CHAPTER 4
PONYBOYS P.O.V
I woke up the next morning hearing the radio and Soda singing along. I groaned and rolled over, hoping to get back to sleep. But I couldn't. He was just singing too loud.
"Soda! Shut up!" I yelled. I wasn't sure if he heard me but it didn't matter because Darry had turned down the radio. I settled back down under the covers and shut my eyes. Remembering what had happened last night. I smiled knowing that my brothers were never going to know what happened.
"Hey Pony you want somethin' to eat?" Soda said coming in. I rolled over so I was facing him in the doorway.
"What's the time?" I asked without opening my eyes. I heard him walk away to the kitchen to check the time.
"It's 10 o'clock." he said coming back into the room. Might as well get up, I thought as I sat up.
"Yeah I'll be there in a minute." I said. Soda grinned and left the room. I sat there for a moment rubbing my eyes. I didn't want to get out of bed but I also didn't want to waste a day off school. I knew I had to get out of bed though so I hopped out of bed and got dressed. I pulled on blue jeans and a black t-shirt. I walked out of my room and to the kitchen here Soda was sitting on the counter staring into his chocolate milk.
"What're you doing?" I asked him as I looked through the fridge for something to eat. He didn't answer for a second and I wondered if maybe he was asleep. I punched him lightly on the shoulder and he sat up properly. "What're you doing?" I asked again.
"I was looking at my milk." he said.
"Right." I said, sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal. Soda jumped off the counter and came over to me.
"Hey Pony I-"
"Hey guys!" Two-Bit came into the kitchen, grinning. Soda rolled his eyes.
"Yeah?" I said to Soda.
"Don't worry." he said and put his cup in the sink. Two-Bit sat at the table.
"So how's everyone? Watcha up to today?" he asked. I shrugged.
"Nothing much." I said.
"Yeah I don't know yet. You seen Steve?" Soda asked. Two-Bit shook his head and looked around.
"Shepard gang crashed a Soc party last night." Two-Bit said.
"Really? Who said that?" Soda asked. He was sitting at the table now across from me and Two-Bit. I finished off my cereal and put the empty bowl in the sink. I would clean them later.
"Daniel told me." Two-Bit said. Daniel? Oh shit, I thought. He better not have said anything about me. Soda sighed.
"Yeah, well I'm gonna go find Steve." he said, standing up. I nodded. "I'll be back soon." I watched him walk away to the front door. Then I turned back to Two-Bit who was smiling at me.
"What?" I asked, getting up.
"Nothin'. Where'd you go last night?" he asked. Yep, he knew I was at that party last night. He better not tell anyone.
"Do you know where I was last night?" I asked. He nodded.
"Yeah Daniel told me." he said.
"Please don't tell anyone. Darry and Soda think I was at a friends place last night." I said.
"Fine I won't tell anyone." I sighed.
"Thanks." I said and I began to wash the dishes. I didn't do much that day. Soda and Steve weren't around. Darry had left for work that morning before I got up. And Two-Bit stayed for awhile but decided to leave when he saw some guys he knew walk past the house. I sat around all day watching TV. I could've gone out if I wanted to but I couldn't be bothered. Soda came home at five.
"Hey." he said, coming in and kicking off his shoes. "Didn't go out anywhere?" he asked.
"Nope. Where'd you go?" I asked. He sat down on the couch.
"I was looking for Steve everywhere and then I found him hanging out with Two-Bit and some other guys." He sat back in his seat and looked at me. "I gotta ask you something." he said. I looked at him. My heart was beating faster.
"O-ok." I said. Did Two-Bit say something to him? I thought.
"Yesterday, I know you didn't go to school." he said. I didn't know what to say. Is he just saying that so I'll admit I didn't go? Or did he actually see me when I walked past the DX? I knew I should've gone a different way.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"I saw you. Look if you're gonna skip at least make sure you don't go past the DX." he said, smiling. I grinned.
"It was Curly's idea." I said.
"Don't blame it on him. You could've said no and gone to school." he said. We were silent for a minute. He was right, I thought. But it wasn't as simple as saying no. I gave Curly the idea that I wasn't going to school. "Look anyway, I'm not gonna tell Darry unless he asks me. I know that I should tell him, but I'm guessing you won't do it again?" He looked my right in the eyes and I lied straight to his face.
"I won't do it again." I said. He nodded.
"Alright, I got some cooking to do now." he said and jumped up from the couch. Wow, I thought, he's really not going to tell Darry. This was good.