Ponyboy's POV
I came home from school a week later and took out some college brochures that my guidance counsilor had given to me. As well as applications to the schools. I was looking through the brochures when Brianna climbed onto the couch and sat next to me.
"What are you looking at?" She asked.
"I'm looking at college brochures." I answered. I showed her one. "See?"
"Why?" Brianna looked up at me.
"Because I need to decide where I'm going to school next year." I told her.
"Go here." She said as she took another brochure and looked at it.
I grinned. "I can't stay here forever, Brianna."
"Why?"
"I don't know why." I said. "It's just the way things are, I guess."
Soda and Steve came in then. Both of them were dirty from work. But Brianna didn't care. She jumped off the couch and ran straight into Soda's out stretched arms.
Soda's POV
"Hey, sweetie." I said, hugging Brianna. "What were you and Pony doing?"
"He's looking at schools." Brianna said as she gave Steve a hug.
I walked over to the couch and sat down next to Ponyboy, while Steve went to the bathroom to clean up. I picked up a brochure and looked at it. The last time I had seen a college brochure was when Darry was looking through them, almost six years earlier when he was seventeen and a senior in high school. Of course, Darry never went to college. Our parents couldn't afford to send him. Despite the scolarship he had won. I remembered how mad Darry had been when our father said it wasn't financially possible for him to go to school.
Darry started working that year, determined to save money so he could eventually put himself through college. But, shortly after his twentieth birthday, and around the time he was thinking that he would finally be able to go to college, our parents were killed in the auto wreck. I think the second time of not being able to go to college was harder on Darry than the first time. He could understand the fact that our parents couldn't afford it. Even though they wished they could. But, it was harder to understand why our parent's lives were taken so suddenly, just when his dreams of attending college were about to come true.
Maybe that's why Darry has insisted that Pony will go to college. We still don't have a lot of money. But, Darry doesn't want Pony to miss out the way he did. And fortunately, Ponyboy had already recieved an english scholarship and had applied for several others.
"Any ideas of where you'd like to go?" I asked.
Pony shrugged. "My first choice is Oklahoma City. That way, I won't be too far from home and can visit more often. Other than that, I'm not sure. Maybe a school in California so I can be by the ocean."
"There's an ocean on the east side of the country, too." I said.
"I know." Pony said. "But, I think California would be a nice."
Steve joined us, then, pulling Brianna onto his lap. He grabbed a brochure and started to look at it. "Where do you think Pony should go to school at?"
"She thinks I should stay here." Pony said.
"Well, I did." Steve said. "And Soda might take a few classes next year."
Pony grinned and shook his head. "No, I think I want to go to a school where I can experience life on my own."
We were still looking at the brochures when Darry got home. Except for Brianna who got bored and went off to her room to play. She doesn't like to sit for very long unless she's watching Mickey Mouse with Two-Bit or reading a story with Pony.
"What's going on here?" Darry asked, stopping in front of us.
"We're looking through my college brochures." Ponyboy told him.
Darry grinned. "That's good. Where's Brianna?"
"In her room, playing." I replied. "She got bored out here."
"I think I'll have her help me make dinner. How does meat loaf sound?"
"Good." We replied as Darry went off to get Brianna.
Darry's POV
I entered Brianna's room to find her jumping on her bed. She stopped when she saw me, but it was too late.
"Were you jumping on your bed?" I asked.
"No." She replied shaking her head.
I grinned. "I think you were. Didn't daddy tell you not to do that?"
Brianna nodded.
"Well, let's go make dinner. I'm sure your daddy and Uncle Ponyboy are getting hungry." I told her.
"And Uncle Steve?" She asked.
"And Uncle Steve." I told her as she followed me out the door.
I led her to the kitchen where she helped me make dinner. She mixed the meat loaf with her hands and put it in the pan for me. When we were finished, and the meat loaf was in the oven, we went into the living room to find that Ponyboy had put the college brochures away and was reading a book.
"Where's daddy?" Brianna asked.
"He's cleaning up. And Steve went outside to look at the truck. He though it sounded funny when you came home." Ponyboy said. "Is dinner almost ready?"
"In twenty minutes." I replied.
Soda came into the room wearing a clean pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt. He picked up Brianna and grinned at her. "You were jumping on your bed, weren't you?"
Brianna grinned back and shook her head. "No I wasn't."
"Yes, you were." Soda said. But he wasn't upset. I think he knows that she jumps on the bed even though she knows she's not supposed to. He gave her a kiss before putting her back down. Then, he went outside to join Steve.
Brianna followed him. I watched as she ran across the yard and stood next to Steve, trying to see what he was looking at. Soda picked her up so she could see under the hood of our truck. And I could see him talking to her and pointing at something as Steve worked on it. Brianna certainly liked helping Soda and Steve with the truck. It meant that she could be just like her daddy and she was definately daddy's little girl.