We all, without even discussing it, put aside any talk of either Pony or me working until after dinner. We talked about "safe" stuff: Darry's next job, Soda's itchiness, and Two-Bit's general nuttiness. Darry's chili had turned out great, as usual (he actually did work "chili magic," as the rest of ours never came out quite as good), and we all ate more than we should have, feeling completely full and lazy afterward. I got up to help Soda with the dishes – it was his week, but with a cast on one arm, which wasn't supposed to get wet, it was quite a challenging chore. Since Darry had pretty much cooked for me, I didn't mind helping Soda out. Pony and Darry went into the living room and were watching TV when Soda and I finally finished up and joined them. I sat on the arm of Dad's chair where Darry was sitting and Soda lay down on the couch, his legs across Pony's lap.

I was surprised when Darry suddenly got up and switched off the TV.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Pony said. "What gives?"

"We didn't finish our talk, from earlier," Darry said, "so I think we should. And you were right, Scout, the other night. We should deal with family problems as a family. You and Pony deserve to know what's going on as much as me and Soda."

I glanced at Pony and knew that we both were feeling a sense of relief that Darry was finally willing to let us in, after trying to protect us from reality for so long.

"I want to babysit, Darry. Really. It's not just about the money." I looked at Soda to see if he was still going to argue, but he didn't do or say anything, he just looked back at me, his expression neutral. Darry looked at him, as well, and spoke up.

"I heard what you were saying earlier, Soda, believe me, I did. And that was my gut reaction, too. But I thought about it, and heard what Scout said, too, and I think we should let her do it. She is responsible enough, and, eventually, when she's getting ready to go to college, the more ways that we can prove she's taken initiative, the better." Leave it to Darry to already be figuring out my college applications. He didn't stop there, either.

"Plus, I've met her coach, and he's a nice guy. He thought enough to ask her, over all the older girls on the team. I think we should let her try it. Regardless of the fact that the money will help out."

"Thanks, Darry," I said quietly, though I was still expecting Soda to pipe up with an argument against it.

"You're welcome. But don't start thinking that just because I am letting you do this, the rules around here no longer apply. You're still gonna have a ton of rules to follow. Like, you don't go anywhere while you're there, you call if you're going to be late, and some other stuff we'll talk about once you get more details. And I want to talk to him when he calls."

"Okay." I wasn't going to argue anything for fear he'd change his mind about the whole thing.

"Now what's this about you wanting to work?" He turned to Pony. "Is this what you asked me about before? The bowling alley?"

"Yeah. Before, they were looking for somebody weekend nights, but they already hired somebody for that. Pete says they want somebody for days, now, for the summer. Three days a week."

"You're not old enough to work, Ponyboy. How are they gonna work around that?"

"Shoot, Darry, there's no payroll down there. Everybody but the I.R.S. knows that. Shorty pays cash, under the table. Same as Scout - seventy-five cents an hour. That's probably almost as much as Soda makes anyway, after taxes. With me and Scout both bringing home some cash, we can make up for whatever we're missing from Soda not working."

"I'm going back in three weeks," Soda said.

"The doctor said a month, Soda. If your arm heals right." Darry wasn't about to let Soda slide that one by him.

"Well, no matter what, when Soda does go back to work, maybe with all four of us working we can even get ahead a little. Maybe we can help with your tuition, Darry."

I was stunned that Pony had brought that up. I had assumed we were still in a "wait and see" kind of situation about Darry going back to school, hoping that me going to court might help out… but it hadn't been spoken about since he had left school in January.

"We're nowhere near figuring that out yet, Pony. Let's not get ahead of ourselves." It was far from what, in a perfect world, I would have wanted to hear him say ("I am going back to school, no matter what" would have been nice) but it wasn't an outright denial of the possibility that he might go back, and, coming from Darry, I was willing to take that for now.

"I still don't like it," Soda said. "I just feel like you two are getting cheated out of the kind of summers me and Darry got to have. Seems like, when you're twelve, your biggest worries in the summer should be whose yard to play football in and where to get a dime for the ice cream truck."

"No offense, Soda," Pony said softly, "but Scout and I've both had worries a whole lot bigger than that for a pretty long time now. And once you have 'em, there's no goin' back to not havin' 'em."

"I guess not," Soda agreed, still sounding kind of sad.

"I guess that's settled, then," Ponyboy spoke up, after a few moments of silence.

For now," Darry said, "but this is no small thing. This is a huge leap for me, letting you two do this, and I'm only doing it because I think you're both responsible kids with good heads on your shoulders. But, if either of you messes up, or it starts to look like it's getting too stressful for you, you're done. Period. It's not worth you two being miserable just for a few bucks. The gas bill can wait, dig?"

"Yeah," Pony and I both answered.

"So," Pony continued after a second… "Meeting adjourned?" He got up to turn the TV back on.

"Not quite, hang on a second," Darry said. "I want to ask you guys something, but I'm not sure how this is gonna be received, so keep in mind that it's just a thought."

We all looked at each other, puzzled.

"Okay…?" Soda said. Pony sat back down.

"Well… I've been thinking about the house, and with all the things that have been going on…"

"You're not selling this house, Darry. No way!" Soda was about to fly into another rage.

"God, no! Are you kidding me, Soda? We live here. I sell this house, where the hell do you think we'd live?"

"I don't know…" Soda realized he might have been a little rash with his assumption. Between the itching and the medications he was way more on edge than usual.

"Then what, Darry? Just say it. That's what you always make me do." He hated it when I couldn't just get to the point, and I secretly enjoyed telling him to cut to the chase.

"Okay, fine. I know you haven't been sleeping well, Scout, and you can deny it as much as you want, but I can tell you're still scared at night. To be honest, I haven't been sleeping that well, either, because I'm always trying to keep an ear open to make sure that you all are okay, and listening to see if Two-Bit or Tim or somebody comes through the door in the night, so I'll be prepared to find a body on the couch in the morning."

"So what are you sayin', we should start a Bad Sleepers Club or something? You all know Pony don't sleep good either, and I can even join in now, too, what with all my achin' and itchin'."

"You're a riot, Soda," Darry said flatly. "But I'm serious. I was thinking, and maybe… I thought we all might start sleeping better if we switched around our rooms... But...the reason I wasn't sure how you'd feel about this is because it'd mean me moving into Mom and Dad's room. That way I'd be at the front of the house and could hear what's going on better. Scout could switch with you two so she'd feel safer with people sleeping on both sides of her, instead of a wide open space on one side."

"What about your room?" Pony asked.

"We could keep it as a spare; maybe keep the Mathews and Shepards of the world off our couch. Or, if you and Soda someday decide to end your brotherly love-fest, one of you could move in there."

"That isn't funny, Darry." Pony was offended by the love-fest remark. I knew where Darry was coming from though; sometimes I got as jealous of their closeness as he did.

"I was just kidding. Honestly, I was pretty nervous about suggesting this. I mean, it's Mom and Dad's room… in my mind it always will be, but for the sake of us all sleeping better, it just seems like maybe it's a good idea."

I didn't know what to say. We hadn't really touched anything in their room, except for the few times Darry and I had slept in their bed and, of course, the lock Darry broke trying to get to me when I'd had the nightmare in there. I felt bad. I felt like maybe I was ready to change things around, a little – and if anybody deserved to be in their space, it was Darry, after all he had taken on, but I wasn't sure how ready the others were. And I had no doubt that the suggestion had very little to do with Darry and a whole lot to do with me.

"I'm okay in my room, Darry. Really." I tried to sound as convincing as I could, but failed.

"Scout, you're creeping around the house in the middle of the night, scared. That's not fine. And I know you don't have school to worry about right now, but if you're gonna babysit a little kid, you can't be falling asleep on the job."

I looked at Soda and Pony, but couldn't tell what either was thinking.

"Guys, you don't have to. I mean, just because of…"

"Will it help you?" Soda interrupted.

"What?"

"Is Darry right? Will it help you feel safer? Being in the middle?"

I wished I were a better liar. I didn't want it to be about me; I had already gotten what I wanted once in the conversation with Darry agreeing to let me work. I wanted it to be about what they were ready for, what they could handle. But, the truth was, I knew I would sleep better without the big open void of the kitchen on one side of me. I decided not to lie. I probably wouldn't have gotten away with it anyway.

"Yeah, probably," I admitted, somewhat sadly.

"I think we should," Pony said, surprising me. I had figured this might be hardest for him. "We can't keep things the same forever. And you deserve to feel safe in your own house, Scout."

"I just feel bad…"

"Don't," Darry said. "It was my idea. I like the idea of being at the front of the house. I'll sleep better too."

"Okay," I agreed. "We're not gonna do it now, are we?"

"No way, kiddo. I've been roofing houses all day. This weekend… Sunday, maybe. That'll give us time to clean up all our crap to move it."

"What about… Mom and Dad's stuff?" I wasn't ready to part with it, just yet.

"We'll move it to the closet in my room," Darry said, and I was relieved he wasn't willing to just let it all go quite yet either.

"Okay, then," Pony said, reaching for the TV switch one more time, "anything else?" He looked around at the three of us. We all shook our heads.

"Meeting adjourned," he said, and flicked on the TV.

.............................................

A/N: Ah... the lull before the storm. I have a feeling it's going to be an action packed summer. Thanks for the encouragement, readers. Muchly appreciated.