Chapter 4: Before the Rumble
Darry pulled up at the gas station around 3:30, hopped out and yelled to Steve who was in the garage under a car, "Full'er up!"
"Sure thing Darry."
Soda was lounging on a lawn chair inside the station with a cold Pepsi in his hand.
"Look who decided to show up," he said over the lip of the pop.
"I said after three..." Darry said, pushing Soda's feet to the side. He reached over, grabbed a soda pop, and put 50 cents on the counter, "and it's after three."
Soda swung his legs back up on the counter and yawned.
"Tired, Sodapop?"
"Bored. Can we go home now?"
To Darry, Sodapop seemed to look younger, instead of the 16 year old who dropped out of school so he didn't have to work two full time jobs; he saw a kid as young as Ponyboy. But now that Darry really thought about it, Ponyboy was anything but a young kid.
"Yeah, let's go."
Steve was leaning on the truck with the pump in his hand. "Ya'll heading out?"
"Yeah, when are you gonna be by?" Soda asked, taking the pump from Steve and hanging it back up.
"I gotta finish Jackie's car…" He trailed off. "Two-Bit'll give me a ride over before six."
"Alright," Darry said, climbing in.
"See ya then." Soda gave Steve a high five and climbed into the truck-bed.
Darry honked the horn as they drove off. "Sodapop," he said after realizing that Soda wasn't in the truck with him. "What are you doing back there?"
"I like it!" Sodapop yelled over the wind. He threw his hands up and yelled, "Yahoooo!" as Darry took a turn with a good amount of speed.
Darry laughed and watched his brother in the rearview mirrot. "You're crazy, Sodapop!"
"Yessir!"
What would Darry and Pony do if Soda wasn't here to take nothing seriously? Fall into depression probably.
"I love you, Sodapop."
Soda reached in through the back window and wrapped his arms around Darry's neck.
"I dig you too," he said and gave his cheek a big, wet, kiss.
"Aw… come on Soda!" Darry hollered and pushed Soda away.
Soda climbed through the back window and got into his seat.
"Feet." Darry scolded as Sodapop threw his feet up onto the dashboard.
Soda stuck his tongue out and left his feet where they were. He grabbed his Elvis tap out of the dash and put it on.
"Turn it down a bit, will you, Soda?"
Soda did, reluctantly – and not by much. So that 'Blue Moon Kentucky' rang through the truck cab.
"Ponyboy, we're home," Darry called into the house as he walked through the door.
Sodapop pitched himself onto the couch and tossed off his shoes. "Pony!" he called. "Hm… must be off with Two-Bit. He's probably visiting Johnny."
"At least he got the dishes done," Darry said from the clean kitchen. "Soda, come help me with dinner."
Soda groaned but got up. "What are we having?"
"Chicken with…" He rummaged through the ice box. "Corn…" He pulled out six frozen cobs.
"And potatoes?" Soda asked with his head in the pantry.
"Perfect."
"Where is he?" Darry asked as Soda set the table for dinner. He looked at the clock. "It's almost six."
"At the hospital, probably," Soda said, "Let's eat Darry, I'm starved."
Soda and Darry ate one whole chicken by themselves and most of the corn and potatoes. Darry's a great cook, and Soda wondered how screwed they'd be if none of them could cook. Luckily all the Curtsies could. Their mom made sure of that. They loved helping her in the kitchen, especially when she made chocolate cake.
"Soda, you took a shower this morning. Wrap up some food for Ponyboy while I jump in. Kay?"
Ponyboy ran through the screen door just as Soda started to put away everything.
"You late," Soda said, mocking Darry.
"Yeah, I know." Pony sat down and began to stuff his face, and Two-Bit and Steve made themselves comfortable in the living room.
"What did you do?" Soda asked.
Ponyboy's face was too full to answer so Two-Bit did.
"We saw Johnny and Dally," he said it in a grave voice, and Steve and Soda looked up, alarmed.
"How were they?" Steve asked
"Dally's fine." Two-Bit laughed. "Pissed he can't come to the Rumble!" He sighed, "Johnnycake…" He trailed off.
"He fainted before we left." Ponyboy said sadly.
"But," Two-Bit said cheerfully. Leave it to good old Two-Bit to lighten the mood. "Ponyboy here had a very interesting conversation with a Soc." Two-Bit voice became the voice of a gossiping girl; he put his arms around Pony's neck and added in a scandalous whisper, "In his mustang."
Ponyboy pushed Two-Bit away and continued eating like it was nothing.
"What?" Steve said, exasperated.
"What did he want? What did he say?" Soda asked. He wasn't sure how to feel about this news. There was part of him that thought this was funny and another that sensed the danger.
"Nothing of consequence." Ponyboy said as he got up to scrap his plate.
"'Nothing of consequence'" Two-Bit said, mocking Pony.
"Bull," Steve said. "No Soc invites a little greaser in his tuff mustang to talk sports."
"Don't try," Two-bit said as Soda started to say something. "I've been trying to get it out of him. He won't spill," he added, putting on his gossip girl voice.
"Pon-" Soda started but Ponyboy was already out of the kitchen and slamming on the bathroom door.
"Come on, Darry, I got to take a shower too!"
"Well," Soda heard Darry's voice among running water, "you should've gotten here before I got in. Now you must wait." The bathroom door opened and closed and Darry yelled, "Ponyboy!"
All three guys in the kitchen busted out laughing.
"What did he say?" Soda asked Two-Bit once the laughter died down. "The Soc?"
"I honestly didn't hear." Two-Bit grabbed a corn cob and went back to the couch.
"I'm gonna go get dressed." Soda said and marched into his room. Soda tossed on his tight jeans and a tight white shirt to show off his muscles. Then, remembering how cold it was outside, he threw on his flannel button up, but left it unbuttoned.
"Bathroom's open!" Ponyboy yelled.
Soda went in with a tin of hair grease. He stood next to Ponyboy as the two of them greased up their hair.
"You planning on wearing clothes, Ponyboy?" Soda asked, looking down at the towel Ponyboy was wrapped up in.
Pony gave Soda a nasty look and snatched the comb away from him.
"Yea," Soda said teasingly, "you do need it more than I do."
Pony smacked the comb on the sink and walked out. "Darry where's my belt?" he called on the way.
"We didn't touch your things, Pon."
A minute later Ponyboy came back, hair messed up again, and walked in the bathroom to fix it.
"Annie up," Steve said after dealing out his and Soda's poker game.
"Hey, Soda," Ponyboy yelled from the bathroom, "When'd you start shaving?"
Soda thought for a moment. "When I was fifteen. Steve, quit it," he said as Steve threw a playing card at his face.
"When did Darry?"
Soda heard Darry laugh from his room. "When he was thirteen. Why? You figgerin' on growing a beard before the rumble?"
Darry could hear Sodapop laughing at his own joke but he wasn't in the mood to listen to his brother's banter. He was too worried about Ponyboy. Ponyboy had just gotten back from living on the run, and was obviously sick. It's skins, he kept trying to tell himself, but it didn't matter. It was like giving Ponyboy permission to get jumped by the Socies. Darry threw on a tight, black shirt and went into the kitchen. He stood at the doorway and watched his family, immediate and other. Steve, with his music so loud it shook the house; Sodapop, cheating in their game of cards; Two-Bit sprawled on the couch; and Pony walking around asking about why people liked to fight. Ponyboy. Darry remembered what Sodapop said earlier in the week "Why us?" Why Poyboy? Darry thought, angrily. Hasn't that kid been through enough? And Darry meant 'kid' in the most innocent way. Ponyboy was just a kid.
"How come you like fights, Darry?" Ponyboy broke through his train of thought.
Darry transformed his face into a mask, and Pony gave him an odd look. Like he knew what he was doing. Darry was about to answer but Soda beat him to it.
"He likes to show off his muscles. Ha-ha!"
Pony smiled slightly but then his face was serious. Like he was acutely contemplating what Sodapop had said.
"I'll show'em off on you little buddy, if you get any mouthier." Darry said, trying to shake the fear off of him.
Soda shivered with fake fear. Darry slowly said, "I don't know if you ought to be in this rumble, Pony,"
Ponyboys face fell. "How come? I've always come through before, ain't I?"
Darry didn't know how to explain it to Ponyboy without making him feel like a little baby in front of the gang. Darry thought about the last rumble Pony was in; his little brother was definitely a little scraper. "Yeah, you fight real good for a kid your size. But you were in shape before. You've lost a lot of weight and you don't look so good." He put his hand to Ponyboy's forehead but Pony shoved it away. "You're tensed too much."
"Shoot, we're all tensed up before a rumble." Sodapop chimed in. "Let him fight tonight. It's skin on skin, no weapons, no danger."
Oh yea, Darry thought bitterly. No one's ever been beaten to death. Not that he was afraid of Ponyboy getting killed, well…
"I'll be okay; I'll get hold of a little one. Okay?" Pony's face was pleading.
Darry sighed, "Well, Johnny won't be there this time." He paused; the look on Ponyboy's face was clear. He really wanted to go. "But then, Curly Shepard won't be there either, or Dally and we'll need every man we can get."
Pony asked about Curly but Darry wasn't listening. He was too busy thinking of what to do. He was brought back by the sound of Soda, "ouch," and watched an ace fall out of his shoe.
"Let me fight, Darry," Pony pleaded again. "If it was blades or chains or something it'd be different. Nobody ever gets hurt in a skin rumble."
Darry wanted to laugh. "Well," shit, he thought, "I guess you can. But be careful, and if you get in a jam, holler and I'll get you out."
"I'll be okay," Pony looked at Sodapop and scowled. "How come you never worry about Sodapop as much? I don't see you lecturin' him," he said defensively.
"Man," Darry said with a smile, he crossed the room and threw an arm around Soda- "this is one kid brother I don't have to worry about."
Soda punched Darry in the ribs playfully. "This kiddo can use his head. You can see he uses it for one thing - to grow hair on." He ducked as Soda swung. With the swing from Sodapop, Darry felt as though he could relax a bit. He ran out the door and jumped off the porch in a mid-air summersault.