I pulled open the door to the DX station and stepped inside, barely noticing the ringing of the bell that was attached to it. It felt strange walking in there and knowing that Soda was away at Vietnam. He had been gone for almost three months, and aside from the occasional letter, Darry and I didn't know what was going on over there. Soda's letters were always cheerful. It was just like him to write about all the good stuff and leave all the bad things out. But Darry and I knew better. The war was killing men just like Soda everyday and each day we prayed that Soda wouldn't be one of them.
"Ponyboy!" Steve exclaimed as he looked up from the magazine he was looking at. He quickly shut it and slid it under the counter, but not before I saw that it was the newest issue of a skin magazine. "What brings you here? I haven't seen you in awhile."
"I just came for a Pepsi," I replied. "Does the boss know you look at that while he's gone?"
"It's been a slow day. Don't tell me you look at that stuff. You're too young."
"I'm fifteen," I reminded him. "And I have two older brothers, so it's not like I haven't seen a skin magazine before."
"So, what brings you here?" Steve asked again as he popped the top off a Pepsi and handed it to me. "It's not like we're the only place that has Pepsi."
"I'm supposed to be meeting my friend Mark here."
"Mark?"
"Yeah, we're going to the Nightly Double with a few of his other friends," I replied. "Last night, we drove down the ribbon and he had invited some kid called M&M to join us."
"I suppose you were a little disappointed to have a sudden guest with you?" Steve asked with a knowing smile.
"He was a nice kid," I said, trying to think of a way to defend the kid.
"But?" Steve looked at me and I knew what he was thinking.
"But it was a disappointment because Mark didn't tell me until M&M got into the car that he was coming with," I admitted. "Our plans had to change because M&M is only twelve or thirteen. I suppose you felt the same way when Soda used to invite me along."
"Only sometimes. Most of the time you were okay and I'm sure this M&M kid is alright, too."
"Doesn't say much," I mumbled. "I don't think I've ever seen anybody eat M&Ms like that kid does. According to Mark, the kid is never without a bag of them."
"The two of you should get along well," Steve joked.
"I'm surprised you don't know who he is," I commented before taking a sip of my Pepsi.
"Why is that?"
"He lives in the house behind yours," I told him. "You know, the family with all the kids? M&M is one of the older ones."
"I don't usually pay attention to what goes on over there."
"I never meant to be a tag along," I said suddenly and Steve gave me a confused look. "I only joined you and Soda because he asked me to."
"You know, maybe this M&M kid feels the same way," Steve said.
"Actually, I kind of liked having him with us once I got used to the idea," I admitted. "He likes to read almost as much as I do."
"I liked having you with me and Soda, too," Steve said. "Don't tell anyone else I said that."
I reached over the counter and felt around for the magazine. When I found it, I started to look through it and Steve made no attempt to stop me.
"If it weren't for you, I might have dropped out of school like Soda did," Steve continued. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for a greaser to stay in school when his friends are all dropping out? And it's not like I had a brother like Darry who pushed me to get good grades."
"I thought you stayed in school because of Two-Bit."
Steve laughed. "Kid, he's good for a few laughs, but knowing that you want to achieve something with your life makes me want to do the same. I'm not as smart as you and was only in the average classes, but I did okay. I know this sounds strange, but you really did inspire me to try to do better."
"I guess we're really not that different," I commented.
"I guess not," Steve agreed as he turned the page of the magazine. "You should visit me more often."
"I'll do that," I said and I meant it. Now that I understood him, I felt like maybe we could become better friends.