Divining Rod

Chapter 10

Lightning Before Thunder

XXX

Storm clouds built up overnight, rain finally falling just before dawn. Sodapop, still tired from Pony's sudden nightmare just hours before, had already skidded out the door, catching a ride with Steve who'd sat waiting in his car. Rain meant customers would be coming in due to worn out windshield wipers, treadless tires and faulty brakes; good money, sure, but by the end of the day their backs and arms were more sore than usual.

Darry, on the other hand, had been given a reprieve from his regular work, but his boss offered him a spot on another project where carpentry skills were needed. It was less money, but still a paycheck. Never one to turn down a job, Darry got the address and after a quick check on his sleeping brother, was also out the door.

XXX

The heaviness weighed me down. I clutched my chest, not able to breathe. Something was there but I couldn't see it. I tried to turn but couldn't.. some force had me... panic took hold...

"Darry! Sodapop!"

I jolted awake, fear giving way to feelings of instant stupidity as I realized I was safely at home, the blankets simply twisted tight around my body. Get a grip, kid. You're losing it, I chided myself. "Anyone home?" As I kicked myself free of the bedding, I listened out for the usual, 'In here, Ponyboy. Get out of bed, you're wasting the day' lecture I usually got when I slept in on weekends. Only this wasn't the weekend, it was summer. I flopped over, checking my clock and blinking at the time. 8:27. Wow.

"Hello?" I stumbled out of the bedroom to a mostly silent house, just the soft pattering of rain outside broke the quiet. No one was home, although I did find a note on the table.

Gone to work, be back by five. Stay out of trouble and clean your room. Darry.

I crumpled the note, already tired of the message. He asked me and Soda at least once a week to clean our room, and while a shirt may get hung up and a stack of books might get set straight again, real cleaning was seldom done. Looking outside, the rain was coming down steadily with no signs of easing.

I flipped on the television, hoping yet doubting I'd find the news still on this late in the morning. As expected, all I found were boring soap operas and kiddie shows. I paused at I Dream of Jeannie, my mind going places it shouldn't have while being mesmerized by her belly, just waiting for her navel to appear. It never did, but was sure captivating to stare at. Thirty minutes later, I'd given up on finding any news and switched the set off, flipping on the kitchen radio instead.

Somewhere between my second slice of cake and a bowl of cereal, the weather man came on to finally reveal the big secret: it was raining. Not only that, it was probably gonna rain for three days or so. Groan. I wasn't gonna sit around the house for three days with nothing to watch but Barbara Eden's midsection, hoping that little wiggle she did would somehow show something more than what the censors wanted me to see. I went to get dressed and pocketed some change, heading to the bus stop to get out for a while.

XXX

"One," I said to the ticket lady. I paid my quarter and took my ticket, hurrying inside to try to keep from getting totally soaked. My toes were already squishing in my shoes, but I'd have to live with it until I got back home. I'd scraped together enough pocket change to get some popcorn and a Coke and found an aisle seat near the back. Old lesson I'd learned from going to the movies with Two-Bit and Johnny a year ago – on the inside, you're trapped, on the aisle seats, you have an escape. Never get trapped if you can help it. I settled down as the lights went out and the film started.

It was some racing movie with Peter Falk and Jack Lemmon. Nothing deep, nothing dramatic, but enough entertainment to kill a few hours of boredom. I was disappointed to see the rain still hadn't stopped by the time I got out.

The official stop for the bus is across the street at the corner, but it wasn't due to get there for a few more minutes so I hovered under the overhang to try to stay dry. I wasn't exactly alone, some lady and her kid had the same idea. I noticed how she pulled the kid closer to her with both hands on his shoulders and eyed me with scorn. I hooked my thumbs in my pockets and looked away, trying my best to ignore it. That's when my eyes caught a glimpse of someone familiar hanging out across the street and up the block. I hadn't seen him in months but I still recognized him. I smiled. Curly.

"Hey Curly!" I called, waving while scaring the wits out of that lady and her kid. She jumped, holding him tighter. Maybe he didn't hear me, maybe the rain drowned me out; I wasn't sure, but he didn't turn when I yelled. It was weird that he was just standing there on the corner in the pouring rain, looking further up the street. I tried again. "Hey Curly? Need a ride? The bus'll be here in a minute!"

Finally he turned in my direction and even from a distance I was shocked at how he looked. His hair was longer, his expression cold and his eyes narrowed, dangerous almost. It gave me goosebumps. Dally's warning to Johnny about getting hardened in jail along with Soda's warning to stay away from him came back to me and I paused. What the heck had happened? Curly was looking at me as if I was a complete stranger, and honestly... I was beginning to think the same of him.

"Joshua, come along!" The woman pulled on the boy, taking him back inside the theater.

A Barracuda drove up, stopping right by him. I didn't recognize it, and a sudden apprehension pitted my stomach as Curly leaned in the passenger window. He wasn't there long, the driver taking off with a screech of tires against wet pavement, leaving Curly cussing a blue streak at the disappearing car. The bus arrived at the same time so I hurried on, took a seat and looked back out the window. Curly glanced in my direction again, then turned and walked down the side alley. I doubt he ever noticed the rain.

I got off at the DX.

"Hey Pony!" Soda called out as I headed inside the office. "Nice weather we're having, huh? Man, Pony, you're soaked. Better not catch pneumonia, Darry'll have a fit! What brings you out in this mess?"

"I ain't gonna catch no pneumonia." I said, looking around, not wanting to say nothing but not wanting to cause no trouble neither. It'd been days since me and Steve had our run-in, and so far the stand-off was holding nicely. "Just wanted to get out for a while. I was bored stiff at home and went over to the movies to kill time. You got the shop alone today?" I hinted.

"He ain't here, Pone, if that's what you're worried about. Had to go tow someone who'd wrecked, but Steve'll be back soon."

I nodded, a little relieved. "Much business today?"

"Enough. It's been steady. No girls though, just regular work... sad to say."

I didn't smile.

"Go get a drink if you want one. Get me one too."

I went in and got two Pepsi's and while I was at it, a pack of smokes. I climbed up on a stack of tires, smoking and thinking hard while subconsciously rubbing the circular scar on my finger.

"What's up?" he asked, shoving me a little then reaching for a stick from the swiped pack.

"You seen a dark blue Barracuda around here? A dent on the passenger door?"

His brow furrowed in thought. "A Barracuda? With a dent? Nup, can't say I have. Why?"

"I saw one earlier, just wondering who owned it is all."

"Well," he said, snuffing out his stick as a car pulled up at the pumps, "if it's a 'Cuda with a dent, it's probably owned by some rich Soc who can't drive. Gotta get back to work. See ya later."

"Bye." I watched as he jogged over to the car and worked the pump, then I hopped off the tires and headed home.

XXX

"I bet he didn't," I teased.

"You're on," Soda chuckled, whacking my chest as we headed up his front steps. "Pony, you make any dinner?" he called out as we went inside. The kid was sitting on the couch, a game of solitaire spread out in front of him on the coffee table.

"Can't. Power's out."

"I win," I said, laughing at Soda.

"Power being out don't count," Soda retorted, trying the lamp without any luck.

"Muscles not pay the bill or something?" I suggested, trying a light switch.

"Shoot no, he paid it, I saw him write the check!" Soda checked the circuit breaker box in the kitchen. "Ugggh!" he groaned, "Now what?" We looked outside at the other houses. All up and down the street, everything was dark.

"There's always peanut butter and jelly," the kid answered absently, moving a red eight onto a black nine.

"Yeah, you try explaining that to Darry. It might work for snacking, but PB&J ain't exactly dinner food." Soda admonished with a shake of his head. "Well, lemme go change clothes and see what I can do about this. Steve, you staying or what?"

"Ain't like it's gonna be any more exciting at my place." Soda chucked off his shirt and headed down the hall, leaving me and the kid alone. He continued with the cards, I think trying his best to ignore me. "The seven can go on the eight," I mumbled.

He stopped, found what I was talking about - yet stubbornly refused to play it. "I'm saving that for something else."

Whatever. Down the hall, drawers were pulled open then slid shut. The silence bugged me. I'm not gonna apologize, I'm not gonna apologize, I'm not... I balled my fists, knowing I had little choice if I was still gonna be welcome around here.

"Say Ponyboy, that fight you were in the other day... at the pool hall... that ever happen again, you know we got your back... right?"

He stopped counting by three's and nodded, still not looking up. "Yeah, I know."

"Alright then." I was glad that was out of the way. Soda came back down the hall. "Well, since cooking is out, how bout Jay's? We can pick up a couple burgers and bring them back before Superman gets here."

"Sounds good to me," Soda said, working his foot into one of his boots. "Pony, you wanna come along?"

Ponyboy looked from me to Sodapop and back.

"Time's wasting, kid," I told him. "If you're going, let's go."

He dropped the rest of the deck on the table and got up, following us out.

XXX

Thirty seven dollars and eighty four cents. The numbers rolled in my head, knowing it was enough to get the rest of the bills paid but not enough for much else. Certainly not the chiropractor I was gonna need before my next birthday.

Ahead, the light turned yellow then red and I pulled up to stop. I'd hoped Pony had taken something out for dinner, something besides chicken or hamburger for a change. He was getting a little predictable here lately. Maybe some slow-cooked ribs... My mouth was watering just thinking about it.

"Leave me alone, rotten Greaser!"

A phrase that always leaves me bristling came from my left, through the open window. I looked – as did everyone who'd been stopped at the intersection, and saw Curly whipping out his blade, lunging at someone in a car. The driver was smart at least; brake lights lit up then vanished as whoever it was fishtailed out into the wet intersection, nearly hitting another car in the process. Still, scratched paint and dents were easier to fix than a stab wound.

I watched as Curly sneered at the disappearing car, then turned and walked off. A car horn behind me brought me back to my senses. The light had turned green, so I let off the brake and drove on. As the windshield wipers sloshed back and forth, I knew I was going to have to tell Tim his kid brother was hassling others at knifepoint and that he needed to deal with it. Trouble like that would snowball, eventually involving everyone – including the fuzz, and none of us needed that anymore.

At least I was grateful for this much... Curly wasn't my problem. Not that neither Sodapop nor Ponyboy were perfect - Soda with his failings in school and the Sandy embarrassment, and Ponyboy with his penchant to escape into fictional worlds instead of dealing with reality, were enough to give me ulcers... but when compared to what they could've been like, I considered myself lucky.

And I'd be damned if I let some renegade hood screw with the little peace we'd achieved since last fall.

XXX

Calla Lilly Rose