Epilogue
"…And I must urge you all to recognize that the year is coming to an end. That means your grades are very important right now. I don't want to see any of you in my classes next year. So, for the last writing project, I would like everyone to write about your family, the relationships between sibling and sibling. Parent and parent..." Ponyboy's language teacher droned on about the value of this last essay.
However, Ponyboy's brain was still concentrating on the phrases, 'sibling and sibling, parent and parent'. He knew that it meant that he would have to write something about how his parents were killed in an automobile accident, but that wasn't his main worry. The 14-year-old knew he had to say something about his brothers, and even though he loved them more than anything, he couldn't center on the good things. Their brotherly bond included fights, emotional and physical, and he recognized that there was still a chance he could be sent away to a boys' home. A voice broke through Ponyboy's thoughts.
"The bell will ring any moment now, so just remember that the essay must be at least two pages, I want it to be typed on a typewriter, and it is due next week. It is all very simple, so be ready to be judged very harshly, one mistake and you go down to a 'B' so be very alert," A shrill ring rang through the classroom and the teacher had time to say one last phrase before the class was out. "Speak to me after class… er, I mean now, if you have any questions."
As Ponyboy got up he saw a bunch of Socs waiting for him by the door to leave the class. Even a month after Bob's death his friends were still there, threatening to hurt Ponyboy if he made one wrong move. Walking to the door, he took a deep breath and was about to say something, but he was forced to listen as one of the Socs said, "You know, we're getting a little angry with you strolling around here like you own the place."
"Me?" Ponyboy was bewildered. "I haven't been doing that. I've been acting like I always act…"
"You used to act more scared of us. You think that you can kill our friend and we'll respect you or something? Nope, that isn't going to happen, not now, not ever." The Soc declared.
"I didn't kill Bob!" Ponyboy whispered, partly because he was afraid that the Socs would get angry with him for saying 'his' name and partly because thoughts of Johnny came back to him.
"Your friend did. Close enough. Don't start acting cocky, boy," The Soc paused and threatened the greaser, "Don't go near Cherry. She's private property. Off limits to greasers like you."
"She's just my friend. Nothing more. Nothing less." With that Ponyboy walked away, hoping that the pack wasn't following him. Since it was the end of the school day Ponyboy walked outside and started walking toward where his house was. By the time he got home it was time to eat dinner.
"What took you so long to get home?" Darry demanded the second Ponyboy walked through the front door.
"I was walking slow." Ponyboy defended himself.
"Aw, guys. Don't start fighting again, please. It gets annoying, and anyway," Soda grinned, "you promised!"
"Yeah, yeah. Get home sooner Pony."
"Sure thing."
**██**██**
It was the next day and Ponyboy was thinking about his essay again. Straight after school, instead of coming home, Ponyboy called home and said that he was going to the library. It wasn't a place he usually went, but then again, thinking about essays wasn't usually something that he thought about. Ponyboy began to write two paragraphs, one on Soda and one on Darry.
My oldest brother is named Daryl and he is 22. Darry takes care of Soda, my other brother, and me. I fight with Darry quite a bit, but it is mainly about my schoolwork and things that can basically change my life for the better/worse. When we aren't fighting, Darry is always asking me questions on how I feel and things like that. As much as Darry can sometimes annoy me, he is still a great brother.
My other brother, Sodapop, is 16. He works at a gas station, but he is smart, much to contrary belief of his teachers. He is probably the peacemaker of our family; for he always manages to make sure that the fights between Darry and me don't get out of control. Soda is always ready to listen to anyone's problems and help them out. Overall, Soda is probably the best kind of brother you can have.
Ponyboy read over what he had written and laughed, "This sounds like a 10-year-old wrote it. I have bad sentence structure, bad vocabulary, bad details; it's just bad. Horrible." He told himself, "I should be able to do this easily… it should just flow. It usually does." Ponyboy was trying to get himself to think of something to get 'into' what he was writing. Suddenly, interrupting his thoughts, a hand tapped his shoulder. Looking up, he saw that it was Cherry.
"What are you doing here? I thought you didn't like libraries." Cherry said.
"I don't. I just had to come here. At home it's way too loud to write… and it's a little too distracting. "
"Oh. Well, I was just wondering, do you want a ride? It's already dark out –"
"Sure, I don't feel like walking."
As Ponyboy got into Cherry's car he started thinking about what he thought of his brothers. Darry was a worrywart but he cared about Ponyboy a lot, and Soda was a peacemaker. No one could deny that. He fought with both of his brothers, but he didn't mean half the things he said. His parents weren't there to stop the fights. As Cherry started the car, Ponyboy realized how lucky he was to have his two older brothers.
"…And I must urge you all to recognize that the year is coming to an end. That means your grades are very important right now. I don't want to see any of you in my classes next year. So, for the last writing project, I would like everyone to write about your family, the relationships between sibling and sibling. Parent and parent..." Ponyboy's language teacher droned on about the value of this last essay.
However, Ponyboy's brain was still concentrating on the phrases, 'sibling and sibling, parent and parent'. He knew that it meant that he would have to write something about how his parents were killed in an automobile accident, but that wasn't his main worry. The 14-year-old knew he had to say something about his brothers, and even though he loved them more than anything, he couldn't center on the good things. Their brotherly bond included fights, emotional and physical, and he recognized that there was still a chance he could be sent away to a boys' home. A voice broke through Ponyboy's thoughts.
"The bell will ring any moment now, so just remember that the essay must be at least two pages, I want it to be typed on a typewriter, and it is due next week. It is all very simple, so be ready to be judged very harshly, one mistake and you go down to a 'B' so be very alert," A shrill ring rang through the classroom and the teacher had time to say one last phrase before the class was out. "Speak to me after class… er, I mean now, if you have any questions."
As Ponyboy got up he saw a bunch of Socs waiting for him by the door to leave the class. Even a month after Bob's death his friends were still there, threatening to hurt Ponyboy if he made one wrong move. Walking to the door, he took a deep breath and was about to say something, but he was forced to listen as one of the Socs said, "You know, we're getting a little angry with you strolling around here like you own the place."
"Me?" Ponyboy was bewildered. "I haven't been doing that. I've been acting like I always act…"
"You used to act more scared of us. You think that you can kill our friend and we'll respect you or something? Nope, that isn't going to happen, not now, not ever." The Soc declared.
"I didn't kill Bob!" Ponyboy whispered, partly because he was afraid that the Socs would get angry with him for saying 'his' name and partly because thoughts of Johnny came back to him.
"Your friend did. Close enough. Don't start acting cocky, boy," The Soc paused and threatened the greaser, "Don't go near Cherry. She's private property. Off limits to greasers like you."
"She's just my friend. Nothing more. Nothing less." With that Ponyboy walked away, hoping that the pack wasn't following him. Since it was the end of the school day Ponyboy walked outside and started walking toward where his house was. By the time he got home it was time to eat dinner.
"What took you so long to get home?" Darry demanded the second Ponyboy walked through the front door.
"I was walking slow." Ponyboy defended himself.
"Aw, guys. Don't start fighting again, please. It gets annoying, and anyway," Soda grinned, "you promised!"
"Yeah, yeah. Get home sooner Pony."
"Sure thing."
**██**██**
It was the next day and Ponyboy was thinking about his essay again. Straight after school, instead of coming home, Ponyboy called home and said that he was going to the library. It wasn't a place he usually went, but then again, thinking about essays wasn't usually something that he thought about. Ponyboy began to write two paragraphs, one on Soda and one on Darry.
My oldest brother is named Daryl and he is 22. Darry takes care of Soda, my other brother, and me. I fight with Darry quite a bit, but it is mainly about my schoolwork and things that can basically change my life for the better/worse. When we aren't fighting, Darry is always asking me questions on how I feel and things like that. As much as Darry can sometimes annoy me, he is still a great brother.
My other brother, Sodapop, is 16. He works at a gas station, but he is smart, much to contrary belief of his teachers. He is probably the peacemaker of our family; for he always manages to make sure that the fights between Darry and me don't get out of control. Soda is always ready to listen to anyone's problems and help them out. Overall, Soda is probably the best kind of brother you can have.
Ponyboy read over what he had written and laughed, "This sounds like a 10-year-old wrote it. I have bad sentence structure, bad vocabulary, bad details; it's just bad. Horrible." He told himself, "I should be able to do this easily… it should just flow. It usually does." Ponyboy was trying to get himself to think of something to get 'into' what he was writing. Suddenly, interrupting his thoughts, a hand tapped his shoulder. Looking up, he saw that it was Cherry.
"What are you doing here? I thought you didn't like libraries." Cherry said.
"I don't. I just had to come here. At home it's way too loud to write… and it's a little too distracting. "
"Oh. Well, I was just wondering, do you want a ride? It's already dark out –"
"Sure, I don't feel like walking."
As Ponyboy got into Cherry's car he started thinking about what he thought of his brothers. Darry was a worrywart but he cared about Ponyboy a lot, and Soda was a peacemaker. No one could deny that. He fought with both of his brothers, but he didn't mean half the things he said. His parents weren't there to stop the fights. As Cherry started the car, Ponyboy realized how lucky he was to have his two older brothers.