I do not own The Outsiders. All characters used, are borrowed with much respect to S.E. Hinton.
The Guest
I could feel my brother start rustling and twitching beside me, and I automatically reached over to rub his shoulder while I turned and buried my face in my pillow in an attempt to drown out the light. I didn't know what time it was, but the birds outside were chirping their usual morning cheer, and I grinned as I imagined taking pot shots at them with my buddy Steve. They were all lined up; balancing on the fence while we took turns to see who had the best aim. I could picture the feathers flying as we popped them off one-by-one. That'd shut 'em up for sure. Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! POW!
I smiled at the thought that maybe I would actually get to sleep in without listening to the racket every morning. Now don't get me wrong; I ain't a heartless hood that goes around killing little birds, but it was like they knew when I needed a few extra z's, and decided to become deranged little noise makers instead of cute little balls of feathers.
"No," Ponyboy mumbled in his sleep, and my eyes opened, wondering if my brother could sense the mean thoughts running through my head. Poor Ponyboy; the defender of all life, wouldn't hurt a diseased-ridden mouse even if the damned thing was gnawing away on his foot. That was just his way.
"The hat! The hat!" Pony started getting himself worked up, and I let out a laugh.
My kid brother's imagination was wild. So wild, it scared the shit outta me and Darry sometimes, but those were the nightmares. Some days were like this day, and I wished I was in that head of his and was seeing what he was thinking or dreaming. What a trip!
I shuffled towards my brother, and grinned at the back of his head while he mumbled words I doubt anyone could find in any dictionary. My face started to hurt from smiling so big; not in a mean-hearted way. My little brother was just somethin' else, and just plain ol' made life great!
"I don't wanna go in the stove!" He mumbled loudly as he threw himself onto his back and almost knocked me out with his elbow.
I rolled my eyes while I grabbed the pillow from under my head and gave Pony a good whack with it. Suddenly his eyes were open, and his arms were up and ready to defend against another onslaught of my playful blows.
"You better wake up, Pony. They were about to stuff ya like a Thanksgiving turkey and roast ya to a delicious and crispy golden brown." I laughed as I lazily crawled over him and got outta bed.
"Was I dreamin' again? What'd I say this time?" Ponyboy cringed as he started rubbing the sleep outta his eyes.
"Uh huh. It was a gooder!" I teased, knowing how self-conscious my little brother was about talking in his sleep.
"What'd I say?" Pony looked at me worriedly, and I could only grin as I winked at him. I headed for the door, and couldn't help but laugh at his expression.
"Soda? What'd I say?"
"You were lookin' for directions to the catholic post office, Pony." I snickered over my shoulder while I stifled a laugh. Poor thing was confused.
I heard the thud that was my brother rolling onto the floor, no doubt tangled in the web of blankets he always wanted to be covered with. I snickered to myself as I made my way to the toilet to empty my bladder. It wasn't long after that Pony was draggin' his feet in behind me, and takin' my place at the porcelain bowl after I finished, and I washed my hands at the sink.
"Darry work today?" Ponyboy asked me through a yawn.
"Sorta. Said somethin' 'bout havin' to go to some auction for tools or parts or some dumb shit with his boss." I answered with my eyes crossed before making a series of snoring noises.
Pony snorted before flushing and flinched away as I playfully flicked the water from my wet fingers at him as he made his way over to the sink.
"Think it'll be okay if I go ahead and shower? Or should I wait?" Pony asked.
"Yeah, go ahead, kiddo. Make it a quick one just in case, but I think it's pretty early still." I answered.
There was an unspoken rule that Darry got the shower before the two of us, which seemed fair given all he did for us. There'd been a few times either me or Ponyboy would forget this rule, and Lord, you'd think the world was ending. Darry could be a grump sometimes, but deep down he was just a big 'ol teddy bear. You just had to know what buttons to push, and when.
I busied myself in the kitchen when I heard the water to the shower start. The first one up is expected to make breakfast, so I raided the ice box for our usual go-to; pulling out the bacon and eggs and setting them on the counter. The fry pan was next to come out of the oven since our house was small and we didn't have a lot of cupboard space. I put it on top of the stove when I remembered to make coffee for Darry.
It didn't take long after the coffee started burping and brewing, when Darry made his way in half asleep. His hair was sticking up this way and that way, looking like a guy recovering from a wild night on the town rather than a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"'Mornin', sunshine!" I teased; kicking the cheer into over-drive for no other reason than to irritate the shit out of my brother. Sure enough, Darry's middle finger popped up as he grabbed his favourite coffee cup that was left to dry on a towel beside the sink.
"Coffee before your bullshit." Darry grumbled at me while moved over to the coffee pot. I couldn't help but snort out a laugh, and then caught sight of his crazy grin out of the corner of my eye.
"Ya hungry?" I asked Darry, knowing what his answer would be. The guy was a bottomless pit when it came to food.
"Mmmm…" Darry grunted. "How long's the kid been in the shower?"
"Not long. I told him it was okay, so drink your coffee and give him a break."
"Jesus Christ! Did I say anything?" Darry got defensive like he often did, but I just waved it off.
"How many eggs you want?" I changed the subject quickly knowing I'd hit a sore spot with him.
Darry and Ponyboy locked horns on a daily basis for a couple of reasons. One; Darry was pretty much Pony's dad now, and way too young to be taking on all the responsibilities that he had. He worked too hard for somebody so young; giving up his chance for a good life so that our family could stay together. Two; Pony and Darry were so different, and yet they were a lot alike.
The two of my brothers were extremely smart. In fact, I think they're so smart that they'd be able to solve the world's problems if they'd just put their heads together without buttin' them. But Ponyboy's quiet, shy, and sensitive, and that was sometimes a dangerous combination on this side of the tracks. God knows, I didn't want him to change, and neither did Darry although he'd probably deny it. But Darry thought it meant he had to work double-time to protect Ponyboy, even though he really didn't. Ponyboy was super smart, but he lived with his head in the clouds even though he knew the score.
"Just make me the usual." Darry mumbled as he filled his cup with coffee, and headed for the front door to go grab the paper.
I noticed the shower had shut off, and I turned my head as Pony made his way to our bedroom wrapped up in a bath towel. I turned away from the stove before making my way in after him to get his order for breakfast.
"Hey, kiddo. Any special requests?" I smiled at him as he stood in front of the dresser and pulled open the middle drawer to grab some underwear.
Now, the whole thing kinda felt like it was in slow motion. Ponyboy turned his head to tell me his answer, all the while he's yankin' the dresser drawer open, and all I see is the head of a snake pop up and start to hiss. I grabbed Pony's arm and pulled him back as the snake lunged and tried to strike.
"Holy shit! DARRY! GET IN HERE, QUICK!" I yell out for my big brother, because this is where he excels, and Ponyboy...not so much.
"What is it? A garter snake?" Pony asks curiously while he takes a step towards the dresser with the open drawer, and I yank him back so he's standing next to me.
"That ain't no garter snake, numb-nuts. It's a goddam cotton mouth!" I rolled my eyes partly because Pony should know garter snakes don't rear up and strike out, and partly because I just sounded like Darry.
The snake slowly coiled in on itself; its tail shaking and rattling, letting us know he was none too pleased with us disrupting whatever it was he was doin' in Pony's drawer full of drawers. My brother looks on in fascination, not knowing that he's face to face with one motherload of poisonous rattlers.
"What the hell's wrong now? Where's the fire?" Darry saunters in the room, looking like he's sure I'm calling him just to be annoying.
The snake rears up again; black scales slithering against each other while it shows us the fangs inside his puffy white mouth. Darry's coffee slides out of his hands and onto the floor, breaking his favourite cup, and I wanna laugh so hard, but I'm scared enough that I might just shit my pants.
"Soda, go get dad's rifle. Shots are up on the top shelf in my closet. Pony…" Darry's voice is calm, strong, and steady. "Pony, get the hell away from there! What the hell is the matter with you? Get over here!" And then it's not.
I high-tailed it to Darry's room to get dad's old Winchester from beneath the bed, tearing off the old blanket it was wrapped in. I spotted the box of ammo in Darry's closet, right where he said it'd be, and loaded the rifle while trying to remember to breathe. I headed back to Darry and Pony with the gun and extra bullets, surprised to find my hands still steady.
"You ain't gonna shoot it, are ya?" Pony's eyes were sympathetic for the snake that tried to attack him just moments before hand.
"Well, I sure as hell ain't askin' it to stay for breakfast, Ponyboy. What the hell is the matter with you?" Darry's eyebrows furrow as his hand grabs at the old rifle, pulling it from my hands.
"It ain't even big." Ponyboy eyes the snake like it were a lost kitten or puppy, and I bite my lip to keep from laughing at the expression on Darry's face. I know he's wondering if he should be more worried about Ponyboy than the snake.
"They're poisonous, Pony. Come stand back here with me." I say as I catch Darry's eye, and shake my head hoping to calm him down before decides to use the gun on our poor brother.
"They're deadly. I can't believe you don't know that, Ponyboy. What the hell do they teach in school?" Darry mutters as he checks to make sure the gun is loaded.
"Math." Pony shrugs, and I gotta shake my head, 'cause the look Darry gives him is one that promises a lengthy ass chewing.
The first shot gets fired without any warning, and I feel Ponyboy grab the hem of my shirt. There's a hole that's blown in the front of the drawer, and a chunk of the snake splatters across the fabric of Pony's drawer of shorts. Now I'm thinkin' the damned snake should be standing at the pearly gates to wherever by this time, but instead it just gets mad.
"Jesus Christ!" Darry sounds like he's a mixture of awe-struck and horrified as the rifle is cocked and ready to go again.
The snake doesn't seem to give a shit, and you'd think it was the three of us bustin' in on his home instead of the other way around. He's showin' his fangs, reared up, coiling and spittin' and takes another leap forward to strike out at us. The gun goes off two, three more times until the drawer is blown to pieces and tumbles forward onto the floor.
We stand there quiet, waiting for some sign of life from our guest but he's underneath a pile of Pony's unmentionables that are sporting new holes of their own, thanks to Darry. There's no movement, and Darry's careful as he pokes the pile of cotton with the barrel of dad's old gun, finally finding the scaly menace in three or four pieces.
"You killed it." Pony's voice was the first to break the silence.
"I think it's obvious I killed the snake, Pony." Darry rolled his eyes.
"Not that. You killed the drawer." Pony frowned. "What am I gonna do for shorts?"
Darry bent over, picking up a grey pair of briefs smothered in snake guts, and tossed them at Ponyboy, winking at him as the carcass makes a splat on Pony's chest. I stifled a laugh as I caught the hurt look that Ponyboy gave Darry. I reached over and ruffled Pony's hair, and smiled.
"Go grab a pair of mine and get your clothes on. Let's go make some breakfast."
I headed back to the kitchen to grab the broom to clean up Darry's broken coffee cup from our floor, while Darry was on his way out the back door with what was left of Pony's drawer, and bits and pieces of our unfriendly visitor. We seemed to catch each other's eye as we passed in the kitchen. I was the first one to crack up laughing, but Darry was in stitches soon after. Not a bad way to start a day.