Categories > Books > Outsiders > Identity Crisis
/Identity Crisis/
Two
Honestly, I didn't know if Soda had believed me or not, maybe he was just telling me that so I would feel better. . .but he had to have seen my hair. Soda had told Dally he thought it looked a bit like his, which was true, so he had to have seen it. Unless he's just assuming and using the information I had given him.
I was laying in his bed and it was pretty comfortable, though, no bed could ever beat mine. I loved my bed like a family member, but I knew I couldn't really be picky. Besides, it smelled nice too.
I knew that I must have stressed myself out so much that I had started to make myself sick, so I tried my best to calm down. I picked up a strand of my hair. It was black and curly again. I sighed and closed my eyes, curling up and pulling the covers over my head.
The sick feeling came back and I realized I was only making things worse for myself, but I couldn't help it. Everyone thought I was this other girl, this Angela Shepard. . .and I got the feeling she wasn't liked, despite how pretty she was.
No one would believe me, no matter who I tried to tell this time, that I was Lauren, a girl from forty years in the future. I wouldn't believe it either.
I spent most of the afternoon blocking out thoughts of my life before, of what Angela might be doing if she really was in my place and listened to the sounds coming from outside and in the house. A few people stopped by and Soda called that he was going to work but Two-bit was here if I needed anything.
Who ever Two-bit was, I didn't see him. I stayed curled up under the covers.
"You hungry Ang?"
"No," I replied, not bothering to come out from my hiding place. If I stayed under the covers long enough, I would forget I wasn't at home and feel a bit better, but the unfamiliar voice shattered that.
Someone pulled the covers back and I blinked at the light in the room. Looking up I saw a boy with rust colored hair looking down at me. I glared at him.
"Do you mind?" I asked as I reached for the covers. I pulled them back up over my head.
"Glory Angela, never thought I'd see you sick as a dog in the Curtis house."
I didn't bother correcting him about my name. He probably wouldn't believe me. He stood there for a few more minutes before turning and walking out of the room. I felt worse than before and wrapped my arms around my head.
I hated crying, but there didn't seem to be much more that I could do. I didn't want to be another person for these people. I was me, not Angela, and I had no intentions on changing that. I sobbed and grabbed a piece of my hair again. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, praying to what ever God that was listening to make me Lauren again.
I opened my eyes. Black. I grabbed Soda's pillow and stifled a scream.
xxxx
"Gah, who the fuck is Lauren?" Angela screamed into her new pillow, falling back onto her new bed. Who ever this Lauren was, she must have traded lives with her. Maybe she was on a TV show...but all of the stuff she had seen today...
Lauren had soccer practice at the unholy hour of seven in the morning until ten in the morning and during that time Angela had so many unfamiliar things shoved in her face she felt like she really needed to find a bar to pass out in.
Different cars she had never seen, strange new bikes, all of the kids seemed to be wearing tee shirts and shorts and gym shoes, or the girls would be wearing short skirts up to their thighs and shirts with no sleeves. At all.
When her "mom" had dropped her off at a park several girls jogged up to her and asked her to follow them for stretching.
Angela had never been one for sports, none of the girls she knew were, but there were at least fourteen other girls that were scattered through out a field, stretching, talking, and laughing over music Angela didn't recognize.
She knew her hair was suddenly a shade of blond, along her shoulders and thin and layered, but she found out that she was pretty flexible now too.
But just because Lauren was good at soccer, Angela still wasn't very good at all. A few of Lauren's friends asked if she was feeling alright and the coach barked his own questions at her with the occasional criticism.
The practice ended with a slow jog around the field and a few girls had small square objects in their hands or hooked onto their cloth shorts. A wire led from the object and hooked onto what looked like tiny speakers that went in their ears.
"What the hell are those things?" Angela had asked the girl running next to her. "And who are you again?"
"Lauren, you know what those are. You have one! It's an I-Pod! And I'm Jessica, you know, your best friend? We've known each other since, like, third grade. Are you sure you're feeling okay? You don't have amnesia do you?"
"No, I just have no clue who you are because I've never met you before. I've never heard of a fucking I-Pod and my name isn't Lauren, it's Angela."
"Uhm...okay, er, Ang, what ever you say."
Angela groaned and rolled over on the bed, her back to the bedroom door. She hadn't seen the girls she knew, or her brothers, or any familiar buildings in the time she was here. She hadn't even recognized any of the music she had heard when she decided to give a radio a try.
She had looked at the small, circular discs that were in a large, blue and black case. She didn't know what they were for, but there were colorful labels on them with different names: Panic! At The Disco (Angela had no idea what that was supposed to mean. She wasn't a fan of disco either, so she didn't bother with that one), Lynard Skynard, Linkin Park, Madonna...
"A-ha!"
Angela triumphantly pulled out a disc with the name Johnny Cash. At least this time she had actually heard of him! Now if only she knew how to use it...
xxxx
I sighed and held my stomach as it growled it's protest once again. I was still refusing to come up from under the covers no matter how much Two-bit tried.
He was starting to get really annoying. So I hummed to myself, to block out the sounds of my stomach.
"Hm, hm, hmhm, I'm just a little impaired and I know right now, you don't care..." I smiled, feeling a bit more normal again thanks to music I recognized. "But soon enough you're gonna think of me, and how I used to be."
"Ang?"
I immediately snapped my mouth shut and stopped singing. I wasn't proud of my singing skills, but I could hum just fine.
"Oh, I get it, tryin' to block me out huh? Well..."
I was reminded vaguely of my cousin that lived in Oklahoma. He said "well" while grunting and it sounded like "welp". I had thought he was calling me names the first time he said it.
"Two-bit!" I screeched, as the blanket was ripped right off the bed. Two-bit stood there, staring at me, the blanket still in his hands.
"Uh..." Two-bit began, trying to find something to say.I glared at him as I sat up and reached for the blanket.
"Give it back," I said, my head throbbing from sitting up to fast. Two-bit gently put a hand on my shoulder to stop me from falling of the bed.
"Angela?"
"What...?"
"Uh...c'mere," Two-bit said, dropping the blanket and waving a hand to follow as he walked out of the room. I scrambled after him.
"What? Did my hair fall out?"
"If it did, it was replaced pretty fast," Two-bit said as he shook his head and pulled me into the bathroom and stood me in front of the mirror.
'Hm, this is familiar,' I thought, staring at the mirror. "Oh my gosh! I'm me again!"
"Angela...you don't look anything like you. Are we both on something?"
"No! Two-bit, I need you to listen carefully, okay?" I said, looking at him in the mirror. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly.
"Well, all right."
"All right..." and I told him. I told him everything I told Soda. But Soda took it a bit better than Two-bit.
"What?" Two-bit yelped, backing up into the wall. "Whaddya mean you're not Angela? Where'd she go? When Tim finds out he's gonna beat my head in!"
"Two-bit! Chill! I'm not sure where Angela is! Maybe in 2006-"
"Whoa... just... what?"
"Two-bit... I already told you. I woke up and I was pretty much 40 years, give or take a few, in the past... in Angela's body."
"And... you're Lauren? Damn... I'm too confused and freaked out to even care that you're a blonde..." Two-bit muttered, sitting on the edge of the tub. I looked around for a place to sit, but I wasn't brave enough to take the chance. I really don't like other people's bathrooms; so I stood, leaning against the sink.
"So... you're like, magic or something?"
"What? No, I just went to sleep and woke up here! I'm not magic at all..." I said, shifting my wait from foot to foot. I was nervous and kept glancing in the mirror to make sure I wasn't turning back into Angela.
"So... er, what's Angela like?" I asked. "If I have to be her for the rest of my life..." I trailed off and bit my lip. I really didn't want that to happen.
"She's your average greasy girl-"
"Greasy?"
"Yeah, ya know, hood... she ain't classy like some of the other girls around Tulsa. Swears a lot, tight clothes, the whole deal," Two-bit said, rubbing his forehead. "You don't seem like her at all."
"Well... swearing and tight clothes are pretty much normal in 2006...skirts that come up to here," I said, indicating with my hand just below my butt. "Are more... greasy."
Two-bits eyes widened. "They're really that short?"
"Yup. And there's underwear where the tag is bigger than most of it. There's a lot of sex I guess. But it's also caused an epidemic called AIDS... it's not that great in the future actually..." I said, looking up at the ceiling. Two-bit was quiet for awhile and I kept running my hand through my hair to make sure it was the same.
"Ya know, you aren't Angel's size at all," Two-bit said suddenly. I blinked my thoughts of a good ol' mall crawl out of my head.
"Huh?"
"You're bigger than she is."
I felt my face heat up and I looked down at myself. I was assuming he meant I was taller than her, because the jeans didn't fit anymore. "Damn..." I muttered, trying to pull the jeans down. They wouldn't move any further than the top of my hips, just below the waist.
"Cool it, I think I have a pair of jeans in my car," Two-bit said as he stood up, stretched and walked out of the bathroom. I watched him go. All right, so I wasn't Angela's size. So he thought I would fit in his clothes better?
Two-bit walked back in a moment later, holding a skirt instead. "I guess she took the jeans back... lucky for you she forgot her skirt this time."
"Who? Wait..." I said, staring at the skirt with wide eyes. "Oh, ew! I'm not wearing that Two-bit! That's just gross!"
"...I'll wash it first if you like. I would think you'd rather wear this than look like an idiot with her jeans about an inch above her ankles. Or is that normal in 2006?"
I bit my lip and thought about it, shifting my weight from foot to foot again. I sighed. "Alright, fine... but you better wash it like your life depended on it."
Two-bit grinned and pretended to tip a hat as he strolled away. "Sure thing Miss Lauren."
xxxx
A few minutes later and I was wearing a blue skirt with a white tee-shirt. It fit pretty well, but Two-bit kept staring at my legs.
"Will you stop it?" I squeaked, trying to cover my legs with the skirt.
"Sorry," Two-bit said with a grin. "Most girls don't have legs like those."
I felt myself blush again. "What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.
"Nothin' they just look real good. Dunno how you do it. You on a diet or somethin'?"
"No, I play sports... I'm on a soccer team..." I said, hesitantly uncovering my legs so I wasn't curled up in a deformed ball on the steps of the front porch. Two-bit cocked an eyebrow.
"Oh really now? Well, that's somethin' new... how about I get a kick ball and you show me what you can do?"
"Uh, well... I dunno, I mean, my first practice since the off season was supposed to be today. I'm a bit rusty."
"Scared? I bet you're really the worst player on the team," Two-bit taunted with a grin. I glared at him.
"All right, your on. You get the kick ball and I'll play."
xxxx
I stood with the ball under my foot, a bit nervous. I didn't play much in the off season except the occasional game at school. I was probably going to embarrass myself. And in front of all of these boys too.
Two-bit had timed it perfectly. The moment he came back with a ball, pretty much everyone decided to show up at the Curtis house. Surprisingly, I still looked like me, not Angela, so I had to introduce myself. It was a lot easier now that I looked like me... but I kept worrying about what would happen when Tim or Curly showed up and Angela wasn't there.
So, we tried our best to divide into teams. Two-bit and I were captains, which really wasn't fair, because I didn't know who could play or not. I could see him watching one boy pretty intently though from the corner of my eye as I looked at the boys. He would glance over at me every so often too.
Soda stood in between us with a quarter in his hand. "All right. Ready? Go."
"Tails!"
"Heads!"
"It's tails, Lauren chooses first," Soda said as he picked up the quarter. He leaned toward me. "Pick the third one," he whispered, before walking back to the other boys. I blinked and looked at the boys, counting. One... Soda. Two... a boy with a complicated hairstyle. Three... the boy Two-bit had been looking at.
"You," I said, pointing at him. He looked a bit surprised and maybe even a bit upset, but he walked over. Two-bit swore.
"Fine. Umm... I pick..." Two-bit put a hand on his chin and studied the boys. Apparently they didn't play soccer too often. I looked at the boy standing a few feet away from me.
"What's your name?" I asked with a smile. He looked up at me.
"Ponyboy."
"That's a nice name. I have a bad memory for names, but I don't think I'll have trouble with yours."
"I hope you're good at this game... we really only play football."
My face fell as I looked back at the boys. "Then it won't matter who I pick... none of you can really play soccer."
"Hey, you gonna pick someone?" Two-bit said, shaking my shoulder. I blinked and looked up at him.
"I dunno, kind of hard to choose. For all I know, you could all be awful at this game," I said with a smile before looking back at my options. I didn't know who was a good runner, which was really the most important thing. I didn't know who had good balance, who had good foot-eye coordination...it was a gamble. And I hated it.
"Alright... um," I narrowed my eyes and started moving from foot to foot again. Soda was still there and so was a small dark boy. I looked at Ponyboy for help.
"Johnny ain't the best runner. Soda's got a lot of energy," He said quietly.
"Okay then, Soda, you're the only other one I know, so waltz on over."
Soda smiled at me and walked over, his hands in his pockets. "I never learned how to waltz," he joked.
Johnny, the small one, hurried over to Two-bit's team. "Everyone knows how to play, right?"
"Sure, we've played it at school a bunch of times."
"Kick ball or soccer?"
"Both. Now come on!"
I could feel my hands shaking and my heart was pounding. I was always like this before a game. A nervous wreck. And because I was captain of my two man and a girl team, I had to start it all off, more than likely. But than a light bulb came to life.
"You do the kick off," I said, lightly tapping the ball to Two-bit. "I won the coin toss. I pick the goal I'm attacking, and I pick the one behind you to make it easy," the goal was two garbage cans. "And you get to start," I said with a shrug backing away. His goal was made of broken bikes that I had turned upside down to stand on the handle bars and seat instead of the wheels.
That is, if they had wheels.
Two-bit shrugged and kicked the ball. I ran forward, tapped the ball and dribbled it half way down the field. Pony was running a few feet across from me and Soda was covered by Steve. I didn't look back so I didn't know where Two-bit was.
"Pony!" I kicked the ball to him and ran. I found Two-bit. He was in the goal. Soda couldn't get open, which was too bad since he was in the perfect place to make that goal.
Then, Ponyboy did something very pro soccer worthy. He feigned kicking it into the goal. Two-bit moved left, Pony kicked it to me instead and I kicked it in.
"Goal!" I cried, throwing my hands up and running to Ponyboy. I practically jumped on him and gave him a hug. "That was amazing! I didn't think you could pull that off! That's like, professional moves!" I let him go and jumped around a bit, rubbing it in Two-bit's face.
I had the kick off this time and it was another good story. Soda kicked it up too high, so I ran under it, jumped up and had to head butt it into the goal. It hurt; it always did. But it worked and that was really all that mattered. Usually I would miss.
"Are you sure you don't have a concussion after that? Your forehead is all red," Two-bit said, pushing my hair back and out of my face. Actually, we were all a mess since we weren't playing by all the rules. A lot of tripping and kicks to shins were involved. But it was okay by me, soccer was pretty dangerous if you play hard enough.
Of course, the boys were pretty creative too. I was about to kick a goal and Steve, the boy with the complicated hair, ran up behind me, picked me up and moved me out of the way while Johnny kicked the ball to the other end of the field.
It was pretty funny, but it knocked the wind out of me a bit and hurt my ribs. We took a break when Two-bit's team was only behind by two.
The boys were all smoking and they offered me a cigarette, which I guess could be considered polite, but I refused and kept my head down.
"I guess you weren't lyin' Miss Lauren. You're pretty good at this game," Two-bit said, flicking a cigarette butt away. "But how are you at football?"
"Are you kidding? If I played with you guys you'd probably kill me," I said with a laugh as I tried to wipe the dirt off of my clothes. "I've never gotten this dirty playing soccer. It's usually just the occasional grass stain."
"Yeah, you even got dirt on your face," Soda said, leaning forward and pointing under my left eye. I resisted the urge to wipe it away, knowing it would only make it worse. "Guess we ruined another pretty girl," he said sadly fishing in his pockets. He pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to me.
"Uhm... you haven't used it have you? I'm a bit of a germ-a-phobe..." I muttered. Soda grinned and licked the tip of it, before he grabbed the top of my head with his free handand wiped the dirt off of my face. I squirmed and swore and screamed for a moment.
"That's so gross! That's like licking my face!" I yelled, wiping at my face with the sleeve of my shirt. As the other guys laughed.
"Well, I could have done that but that's just weird," Soda said, putting the handkerchief back in his pocket.
"You looked like he was tryin' to kill you," Steve said with a smirk. I frowned and stared at my shoes. My friends always teased me about being so worried about germs, but I hardly ever got sick and I didn't plan on it. So I tried my best to stay somewhat clean and not use public bathrooms or share water bottles; that sort of thing.
It bothered me, since I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I watched as a pair of boots stopped in front of me and kicked my shoe. Well, Soda's shoe. They were a little big, but Angela's were too small and I couldn't play in flip flops.
"Who's the broad?"
I looked up, blinking against the sun light. A boy with blonde hair looked back at me. His hair was brighter than mine; it reminded me of the little girl that lived down the street from me. She had always reminded me of a doll.
I recognized him, but I couldn't remember his name. I wasn't lying when I had told Pony I'm no good with them. Of course, he wouldn't recognize me; the last time he saw me, I was Angela.
"This is Lauren, a new friend I made," Soda said, throwing an arm over my shoulder and pulling me close.
"You're all sweaty, Soda, lemme go," I said, trying to move away.
"Eh, you're sweaty too, live with it. So," He said, looking up at the boy. "What're ya up to Dal?"
"Just got back from the store. Got a pack of Kools..." the blonde said with a shrug.
"I dunno why you smoke those things, Dallas," Two-bit said, laying down on the grass of the lot.
Dallas glared. "Since when did you care what I smoked, Two-bit? It's my business..." He looked down at me again. "Man, you've got a weird hair style. Shouldn't you have it all one length or somethin'?"
I felt myself blush again and self consciously ran my fingers through my hair. The layers made my hair look fuller, because it was so thin when it was one length. I didn't think anyone would actually notice.
"My friend likes to try out new hairstyles on me... it used to be longer," I said quietly. My fingers never left my hair. I thought it looked good, but that was in 2006, when everyone's hair was styled beyond belief.
"Ya ain't from around here are ya?" Dallas asked, blowing cigarette smoke down at me. I held my breath and Soda waved it away as best he could.
"Don't do that Dally, she don't smoke. She's in sports."
"I wasn't talkin' to you. I was talkin' to her," Dally said. "So?"
"I'm from Chicago..." I said. My voice sounded so tiny. I thought it was ridiculous, but this boy kind of scared me.
He smirked around his cigarette. "Big city girl... I like that."
I noticed that Ponyboy had gone awfully quiet and wasn't looking at anyone. He just stared down the street as if the cars driving by were the most amazing things in the world.
"Wonder what ya look like without all the dirt," Dally said off handedly, before taking a drag from his cigarette. I lowered my gaze again, my face hot. He turned his attention to Johnny.
"How ya been man?"
"Okay I guess..." Johnny said quietly. Pony had told me earlier that he was always that quiet.
"Yeah? Hey, I was thinkin' of goin' to the Double tonight. Ya know, bum around and see what's goin' on... maybe hit Dingo's."
"Hey, I'll go with ya," Two-bit said, sitting up. Dally just shrugged.
"How 'bout you, Johnnycakes?"
"Sure Dal. I ain't got nothin' else to do."
"Any other takers?"
No one else spoke up.
"Tuff enough. Catch you guys later," Dally said, flicking his cigarette butt at my feet. He smirked and walked away.
"You be careful around him Lauren," Soda said quietly, watching him leave. "He's loyal as hell, but he's dangerous if you piss him off... I think he'll be okay around you though. He knows your with me," he said with a grin. I managed a weak smile in return.
"I just wanna go home," I whispered. Two-bit stood, dusting off his pants and picking up the kick ball.
"I'm gonna get goin'. Try to get some drinkin' in before the Double...maybe give the ball to my kid sister. That is, if you don't want it Lauren."
"You can give it to your sister, I don't care," I said with a shrug. Johnny and Ponyboy had walked off already, probably back to Pony's house.
"I'm gonna see if you got any cake left," Steve told Soda as he stood up and walked off.
"You sure you don't want the ball Laur? I can get my sister a new one," Two-bit said, holding it out to me. I smiled and took the ball.
"Thanks, Two-bit."
"Yeah. Don't want you rusty for when you get back home. Ya gotta win all your games," He said with a grin. He waved before walking away. I hugged the ball to my chest and curled up slightly.
"I wanna go home, Soda..." I said sadly. The grass beneath me blurred and I blinked back the tears. I sobbed and held the ball closer. I had the feeling it would be the only thing keeping me from turning into Angela completely. Soda's shoes already felt bigger.
"I wish I knew how to get you back, Lauren...I really do," Soda said, putting a hand on my back. I felt him touch my hair and I sobbed louder.
I was Angela again.
Two
Honestly, I didn't know if Soda had believed me or not, maybe he was just telling me that so I would feel better. . .but he had to have seen my hair. Soda had told Dally he thought it looked a bit like his, which was true, so he had to have seen it. Unless he's just assuming and using the information I had given him.
I was laying in his bed and it was pretty comfortable, though, no bed could ever beat mine. I loved my bed like a family member, but I knew I couldn't really be picky. Besides, it smelled nice too.
I knew that I must have stressed myself out so much that I had started to make myself sick, so I tried my best to calm down. I picked up a strand of my hair. It was black and curly again. I sighed and closed my eyes, curling up and pulling the covers over my head.
The sick feeling came back and I realized I was only making things worse for myself, but I couldn't help it. Everyone thought I was this other girl, this Angela Shepard. . .and I got the feeling she wasn't liked, despite how pretty she was.
No one would believe me, no matter who I tried to tell this time, that I was Lauren, a girl from forty years in the future. I wouldn't believe it either.
I spent most of the afternoon blocking out thoughts of my life before, of what Angela might be doing if she really was in my place and listened to the sounds coming from outside and in the house. A few people stopped by and Soda called that he was going to work but Two-bit was here if I needed anything.
Who ever Two-bit was, I didn't see him. I stayed curled up under the covers.
"You hungry Ang?"
"No," I replied, not bothering to come out from my hiding place. If I stayed under the covers long enough, I would forget I wasn't at home and feel a bit better, but the unfamiliar voice shattered that.
Someone pulled the covers back and I blinked at the light in the room. Looking up I saw a boy with rust colored hair looking down at me. I glared at him.
"Do you mind?" I asked as I reached for the covers. I pulled them back up over my head.
"Glory Angela, never thought I'd see you sick as a dog in the Curtis house."
I didn't bother correcting him about my name. He probably wouldn't believe me. He stood there for a few more minutes before turning and walking out of the room. I felt worse than before and wrapped my arms around my head.
I hated crying, but there didn't seem to be much more that I could do. I didn't want to be another person for these people. I was me, not Angela, and I had no intentions on changing that. I sobbed and grabbed a piece of my hair again. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, praying to what ever God that was listening to make me Lauren again.
I opened my eyes. Black. I grabbed Soda's pillow and stifled a scream.
xxxx
"Gah, who the fuck is Lauren?" Angela screamed into her new pillow, falling back onto her new bed. Who ever this Lauren was, she must have traded lives with her. Maybe she was on a TV show...but all of the stuff she had seen today...
Lauren had soccer practice at the unholy hour of seven in the morning until ten in the morning and during that time Angela had so many unfamiliar things shoved in her face she felt like she really needed to find a bar to pass out in.
Different cars she had never seen, strange new bikes, all of the kids seemed to be wearing tee shirts and shorts and gym shoes, or the girls would be wearing short skirts up to their thighs and shirts with no sleeves. At all.
When her "mom" had dropped her off at a park several girls jogged up to her and asked her to follow them for stretching.
Angela had never been one for sports, none of the girls she knew were, but there were at least fourteen other girls that were scattered through out a field, stretching, talking, and laughing over music Angela didn't recognize.
She knew her hair was suddenly a shade of blond, along her shoulders and thin and layered, but she found out that she was pretty flexible now too.
But just because Lauren was good at soccer, Angela still wasn't very good at all. A few of Lauren's friends asked if she was feeling alright and the coach barked his own questions at her with the occasional criticism.
The practice ended with a slow jog around the field and a few girls had small square objects in their hands or hooked onto their cloth shorts. A wire led from the object and hooked onto what looked like tiny speakers that went in their ears.
"What the hell are those things?" Angela had asked the girl running next to her. "And who are you again?"
"Lauren, you know what those are. You have one! It's an I-Pod! And I'm Jessica, you know, your best friend? We've known each other since, like, third grade. Are you sure you're feeling okay? You don't have amnesia do you?"
"No, I just have no clue who you are because I've never met you before. I've never heard of a fucking I-Pod and my name isn't Lauren, it's Angela."
"Uhm...okay, er, Ang, what ever you say."
Angela groaned and rolled over on the bed, her back to the bedroom door. She hadn't seen the girls she knew, or her brothers, or any familiar buildings in the time she was here. She hadn't even recognized any of the music she had heard when she decided to give a radio a try.
She had looked at the small, circular discs that were in a large, blue and black case. She didn't know what they were for, but there were colorful labels on them with different names: Panic! At The Disco (Angela had no idea what that was supposed to mean. She wasn't a fan of disco either, so she didn't bother with that one), Lynard Skynard, Linkin Park, Madonna...
"A-ha!"
Angela triumphantly pulled out a disc with the name Johnny Cash. At least this time she had actually heard of him! Now if only she knew how to use it...
xxxx
I sighed and held my stomach as it growled it's protest once again. I was still refusing to come up from under the covers no matter how much Two-bit tried.
He was starting to get really annoying. So I hummed to myself, to block out the sounds of my stomach.
"Hm, hm, hmhm, I'm just a little impaired and I know right now, you don't care..." I smiled, feeling a bit more normal again thanks to music I recognized. "But soon enough you're gonna think of me, and how I used to be."
"Ang?"
I immediately snapped my mouth shut and stopped singing. I wasn't proud of my singing skills, but I could hum just fine.
"Oh, I get it, tryin' to block me out huh? Well..."
I was reminded vaguely of my cousin that lived in Oklahoma. He said "well" while grunting and it sounded like "welp". I had thought he was calling me names the first time he said it.
"Two-bit!" I screeched, as the blanket was ripped right off the bed. Two-bit stood there, staring at me, the blanket still in his hands.
"Uh..." Two-bit began, trying to find something to say.I glared at him as I sat up and reached for the blanket.
"Give it back," I said, my head throbbing from sitting up to fast. Two-bit gently put a hand on my shoulder to stop me from falling of the bed.
"Angela?"
"What...?"
"Uh...c'mere," Two-bit said, dropping the blanket and waving a hand to follow as he walked out of the room. I scrambled after him.
"What? Did my hair fall out?"
"If it did, it was replaced pretty fast," Two-bit said as he shook his head and pulled me into the bathroom and stood me in front of the mirror.
'Hm, this is familiar,' I thought, staring at the mirror. "Oh my gosh! I'm me again!"
"Angela...you don't look anything like you. Are we both on something?"
"No! Two-bit, I need you to listen carefully, okay?" I said, looking at him in the mirror. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly.
"Well, all right."
"All right..." and I told him. I told him everything I told Soda. But Soda took it a bit better than Two-bit.
"What?" Two-bit yelped, backing up into the wall. "Whaddya mean you're not Angela? Where'd she go? When Tim finds out he's gonna beat my head in!"
"Two-bit! Chill! I'm not sure where Angela is! Maybe in 2006-"
"Whoa... just... what?"
"Two-bit... I already told you. I woke up and I was pretty much 40 years, give or take a few, in the past... in Angela's body."
"And... you're Lauren? Damn... I'm too confused and freaked out to even care that you're a blonde..." Two-bit muttered, sitting on the edge of the tub. I looked around for a place to sit, but I wasn't brave enough to take the chance. I really don't like other people's bathrooms; so I stood, leaning against the sink.
"So... you're like, magic or something?"
"What? No, I just went to sleep and woke up here! I'm not magic at all..." I said, shifting my wait from foot to foot. I was nervous and kept glancing in the mirror to make sure I wasn't turning back into Angela.
"So... er, what's Angela like?" I asked. "If I have to be her for the rest of my life..." I trailed off and bit my lip. I really didn't want that to happen.
"She's your average greasy girl-"
"Greasy?"
"Yeah, ya know, hood... she ain't classy like some of the other girls around Tulsa. Swears a lot, tight clothes, the whole deal," Two-bit said, rubbing his forehead. "You don't seem like her at all."
"Well... swearing and tight clothes are pretty much normal in 2006...skirts that come up to here," I said, indicating with my hand just below my butt. "Are more... greasy."
Two-bits eyes widened. "They're really that short?"
"Yup. And there's underwear where the tag is bigger than most of it. There's a lot of sex I guess. But it's also caused an epidemic called AIDS... it's not that great in the future actually..." I said, looking up at the ceiling. Two-bit was quiet for awhile and I kept running my hand through my hair to make sure it was the same.
"Ya know, you aren't Angel's size at all," Two-bit said suddenly. I blinked my thoughts of a good ol' mall crawl out of my head.
"Huh?"
"You're bigger than she is."
I felt my face heat up and I looked down at myself. I was assuming he meant I was taller than her, because the jeans didn't fit anymore. "Damn..." I muttered, trying to pull the jeans down. They wouldn't move any further than the top of my hips, just below the waist.
"Cool it, I think I have a pair of jeans in my car," Two-bit said as he stood up, stretched and walked out of the bathroom. I watched him go. All right, so I wasn't Angela's size. So he thought I would fit in his clothes better?
Two-bit walked back in a moment later, holding a skirt instead. "I guess she took the jeans back... lucky for you she forgot her skirt this time."
"Who? Wait..." I said, staring at the skirt with wide eyes. "Oh, ew! I'm not wearing that Two-bit! That's just gross!"
"...I'll wash it first if you like. I would think you'd rather wear this than look like an idiot with her jeans about an inch above her ankles. Or is that normal in 2006?"
I bit my lip and thought about it, shifting my weight from foot to foot again. I sighed. "Alright, fine... but you better wash it like your life depended on it."
Two-bit grinned and pretended to tip a hat as he strolled away. "Sure thing Miss Lauren."
xxxx
A few minutes later and I was wearing a blue skirt with a white tee-shirt. It fit pretty well, but Two-bit kept staring at my legs.
"Will you stop it?" I squeaked, trying to cover my legs with the skirt.
"Sorry," Two-bit said with a grin. "Most girls don't have legs like those."
I felt myself blush again. "What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.
"Nothin' they just look real good. Dunno how you do it. You on a diet or somethin'?"
"No, I play sports... I'm on a soccer team..." I said, hesitantly uncovering my legs so I wasn't curled up in a deformed ball on the steps of the front porch. Two-bit cocked an eyebrow.
"Oh really now? Well, that's somethin' new... how about I get a kick ball and you show me what you can do?"
"Uh, well... I dunno, I mean, my first practice since the off season was supposed to be today. I'm a bit rusty."
"Scared? I bet you're really the worst player on the team," Two-bit taunted with a grin. I glared at him.
"All right, your on. You get the kick ball and I'll play."
xxxx
I stood with the ball under my foot, a bit nervous. I didn't play much in the off season except the occasional game at school. I was probably going to embarrass myself. And in front of all of these boys too.
Two-bit had timed it perfectly. The moment he came back with a ball, pretty much everyone decided to show up at the Curtis house. Surprisingly, I still looked like me, not Angela, so I had to introduce myself. It was a lot easier now that I looked like me... but I kept worrying about what would happen when Tim or Curly showed up and Angela wasn't there.
So, we tried our best to divide into teams. Two-bit and I were captains, which really wasn't fair, because I didn't know who could play or not. I could see him watching one boy pretty intently though from the corner of my eye as I looked at the boys. He would glance over at me every so often too.
Soda stood in between us with a quarter in his hand. "All right. Ready? Go."
"Tails!"
"Heads!"
"It's tails, Lauren chooses first," Soda said as he picked up the quarter. He leaned toward me. "Pick the third one," he whispered, before walking back to the other boys. I blinked and looked at the boys, counting. One... Soda. Two... a boy with a complicated hairstyle. Three... the boy Two-bit had been looking at.
"You," I said, pointing at him. He looked a bit surprised and maybe even a bit upset, but he walked over. Two-bit swore.
"Fine. Umm... I pick..." Two-bit put a hand on his chin and studied the boys. Apparently they didn't play soccer too often. I looked at the boy standing a few feet away from me.
"What's your name?" I asked with a smile. He looked up at me.
"Ponyboy."
"That's a nice name. I have a bad memory for names, but I don't think I'll have trouble with yours."
"I hope you're good at this game... we really only play football."
My face fell as I looked back at the boys. "Then it won't matter who I pick... none of you can really play soccer."
"Hey, you gonna pick someone?" Two-bit said, shaking my shoulder. I blinked and looked up at him.
"I dunno, kind of hard to choose. For all I know, you could all be awful at this game," I said with a smile before looking back at my options. I didn't know who was a good runner, which was really the most important thing. I didn't know who had good balance, who had good foot-eye coordination...it was a gamble. And I hated it.
"Alright... um," I narrowed my eyes and started moving from foot to foot again. Soda was still there and so was a small dark boy. I looked at Ponyboy for help.
"Johnny ain't the best runner. Soda's got a lot of energy," He said quietly.
"Okay then, Soda, you're the only other one I know, so waltz on over."
Soda smiled at me and walked over, his hands in his pockets. "I never learned how to waltz," he joked.
Johnny, the small one, hurried over to Two-bit's team. "Everyone knows how to play, right?"
"Sure, we've played it at school a bunch of times."
"Kick ball or soccer?"
"Both. Now come on!"
I could feel my hands shaking and my heart was pounding. I was always like this before a game. A nervous wreck. And because I was captain of my two man and a girl team, I had to start it all off, more than likely. But than a light bulb came to life.
"You do the kick off," I said, lightly tapping the ball to Two-bit. "I won the coin toss. I pick the goal I'm attacking, and I pick the one behind you to make it easy," the goal was two garbage cans. "And you get to start," I said with a shrug backing away. His goal was made of broken bikes that I had turned upside down to stand on the handle bars and seat instead of the wheels.
That is, if they had wheels.
Two-bit shrugged and kicked the ball. I ran forward, tapped the ball and dribbled it half way down the field. Pony was running a few feet across from me and Soda was covered by Steve. I didn't look back so I didn't know where Two-bit was.
"Pony!" I kicked the ball to him and ran. I found Two-bit. He was in the goal. Soda couldn't get open, which was too bad since he was in the perfect place to make that goal.
Then, Ponyboy did something very pro soccer worthy. He feigned kicking it into the goal. Two-bit moved left, Pony kicked it to me instead and I kicked it in.
"Goal!" I cried, throwing my hands up and running to Ponyboy. I practically jumped on him and gave him a hug. "That was amazing! I didn't think you could pull that off! That's like, professional moves!" I let him go and jumped around a bit, rubbing it in Two-bit's face.
I had the kick off this time and it was another good story. Soda kicked it up too high, so I ran under it, jumped up and had to head butt it into the goal. It hurt; it always did. But it worked and that was really all that mattered. Usually I would miss.
"Are you sure you don't have a concussion after that? Your forehead is all red," Two-bit said, pushing my hair back and out of my face. Actually, we were all a mess since we weren't playing by all the rules. A lot of tripping and kicks to shins were involved. But it was okay by me, soccer was pretty dangerous if you play hard enough.
Of course, the boys were pretty creative too. I was about to kick a goal and Steve, the boy with the complicated hair, ran up behind me, picked me up and moved me out of the way while Johnny kicked the ball to the other end of the field.
It was pretty funny, but it knocked the wind out of me a bit and hurt my ribs. We took a break when Two-bit's team was only behind by two.
The boys were all smoking and they offered me a cigarette, which I guess could be considered polite, but I refused and kept my head down.
"I guess you weren't lyin' Miss Lauren. You're pretty good at this game," Two-bit said, flicking a cigarette butt away. "But how are you at football?"
"Are you kidding? If I played with you guys you'd probably kill me," I said with a laugh as I tried to wipe the dirt off of my clothes. "I've never gotten this dirty playing soccer. It's usually just the occasional grass stain."
"Yeah, you even got dirt on your face," Soda said, leaning forward and pointing under my left eye. I resisted the urge to wipe it away, knowing it would only make it worse. "Guess we ruined another pretty girl," he said sadly fishing in his pockets. He pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to me.
"Uhm... you haven't used it have you? I'm a bit of a germ-a-phobe..." I muttered. Soda grinned and licked the tip of it, before he grabbed the top of my head with his free handand wiped the dirt off of my face. I squirmed and swore and screamed for a moment.
"That's so gross! That's like licking my face!" I yelled, wiping at my face with the sleeve of my shirt. As the other guys laughed.
"Well, I could have done that but that's just weird," Soda said, putting the handkerchief back in his pocket.
"You looked like he was tryin' to kill you," Steve said with a smirk. I frowned and stared at my shoes. My friends always teased me about being so worried about germs, but I hardly ever got sick and I didn't plan on it. So I tried my best to stay somewhat clean and not use public bathrooms or share water bottles; that sort of thing.
It bothered me, since I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I watched as a pair of boots stopped in front of me and kicked my shoe. Well, Soda's shoe. They were a little big, but Angela's were too small and I couldn't play in flip flops.
"Who's the broad?"
I looked up, blinking against the sun light. A boy with blonde hair looked back at me. His hair was brighter than mine; it reminded me of the little girl that lived down the street from me. She had always reminded me of a doll.
I recognized him, but I couldn't remember his name. I wasn't lying when I had told Pony I'm no good with them. Of course, he wouldn't recognize me; the last time he saw me, I was Angela.
"This is Lauren, a new friend I made," Soda said, throwing an arm over my shoulder and pulling me close.
"You're all sweaty, Soda, lemme go," I said, trying to move away.
"Eh, you're sweaty too, live with it. So," He said, looking up at the boy. "What're ya up to Dal?"
"Just got back from the store. Got a pack of Kools..." the blonde said with a shrug.
"I dunno why you smoke those things, Dallas," Two-bit said, laying down on the grass of the lot.
Dallas glared. "Since when did you care what I smoked, Two-bit? It's my business..." He looked down at me again. "Man, you've got a weird hair style. Shouldn't you have it all one length or somethin'?"
I felt myself blush again and self consciously ran my fingers through my hair. The layers made my hair look fuller, because it was so thin when it was one length. I didn't think anyone would actually notice.
"My friend likes to try out new hairstyles on me... it used to be longer," I said quietly. My fingers never left my hair. I thought it looked good, but that was in 2006, when everyone's hair was styled beyond belief.
"Ya ain't from around here are ya?" Dallas asked, blowing cigarette smoke down at me. I held my breath and Soda waved it away as best he could.
"Don't do that Dally, she don't smoke. She's in sports."
"I wasn't talkin' to you. I was talkin' to her," Dally said. "So?"
"I'm from Chicago..." I said. My voice sounded so tiny. I thought it was ridiculous, but this boy kind of scared me.
He smirked around his cigarette. "Big city girl... I like that."
I noticed that Ponyboy had gone awfully quiet and wasn't looking at anyone. He just stared down the street as if the cars driving by were the most amazing things in the world.
"Wonder what ya look like without all the dirt," Dally said off handedly, before taking a drag from his cigarette. I lowered my gaze again, my face hot. He turned his attention to Johnny.
"How ya been man?"
"Okay I guess..." Johnny said quietly. Pony had told me earlier that he was always that quiet.
"Yeah? Hey, I was thinkin' of goin' to the Double tonight. Ya know, bum around and see what's goin' on... maybe hit Dingo's."
"Hey, I'll go with ya," Two-bit said, sitting up. Dally just shrugged.
"How 'bout you, Johnnycakes?"
"Sure Dal. I ain't got nothin' else to do."
"Any other takers?"
No one else spoke up.
"Tuff enough. Catch you guys later," Dally said, flicking his cigarette butt at my feet. He smirked and walked away.
"You be careful around him Lauren," Soda said quietly, watching him leave. "He's loyal as hell, but he's dangerous if you piss him off... I think he'll be okay around you though. He knows your with me," he said with a grin. I managed a weak smile in return.
"I just wanna go home," I whispered. Two-bit stood, dusting off his pants and picking up the kick ball.
"I'm gonna get goin'. Try to get some drinkin' in before the Double...maybe give the ball to my kid sister. That is, if you don't want it Lauren."
"You can give it to your sister, I don't care," I said with a shrug. Johnny and Ponyboy had walked off already, probably back to Pony's house.
"I'm gonna see if you got any cake left," Steve told Soda as he stood up and walked off.
"You sure you don't want the ball Laur? I can get my sister a new one," Two-bit said, holding it out to me. I smiled and took the ball.
"Thanks, Two-bit."
"Yeah. Don't want you rusty for when you get back home. Ya gotta win all your games," He said with a grin. He waved before walking away. I hugged the ball to my chest and curled up slightly.
"I wanna go home, Soda..." I said sadly. The grass beneath me blurred and I blinked back the tears. I sobbed and held the ball closer. I had the feeling it would be the only thing keeping me from turning into Angela completely. Soda's shoes already felt bigger.
"I wish I knew how to get you back, Lauren...I really do," Soda said, putting a hand on my back. I felt him touch my hair and I sobbed louder.
I was Angela again.
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