"Let Loose!" Two-Bit yelled.

"Huh?" I asked, twirling the pencil in my hand.

"You've got to let loose. You're always so uptight." Two took a swig of his beer.

I shook my head and chuckled. "That's easy for you to say, you don't have any responsibilities."

"Well, sure I do!" Two sat his beer down.

"Like what?" I questioned.

"My responsibilities contain of drinking at least ten beers a day and never missing out on a Mickey Mouse episode. Now that's hard work if you ask me." Two opened another beer bottle.

I laughed. "Yeah, so much harder than writing a whole paper on your life through school, and not to mention I have a ton of feelings right now that I don't know how to control."

"Let me guess," Two-Bit started, "Minnie has a little crush on this guy who has tuff, silky black hair, maybe brown, and bright blue eyes. What's his name? Oh yeah, Sodapop Patrick Curtis."

I rolled my eyes. "Are you going to help me with this paper or not? I have to finish it by tonight, Mick!"

"Aww you called me Mickey. You know you haven't done that in a long time." Two-Bit laid across my bed.

"KEITH MATHEWS, IF YOU DON'T HELP ME WITH THIS PAPER I WILL NEVER WATCH MICKEY MOUSE WITH YOU AGAIN!" I screamed at the top of my lungs which caused Two-Bit to jump and fall off of the bed.

"You know," He stood up, "you didn't have to call me by my first name!"

"You know," I copied his tone of voice, "you could help me with this paper because I'm stressed out!"

He sighed. "Alright, Minnie, tell me your ideas."

"Well....." I started.

//

SARAH AND I gazed at each other in our caps and gowns. This is it. The moment every kid has waited for their whole life.

Sarah turned to me, a smile lit up on her face. "I can't wait to hear your speech."

My stomach felt like it just did a hundred foot drop. "I'm shaking, Sarah. I can't do this."

"I know you can, Skye. You're one of the best writers I've ever met, and I'm not lying. You're going to go out there, receive your diploma, and you're going to look in the audience and find all of your family. They may not be blood, but their darn well close to it. Then, you're going to look down at that paper and read us the most amazing piece you've ever written." Sarah looked me straight in the eyes.

I grinned, my confidence coming back. "Okay."

We all got in line and prepared ourselves for our last day in Austin Texas High School.

[ALSO, yes, MY story takes place in Texas instead of Tulsa]

"Skylar Winston!" The speaker announced. I took a deep breath.

Just like 8th grade graduation.

I stepped out into the audience and claps surrounded me once more. I shook the principal's hand and smiled. "Congratulations." He whispered in my ear.

I took my diploma and then got out my speech I had written just the night before. I glanced out into the audience like Sarah told me to do and smiled.

Soda, Darry, Ponyboy, Two-Bit, Dally, Johnny, and Steve were all out there, clapping and grinning at me.

I took a deep breath. "My name is Skylar Winston. Most of you all either know me as Meredith and Derek Winston's daughter or Dallas Winston's little sister." A baby picture of me popped up on the big screen behind me and their were tons of 'awws.'

"I was this little baby, full of happiness because my mom always rocked me around the whole house trying her best to stop me from crying. I was full of happiness because every time my dad came home he would drop his suitcase and yell, "Where's my Pumpkin?" And when I would run up and jump into his arms and say, "Here I am, Daddy!" I knew everything was going to be alright."

My hands were shaking as I continued to read. "My dad would carry me to my bed and sing me a beautiful song he wrote for me. I got my singing and writing from my dad. His singing would put me to sleep immediately. But now? I've turned into this teenager, full of sadness and despair because my mom died of cancer when I was thirteen. I was full of sadness and despair because every time I passed a black jeep, I would instantly be reminded of the car crash I was in with my dad that killed him and almost killed me. I can't listen to my dad singing me a song. I have to write my own song and sing it myself because I have no one."

"In the picture of me now, all you see is a lost girl. That's all I ever was. Pale skin, blue eyes, blonde hair." I chuckled lightly.

"So, the truth is, you don't get to choose what happens in your life. I didn't choose for my mother to die of cancer. I didn't choose for my dad, my hero, to die in a car crash. I didn't choose for my brother, the only blood-related family I have left, to have to deal with me alone by his self. I didn't choose any of this."

I paused, trying to contain my shaky breath. "You know what I did choose though? I chose whether or not I wanted to go to basketball practice for two hours after school and then head straight for track for another two hours even though I had a huge essay due tomorrow. I chose that because I wanted to go to college. It's funny isn't it?" I started laughing.

"A Greaser that wants to go to college. Let alone a GIRL Greaser. I chose to get all A's and be valedictorian of my class. I chose that. You know why? Because I wanted to prove to every single person in this judgmental town- Soc or Greaser- that just because I am a girl Greaser and just because I did lose my parents, doesn't mean that I am not capable of doing anything a Soc can do."

I saw Soda grinning at me from the crowd, making me smile back and continue. "I realized that after all of the late, restless nights of staying up to do my homework, after all of the track and basketball meets, after all of the great memories in advanced PE, and after my stressed out life, that I'm going to miss every bit of it. I'm going to miss this place no doubt. Ever since I began kindergarten I was waiting to get out of this place, but now I realized that I'm going to miss it. Heck, I'll even miss all of my stupid classmates." Everyone started laughing, which caused me to laugh.

"Anyways, my point is that no matter what you go through, you'll get through it. And you'll definitely get through high school."

The whole crowd gave me a standing ovation, and I could feel my cheeks heating up. Soda was standing a few feet in front of me. I ran into his arms and he spun me around.

"You did it, Blue! I told you that you could." He carried me bridal style just like he did at eigth grade graduation.

"Oh, I didn't know you were also getting married today?" Dally teased.

Soda let me down and I punched Dally in the arm.

"Oh, and by the way, that baby picture was so 'awwwwwwww'." Steve spoke, mocking the audience when the picture popped up.

I rolled my eyes. "The picture of her now was 'awwww' too." Soda's voice came from behind me.

Pony smirked at me and mouthed 'get married.' I put him in a headlock. "Abs! Let me go!"

"Not until you say Skylar is the absolute best!" I yelled.

"Never!" Pony replied.

I shrugged. "Okay then."

I never let go of him until he sighed. "Skylar is the ......" He mumbled.

"What? I can't hear you?" I sarcastically asked.

"SKYLAR IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST!" Pony shouted which caused a few glances.

I giggled. "I know."

"So, do you and Sarah have anything planned since y'all just graduated?" Steve asked, Soda standing right beside him.

"No, not really. I was too busy writing my paper to really think of anything." I shrugged.

"Oh, well that's too bad." Steve frowned.

"Yeah..." I answered, knitting my eyebrows in confusion.

He's acting weird.

//

Soda

ONE DAY BEFORE GRADUATION

"Steve, I got just the perfect thing." I spoke while pacing around my living room.

"What?" Steve asked.

"We'll throw them a surprise party. They'll never see it coming." I raised my hands into the air.

"Okay, smart one, how are we going to make invitations and who are we sending them to?" Steve questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"Skylar has a computer and printer at her house from where her mom and dad used to send emails for work. We can just go right now since she's at school. And we'll send them to every Greaser in the neighborhood." I explained, grabbing my jacket.

"And where's the party going to be?" Steve asked.

"Skylar's house."

"Is this good enough?" I asked, looking at the piece of paper I printed.

"Be there or be square?" Steve looked at me like I was the stupidest person he's ever met.

"Yeah, what's so wrong with that?" I asked getting defensive.

He put his hand to his face and shook his head. "Nothing, nothing at all. Now let's go before we get caught."

//

Skylar

BACK TO GRADUATION DAY

SARAH AND I were walking home by ourselves. The guys said they had to run home fast for some reason. We were getting close to my house and I stopped in my tracks.

Sarah stopped and turned around to look at me. "What's wrong?"

"My house. Everything is completely dark inside. There's always at least one light on in the house. Plus, the Curtis's house is dark too." I pointed out.

"Skylar," Sarah scoffed, "come on you're just paranoid."

We walked up to my front steps and when I opened the door everything was completely quiet. I turned to Sarah. "See? Not normal."

I turned on the lights and screamed.

"SURPRISE!!" Probably about one hundred people yelled in my living room.

I turned to find Soda and Steve smirking at me. "It was all my idea to throw y'all a surprise graduation party." Soda spoke.

"IN MY PARENT'S HOUSE?!" I shrieked.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Soda questioned.

"All of the photos hung up on the wall, my parents stuff, our rooms, everything will be broken or gone through by a hundred drunk Greasers, that's what's wrong!" I yelled.

Two-Bit came over and whispered in my ear.

"Sometimes you have to let loose, Skylar."