Chapter 4

Ponyboy slowly walked home from where the school bus dropped him off. He hated taking the school bus. He really shouldn't complain and he knew it. This was really the first year he'd had to take it since he entered seventh grade. Even back then, he'd always had a ride. The Junior High was right behind the High School. So back then he would still ride with the guys, they would just drop him off there first. Then when he went to high school, he and Johnny always rode with either Steve, Two-Bit or Dally.

Eventually, Two-Bit did actually graduate from high school. And then Steve graduated last year. Every once in awhile he would come by and pick up Evie, and then Pony could ride home with them. But most of the time Steve worked and Evie got rides from her girlfriends. Most of the time this year he'd had to ride the bus home. Sometimes Curly Shepherd drove him home or some of his other friends. That was the real problem. Pony was a year younger than everyone else in his class so they all had their driver's licenses.

He walked down his street and saw Steve's car parked in front of the house. Evie must be over doing the books again. He was somewhat surprised to see her, seeing as she was graduating tomorrow night. But since they had talked that day, he realized she'd been over a lot. She said it was just easier to do the books here at the house then at the DX. Steve and Soda weren't always bothering her or getting in her way and she had more room. But Pony wondered if there was more to it than that.

"Hey Evie." He called as he walked into his house.

"Hi Pony." She watched him toss his bag down on the couch and plop down next to it. "So, one more day! Then I graduate and you're a senior!"

"Great. I'll be the only Tulsa High senior still riding the dumb bus." He grumbled.

"What are you talking about?" She laughed as she sat down in the living room with him.

He just looked at her for a second. "Okay, think of it this way, you managed to leave school, get to the DX, get Steve's car and get here. All before I could get home on the school bus." He rolled his eyes. "And soon I'm gonna be a senior and I'll be the only one without my driver's license." Pony knew he was being somewhat dramatic, but at the moment he felt entitled. Everybody else had been having their great drama moments. Soda, Steve, even Darry over the whole Soda thing. Pony figured he should be allowed too.

"You turn sixteen in two months!" She laughed. "You'll get it then."

"Not at the rate I'm going. I've had my permit for a couple of months. Do you know how many times I've gotten to drive anywhere? Once. One lousy time. Darry's too busy. Plus I think it sort of stresses him out. And Soda's, well, Soda's still stuck on the whole Sandy thing. So yeah. Once."

"Well, what about Two-Bit? It's not like he's got all that much to do."

"Yeah well, I said something about that and Darry said he preferred I not learn how to drive with Two-Bit. And not to be picky or anything, but I kinda think he's right. And while Steve is acting a little more normal, I'm not that brave either."

Evie felt bad for him. "What about me? I can take you."

"You would?" He sat up some.

"Sure. Why not. I've got Steve's car. Come on let's go. But let's not mention it to Steve. If he finds out that's okay, but let's not just tell him."

"No problem." He jumped up and waited for her. "This is so cool of you Evie. Thanks so much."

"No problem." She got her purse and the keys and they walked out the door.

"See you weren't that bad. Actually you did pretty good, all things considered."

"What do you mean?" He laughed as he pulled up in front of his house.

"Well I just mean, considering who you're used to riding with and the fact that Two-Bit, Steve, and Soda aren't exactly the poster boys for the DMV."

"This is true. Thanks Evie. You really didn't have to do this, but I appreciate it. I don't know what I'm getting so worked up over anyway. License or not, it's not like I can get a car or anything."

"You never know. Steve and Soda see some pretty good deals come through the station. And I know Soda would love to get you a car. Between the two of them they can fix just about anything they could find for you."

"Yeah, that'd be tuff." He smiled, getting out of the car as Darry stepped out onto the porch.

"Do I even want to know what you two were doing?" He asked.

Pony just sort of looked at him guiltily as Evie walked right by him into the house. "I was teaching him how to drive." She said nonchalantly.

"I see." He said with a little grin before turning to Ponyboy. "Did you finish your homework?"

"Darry, tomorrow's the last day of school. I don't have any homework." He told him heading into the kitchen.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Habit."

"Bad habit." He mumbled as he dug through the fridge.

Darry laughed at him. "So Evie tomorrow's the big graduation."

"Yup. As of Friday night at eight o'clock I'm free and clear. At last." She grinned.

"So what are you going to do then?"

Evie shrugged. "Get a job." She said somewhat disappointedly.

"But I thought…" Pony stopped, remembering he promised not to say anything about the community college.

"Nope. Just get a job." She said sadly sitting back down at the kitchen table.

Pony could tell she was really disappointed. He felt bad for her, but he didn't know what to say.

"So when are you guys leaving to go camping?" Evie asked Darry, trying to change the subject.

Darry turned around from the pot on the stove he was stirring. "Saturday morning."

"That's good. You guys will have fun. It will be good for you to get away."

Darry nodded as he noticed Pony biting into an apple. "Ponyboy do you see me cooking dinner? What are you eating for?"

"I'm hungry." He shrugged, walking out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his room.

"That boy, I swear…." Darry mumbled to himself as Evie laughed. "What?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. He's just funny. I mean I always thought of him as a little kid. And he's not. Not anymore."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Darry said stirring the pot again. "Hey Evie can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Well, you and Pony kinda talk a lot it seems like right?"

"Well, sorta I guess. I mean I'm here a lot when he gets home. So it's just the two of us. So yeah, we talk sometimes."

Darry nodded. "Is he okay?"

Evie thought about that for a second. "Well, yes and no." She saw the look on Darry's face. "No, I mean yes he's okay. It's just all this stuff going on right now. You know, with Soda still acting so weird. Which makes you act weird. And Steve's still being a jerk. And I think he just doesn't know what to do. And today was just a thing about how he's younger than everybody in his class and all his friends have their licenses and how you guys have been too busy to take him driving on his permit."

"Oh. Well thanks for taking him out. I'm guessing we aren't mentioning to Steve what may or may not have happened to his clutch during that little trip?"

"Probably a good idea." She laughed. "And you're welcome."

"Can I ask you something else?" She nodded. "Has Soda said anything to Steve? About Sandy and the baby?"

Evie shook her head. "No. And it's making him crazy. He wants him to just get over it. But Soda can't."

"I know. He hasn't said anything to me either. He just comes home, eats and pretty much just goes to his room. I wish he'd say something."

"I know. But he's got to work through this in his own time." She told him.

Ponyboy sat in his room digging through papers and stuff from the almost ended school year. He had stuff all over the place and he hadn't even started packing to go camping yet. Thank god Soda had moved out of his room. Pony's room had always been the smallest. Darry and Soda had always shared the bigger room until his parents died. More accurately until Pony had started having such bad nightmares about his parents dying that Soda had moved in with him. It would have made more sense for Darry to move into his small room and Pony to move in with Soda, but he heard Darry telling Soda how he didn't want to do that. How Pony had been through enough. He wanted to keep things as normal as possible for him. That meant keeping his room. Soda just needed to deal with it for awhile. Soda stayed with him for over a year. Gradually, Soda started sleeping on the couch downstairs. Saying there wasn't enough room for the two of them in Pony's little bedroom anymore. Truthfully there wasn't, but he didn't really think that was it. Soda was trying to see if Pony was okay without him in there. Pony knew he was. And Soda knew he was. But neither of them wanted to take the chance of thinking they were rejecting the other. So it was a gradual thing. That eventually turned into a Darry thing of why are you always sleeping on the couch. But Pony knew Darry knew what was going on too. Darry finally said it was stupid that Soda was sleeping on the couch and no one was sleeping in Mom and Dad's room. So he moved in there and Soda moved back into his old room next to Pony.

He was still sitting there going through papers and things when he heard Soda and Steve come in the front door. He couldn't help but hear them the way they were yelling at each other.

"Damn it Soda! I'm tired of this! Just get over it!"

"Shut up Steve!" Soda yelled back as he stomped up the stairs.

Pony stood in his open bedroom door as Soda stormed past, closely followed by Steve.

"No! I won't shut up! You've been moping around over her for over three weeks. She's gone. She took off! She's not worth it!"

Soda spun around and slammed Steve into wall behind him. Pony had never seen Soda like that before. Especially with Steve. Steve had a good four inches on Soda, but he was so stunned by Soda's reaction he didn't put up any fight against him.

"Shut up Steve! Just shut up! Don't you ever say that about her again!" He yelled. "And stop telling me to get over it! I'm tired of everybody telling me to just get over it! I can't get over it okay! I can't! I loved her! She left me! She had my kid and she left me! And I don't know why! I don't know why she left! I don't know why she lied to me! And I don't know why she never told me it was my kid! I don't know!" He let go of Steve and turned toward his room.

"Why don't you ask her?"

Steve spun to glare at Pony who was still standing in the doorway to his room. Pony couldn't believe those words had just come from his mouth.

"What?" Soda asked him, more out of frustration than anger at him.

"Um," Pony suddenly wished he hadn't said anything. Steve was glaring at him in an all too old familiar way. He suddenly felt like that was the end of any progress he had made with Steve, but he didn't care. He started this, he had to finish it. And it may be what Soda needed. "I ah, said why don't you ask her. I mean you're right," he shrugged meekly, "she didn't tell you. Why don't you ask her? She should tell you, but if you don't ask she can't tell you."

If looks could kill, Pony would have been dead on the floor just then. "Great idea Einstein," he growled at Pony, "but we don't know where she is."

"Tallahassee. 1927 Orchard Way, Tallahassee, Florida. At least that's where her Grandparents lived when she left." Soda recited the address he knew by heart.

"Yeah well, you don't know if she even still lives with them."

Evie felt brave. She agreed with Pony. If he wanted to know, he'd have to ask her. And he did deserve an answer. She knew Steve was just trying to protect Soda, but it wasn't working the way he wanted it to. "Susie said she was still in Florida." She said softly from the bottom of the steps where she stood next to Darry.

"What?" He roared at his girlfriend who was suddenly betraying him too.

"When I heard Susie she was saying she was still in Florida. And she said something about her grandparents. It sounded like she was still living there."

"You could go see her." Pony said softly.

"That's like 1500 hundred miles." Steve said, trying to deter him.

"It's 1100 miles." Soda said softly looking at his shoes. "I looked it up once."

"See her and ask her. Then at least you'd know the truth." Soda looked up at him and Pony got a little courage to continue. "You could go see her. Instead of going camping."

"It's a two day drive just to get there." Steve informed them.

"I'll go with you." Darry said from the bottom of the steps. "I'll take off from work and go with you."

"What about work? I don't have anybody to help me if you're gonna be gone that long." Steve said.

"I, I'll work for you Soda. I'll stay here and work for you." Pony told him. "You and Darry go and I'll stay here and work for you."

"Really?" Soda finally looked up at him. "You'd do that?"

"Of course I would." Pony told him.

"We both would." Darry added as he walked up the stairs and stood next to Ponyboy.