrying my dad. They were just kids in love when they had me. But that didn't last long, just like my grandparents had said. So, mom came here to Tulsa. We were doing alright for awhile until she met some guy named Eric, but I called him the skunk man behind his back because he always smelled like a skunk. I found out when I got older that it wasn't skunk. Anyways, they had their thing, which led to my brother and sister being born. Then he left, too. After that, Mom gave up on loving, even her own kids.

The only thing my mom loved anymore was Jack Daniels.

I kept thinking about all that stuff the whole time I was at work and Amy and Brad both noticed I was off that day. They asked if I was feeling okay, if I was sick. I said I was sorry and that I was just distracted and that's when I admitted to me dropping out of high school, but I lied and said it was because I was trying to work more to support the little kids instead of because I was just dumb and couldn't read a book. I didn't feel bad about lying then because that's when they offered to have me working longer hours and that made me feel good. I said I would take up longer shifts so I could get paid more to take care of the kids. I walked out of the grocery store that night feeling real good. I didn't go back to the Curtis'. I went home.

Mom wasn't happy at all with me when I told her I dropped out. I got myself landed with a new shiner, but then I told her why I'd done it and she sank to the floor beside me and cried.

"You dropped everything because I'm a wreck," she said, her voice shaking and sounding terrible. I hadn't heard her cry in a long time, not since I caught her with the photograph.

"I dropped everything because...well, hell, Momma, I ain't good enough to be in school."

"You're as good enough as you make yourself to believe," she said. "Can't never did anything."

"But, oh, Momma I was gonna fail out anyways. And now at least I can help out around here more."

"Honey, the only failure here is me. I gave up on you guys. You all three grew up without a father and, since I fell off my rocker, I guess y'all grew up without a momma, too."

"Not the little kids," I said. "They had me."

"You didn't have no one," she said, making me frown. I did have someone. But Mrs. Curtis, unfortunately, wasn't there anymore.

"Not anymore," I said without thinking. I hoped she didn't hear, but I knew she did. She sighed, but didn't say anything about it. I guessed she knew what I meant.

Mom stood up and wandered into the kitchen. "What's for dinner?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I can make whatever."

"I meant, what do you want?"

"I don't care," I said. "Let's see what we got."

"You wanna make it together?"

I nodded. "Are the little kids in bed?" I asked.

Mom nodded. "Yeah. Did their homework. They're good kids."

"Yeah," I said, mentally adding 'because I raised them'.