Last night was definitely one of the worst nights of my life. I was extremely bored due to the lack of human contact and the fact that I was basically trapped in this hospital. Dallas offered to stay the night, but I didn't want him to have to do that for me, although he did insist that he wanted to. I always spent my nights hanging out with him or the gang, but now I'm forced to stare at motivational posters that are taped to the white walls. It was eerily silent most of the time, except for the occasional shouts from random rooms down the hall. I was curious to know what happened to that patient, but my nurse—Nancy—refused to tell me. Something about patient confidentiality..

On top of my extreme boredom, I was still in an awful amount of pain. It was nearly impossible to get a moment where my ribs didn't crack and crunch at every movement I made, not that I was doing much though. The only schedule I have here is wake up, pretend to eat the shitty hospital food, get my meds and an ice pack, and then wait for Dallas to get here with my coffee and something from the diner. If it's a weekday, Two-Bit, Steve, Ponyboy, and Evie are usually in school, along with Johnny if he's not skipping, but when he does Dally always brings him here. Sodapop visits when he can, but its hard when he's always busy with work. Like his brother, Darry is also always working, but he still hasn't visited yet, which, at first, I was a bit hurt but he's probably doing his best to make time. Still, I was wondering when I was going to see him next.

Since today was a Saturday, Dallas was spending his day preparing for the race at the tracks tonight with Buck, who had surprisingly stopped by to see me the other day. He joked about 'pulling the plug' on me and then 'renting my room back to Sylvia.'

Nurse Nancy walked into my room with a small smile on her face and a tray of medicine capsules along with a new ice pack. Already being through this routine multiple times, I grabbed the ice and switched it out with my old one, which was just cold water now. I reached for the capsules and pulled out a single pill from each and swallowed, not bothering to grab my glass of water on the table beside me. I sighed dramatically, grabbing the attention of Nancy. "No visitors today?" She asked.

I shook my head, no. "Not today, Nance," I replied. Dallas and Buck were at the tracks, Evie and Steve were on a date, and everyone else was eating chocolate and watching Mickey cartoons at the Curtis house. I desperately wanted to escape and join my friends, but I that definitely isn't going to happen anytime soon considering I'm not even allowed to leave me bed. This whole hospital experience was killing me. This is not what its supposed to be like in books and movies.

"You must be bored out your mind," the nurse laughed to herself. I just rolled my eyes. She glanced around the room and seemed to be thinking about something. "Maybe I can try to get a television or radio in here."

I raised my eyebrows. "Ya think so?" I asked, becoming excited for a change. I would do anything for something relatively interesting to happen around here. I feel like I'm slowly losing my mind being stuck in one place and not allowed to leave.

"Don't get your hopes up just yet," Nurse Nancy said. My smile quickly dropped and I nodded in understanding. She began to make her way out of the hospital room before turning back around briefly. "I'll see what I can do."

»»——⍟——««

"What on Earth possessed you to do something that stupid!"

Just as I was able to finally fall asleep, I was woken up my a chorus of shouting people who rushed into the room quickly. My eyes snapped open and my head glanced over towards the door with eagerness to see what was happening, only to be let down. My eyes rolled at the prissy family that walked into the room. It was obvious that I had a strong hatred for socs. Still, their pointless drama did intrigue me slightly, but mostly because nothing new has happened since I arrived at this hospital.

"When we get home, you're grounded for a month!" A woman who appeared to be in her early forties wore an angry expression knew her face. Her blonde hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and tiny strands were beginning to fall out and cover her face. The woman was in a frantic state as she held onto the side of a bed that a teenage girl was laying on. "Christina, are even you listening to me?" She shouted. A vein pulsed in the center of her forehead as she yelled.

"Mary, please," the man beside the woman pleaded. His eyes looked tired as he attempted to calm the woman but to no avail. The man placed his hand on her shoulder, only for it to be swatted away harshly.

"Not now, David!" Mary shouted again, this time at the man, who I assumed was her husband.

Christina—the girl in the stretcher—looked like she was my age. She was probably their kid, and based on the situation, she either did something incredibly stupid or awesome and the mother does not approve. Christina was dressed in a beige and black plaid skirt that was unevenly cut short. She also had on a black, long-sleeved shirt that was way too big for her small frame, so she had it tucked into her skirt. Christina wore big sunglasses with clear rims, which I thought were pretty ridiculous but in the cool way. Her head turned my way and she pulled down her shades to the tip of her small nose. Christina's pale green eyes glanced at me and then winked before putting her sunglasses back on and turning to the people who surrounded her. I shifted my focus elsewhere to ignore her gesture.

When the teenage girl turned back to her mother, who was still lecturing her, I glanced back over to watch the scene continue to unfold. Christina smirked at her mother and shook her head, completely unbothered. Her wild, untamed fawn curls bounced around as she moved. I was impressed with how calm the girl remained. If someone were yelling at me like that they wouldn't live to tell about it.

The doctor that pushed the bed into the room carried different medical equipment and placed it onto the beside table nearly before picking up a clipboard and beginning to read over some papers. Nurse Nancy also walked into the room, but was completely preoccupied by the new patient to look my way.

When the Christina's mother noticed her daughter turn my way, she shot me a hateful glare and walked over to the curtain, shutting it in my face aggressively. I rolled my eyes. "Bitch," I muttered.

"Is Christina okay?" A new voice asked. It was a younger boy, perhaps a sibling to the green-eyed girl.

"Yes," David spoke calmly. "She'll be fine, Teddy."

"How long is this going to take?" Mary asked impatiently, I could hear her begin to tap her heeled shoes on the tiled floor.

Nancy sighed. "Your daughter will have to stay here for at least two weeks for the wound to heal," She replied. I could tell that she was also becoming irritated with the rude and demanding woman. "You may want to keep her here for a bit longer.. for other health concerns though." I quirked a brow at that.

"Great! This is just perfect," Mary exclaimed. "Christina, you are paying for your own hospital bill, you hear me? I'm not paying a single cent!"

The doctor in the room finally decided to speak up, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Wilkinson, but I think you need to step out of the room." I feigned my laughter at that. About time..

"Fine," Mary huffed loudly. "David, Teddy, lets go." After she ordered her family to leave, I was left in the room with Christina, Nurse Nancy, and the doctor. I wasn't surprised that her mother was kicked out, but I am surprised that the rest of her family just left with her. What would I know about family though?

Christina laughed loudly, "What. A. Show!" I found myself smirking at her sense of humor in the situation. "They probably won't be back anytime soon," she added.

The doctor and nurse remained quiet as they continued to assist Christina. After a few more minutes, they finished up and were on their way out before she ordered them to open the curtain again. Nancy did as she was told and then made her way out as well, reminding Christina that if she needed something then she could just holler or press the assistance button on the bedside remote.

Once the curtain was pulled aside, Christina sat up on her bed and turned around to face me, while I tried my best to avoid her. "I'm Chrissy," she said simply. "My mother hates that nickname," she laughed to herself. When I didn't answer Chrissy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Hello? Are you deaf or something?" I rolled my eyes and turned my head to my right, looking out the window and yearning to get out of this place. "I know some sign language, I think." In the corner of my eyes I could see Chrissy making silly hand gestures, and although I wasn't familiar with sign language at all, I could tell that wasn't it.

I decided that maybe if I answered her, the soc girl would leave me alone. "I'm not deaf," I muttered angrily.

Chrissy chuckled and pretended to swipe the sweat off her forehead. "Oh good!" She said, relieved. "I don't actually know sign language."

"No shit," I remarked.

Christina had a small smile painted on her lips as she said, "I'm Chrissy by the way."

I turned my attention back to her and gave her an uninterested look. "I know," I replied stoically. Chrissy nodded slowly, appearing to be a bit taken aback by my harsh demeanor. I sighed, "I'm Diana." I introduced with a subtle nod.

Chrissy looked back up at me. I relaxed my face, almost smiling. "What are you in here for?" She asked.

"Bruised rib," I replied. Though my dislike towards socs remained evident, I decided to ease up on Christina since she'll be my roommate for the next few weeks, and also because she isn't even as bad as the other socs I know.

"How'd that happen?" She asked curiously.

"Ya know Bob Sheldon?" I questioned.

Chrissy nodded and wore a distasteful expression. "That guy's a prick." She said, cringing.

"Damn straight," I chuckled. "Him and his goons jumped me on Christmas Eve."

Chrissy raised her eyebrows and then something seemed to click in her mind. "Wait.. Are you the chic that trashed the Roper's locker room?" I nodded. "Holy shit! Your that Diana greaser everyone hates." I shrugged with a confident smirk on my lips nonetheless. If I was gonna leave some type of impression here in Tulsa, that's as good as it's gonna get. "'Home of the Assholes'," Chrissy recited humorously. "Now, thats clever."

"Thanks," I chuckled softly, not wanting to feel the pain in my ribs again. Chrissy sent me a smile and nodded. "So what happened to you?" I asked, wanting to know about her now.

Chrissy smirked and held up her left hand. I cringed at the sight of her burn wound, which was definitely second-degree, almost third. Her tanned skin was burnt off badly and was left with a disgustingly tinted red wound that had white fleshy spots. Yellowish, dead skin peeled around the perimeter of the injury, while blisters began to bubble on her palm. I'd never seen a wound so horrendous and horrifying, but as awful as the burn looked, I just couldn't tear my eyes away from the sight. Chrissy noticed my disgusted expression and placed her hand back down on her lap, making sure her palm was facing upward. "I burnt my hand on a pan," she said humorously.

My brows knitted together in confusion. "On purpose?" I asked. "Why the hell would you purposely want to do that to yourself?"

Chrissy pulled her sunglasses over and off her eyes, placing them on her head. She rolled her pretty green eyes at me. "Obviously I didn't want this to happen," she said, holding her hand back into the air and nodding towards it. I closed my eyes shut, not wanting to look at the burn again. I've never really been squeamish before, but her wound was downright disgusting. "I was just.. curious."

"Curious?" I questioned.

Chrissy nodded. Her fawn curls bounced sillily. "I wanted to know what it felt like," she said with a nonchalant shrug.

"You wanted to know what a hot pan felt like?" I commented sarcastically.

"No," Chrissy huffed, rolling her pretty eyes. "I wanted to feel the pain." I gave her a confused look. Suddenly, I was feeling a little uncomfortable in her presence. She took note of my sudden mood change and continued explaining herself, "My mother was about to make dinner, and I was just standing in the kitchen. As usual, she was lecturing me, this time about my grades. The pan started to sizzle and, eventually, it was all that I could hear. It was like some sorta trance. One moment my mother is bitching about school, and the next she's screaming at me cause my whole hand is melting into her favorite pan."

I blinked. "You're fucking crazy," I breathed. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or ask for a new roommate. This chic made me seem normal.

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment," Chrissy said. Her lips twitched upward into a small smile.

I just shrugged as I said, "Call it what ya want." Chrissy and I both laughed.

The two of us continued talking and sharing random stories until the sun set and nightfall came. Although Chrissy was a soc, she was different from the rest of them. She was actually enjoyable to talk to and be around, unlike every other uptight person I've met in Tulsa. I found it hard to believe, but maybe some socs aren't as bad as the others.