"They're gonna eat us?" Pony asked Soda, looking at him in alarm.
"Shhhh, here they come," Soda hissed, looking apprehensively at the stairs as two pairs of legs appeared. He felt Pony move slightly behind him.
"Well, here they are." Mrs Warren said as she, a boy and a girl reached the hall. "Jessica and Toby meet Sodapop and Ponyboy."
There was a long awkward silence as all the children looked each other up and down.
"Why do you dress so weird?" Jessica finally asked Pony and Soda, her nose wrinkling slightly.
Pony waited for Soda to invent some excellent come back, but Soda seemed to have gone into a state of shock, so Pony stepped forward instead.
"Look who's talkin'," he said with as much attitude he could muster, copying Dally's stance and defiant look that Darry had told him never to do. The girl looked slightly taken back, but recovered quickly.
"I'm talking," she said proudly. "And this is my house so I can say what I want." Pony was about to open his mouth when Mrs Warren cut in.
"Well it's good to see your all getting on so well. I'll go make you kids some cookies."
"We'll go into the playroom," Jessica continued, leading the way. Much as Soda and Pony disliked being bossed around by this pretty yet prissy girl, being in a strange house and with a slight fear in their belly's of what Darry would do if they misbehaved, they had no choice to follow. "What are your real names?"
"Sodapop and Ponyboy," Soda answered after having got over his initial shock of having one of the most popular girls in school insulting his dress sense. "Same as your Grandma told you."
"Oh," she said, clearly thinking this was extremely strange. "I thought she was joking."
"Our dad choose them," Soda said proudly, always having been fond of his and his brother's unusual names.
"Was that your dad who dropped you off?" Asked Tony, speaking for this first time.
"No," Soda said curtly, not wanting to get on to the subject of their parents. "It was our brother."
"Where's your mommy and daddy then?" Tony was obviously not taking the hint.
"They've gone up in Heaven's bucket," Pony explained, ignoring the look Soda gave him. "So they can't look after us anymore."
"My mommy and Daddy would never do that," Tony said looking shocked.
"They didn't mean to, it just sort of happened." "They'd still never leave us," Jessica continued to boast. "Our parents love us."
That did it for Soda. He just had to shut this awful girl up. He leapt forward, grabbed onto the long blond hair, and hung on as if his life depended on it.
2 hours later, Darry sat down heavily on the worn out sofa, both his brothers standing shame faced and crying in front of him. Both children had been spanked for the afternoon's activities, not particularly hard as Darry thought they'd been through quite enough in one day, but hard enough to reduce both children to tears and have them calling out heart-filled apologies.
"Alright," he said, pulling both of them closer to him. "I think you'll both think twice before getting into anymore fights don't you." He was greeted by vigorous nods. "Ok then." He pulled Ponyboy onto his lap and guided Soda to sit down next to him, slipping his arm around his shoulders. Pony immediately snuggled into his chest, deeply sorry for what he had done, but Soda sat up straight, staring at the wall in front of him.
"She said Mommy and Daddy didn't love us Darry," Pony whispered against his chest, tracing the patterns on his shirt with his fingers. "She was real mean."
"I know she was baby, but you can't go round hitting people just because they upset you."
"You just hit us because we upset you."
"No I smacked you because you'd been naughty, there's a difference."
"No there's not. That Jessica was being naughty because she was bein' mean to us so Soda smacked her.....on her face."
"Yeah well that wasn't up to you two to decide that," Darry sighed, he was having trouble explaining this to Pony. "It was up for her Grandma to decide weather she was being naughty or not." Pony seemed to except this and nodded his head slowly.
"She was still mean though. And I bet she didn't get her bottom smacked. Mrs Werran wasn't even cross with her, only us."
"It's Mrs Warren Pony. And if Jessica doesn't get a spanking she's going to grow up thinking that being mean to people is ok and not be a very nice person. Whereas you and Sodapop will grow up to be nice people because you know the difference between right and wrong and good and bad."
"If it's right and good I get a nice felling inside, if it's wrong and bad, I get my bottom smacked." Pony repeated the lesson that had been taught to him first by his parents and now Darry.
"Exactly," Darry said, looking at Soda. He's been quiet throughout the entire conversation, something that was very unusual for Soda.
"What about if something's good and wrong, or bad and right? What would happen then?"
"I don't know Pony. Look, why don't you go do some colouring ok? I want to talk to your brother."
"Ok," Pony said, happily hopping off Darry's lap, the tears dried up and the spanking forgotten about in his little 7 year old head. Darry turned to Soda.
"What's up with you little man?"
"Nothin'," Soda muttered, shrugging Darry's arm off him.
"Oh right, nothing. Your just sitting there like a dying duck in a thunder storm for no reason I suppose," Soda scowled at him. "Come on, spill."
"I told you Darry. I told you I'd hate it and I didn't want to go. I told you but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened. That bitch will tell everyone at school on Monday, all the socs will be after me. All because you didn't believe me. If I'd looked after Ponyboy all by myself like I asked you, then none of this would've happened."
"Soda, watch your mouth. Don't make me smack you again because I will you know."
"Sorry," Soda muttered sulkily. Darry put his arm round him again, Soda let him.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you earlier," Darry began, he felt Soda lean against him slightly. "It's just I had no choice. Your to young to be left on your own with Ponyboy, Soda, I know you don't think you are but it would be wrong of me to leave you with him. It wouldn't be fair on either of you so I had to find a sitter and Mrs Warren was the only person who'd have you for free at such short notice. All the guys were busy and I had to go to work, you know how short money is at the moment. You do understand don't you?"
Soda seemed to think for a minute, then nodded his head, and lent against Darry's side happily.
"Shhhh, here they come," Soda hissed, looking apprehensively at the stairs as two pairs of legs appeared. He felt Pony move slightly behind him.
"Well, here they are." Mrs Warren said as she, a boy and a girl reached the hall. "Jessica and Toby meet Sodapop and Ponyboy."
There was a long awkward silence as all the children looked each other up and down.
"Why do you dress so weird?" Jessica finally asked Pony and Soda, her nose wrinkling slightly.
Pony waited for Soda to invent some excellent come back, but Soda seemed to have gone into a state of shock, so Pony stepped forward instead.
"Look who's talkin'," he said with as much attitude he could muster, copying Dally's stance and defiant look that Darry had told him never to do. The girl looked slightly taken back, but recovered quickly.
"I'm talking," she said proudly. "And this is my house so I can say what I want." Pony was about to open his mouth when Mrs Warren cut in.
"Well it's good to see your all getting on so well. I'll go make you kids some cookies."
"We'll go into the playroom," Jessica continued, leading the way. Much as Soda and Pony disliked being bossed around by this pretty yet prissy girl, being in a strange house and with a slight fear in their belly's of what Darry would do if they misbehaved, they had no choice to follow. "What are your real names?"
"Sodapop and Ponyboy," Soda answered after having got over his initial shock of having one of the most popular girls in school insulting his dress sense. "Same as your Grandma told you."
"Oh," she said, clearly thinking this was extremely strange. "I thought she was joking."
"Our dad choose them," Soda said proudly, always having been fond of his and his brother's unusual names.
"Was that your dad who dropped you off?" Asked Tony, speaking for this first time.
"No," Soda said curtly, not wanting to get on to the subject of their parents. "It was our brother."
"Where's your mommy and daddy then?" Tony was obviously not taking the hint.
"They've gone up in Heaven's bucket," Pony explained, ignoring the look Soda gave him. "So they can't look after us anymore."
"My mommy and Daddy would never do that," Tony said looking shocked.
"They didn't mean to, it just sort of happened." "They'd still never leave us," Jessica continued to boast. "Our parents love us."
That did it for Soda. He just had to shut this awful girl up. He leapt forward, grabbed onto the long blond hair, and hung on as if his life depended on it.
2 hours later, Darry sat down heavily on the worn out sofa, both his brothers standing shame faced and crying in front of him. Both children had been spanked for the afternoon's activities, not particularly hard as Darry thought they'd been through quite enough in one day, but hard enough to reduce both children to tears and have them calling out heart-filled apologies.
"Alright," he said, pulling both of them closer to him. "I think you'll both think twice before getting into anymore fights don't you." He was greeted by vigorous nods. "Ok then." He pulled Ponyboy onto his lap and guided Soda to sit down next to him, slipping his arm around his shoulders. Pony immediately snuggled into his chest, deeply sorry for what he had done, but Soda sat up straight, staring at the wall in front of him.
"She said Mommy and Daddy didn't love us Darry," Pony whispered against his chest, tracing the patterns on his shirt with his fingers. "She was real mean."
"I know she was baby, but you can't go round hitting people just because they upset you."
"You just hit us because we upset you."
"No I smacked you because you'd been naughty, there's a difference."
"No there's not. That Jessica was being naughty because she was bein' mean to us so Soda smacked her.....on her face."
"Yeah well that wasn't up to you two to decide that," Darry sighed, he was having trouble explaining this to Pony. "It was up for her Grandma to decide weather she was being naughty or not." Pony seemed to except this and nodded his head slowly.
"She was still mean though. And I bet she didn't get her bottom smacked. Mrs Werran wasn't even cross with her, only us."
"It's Mrs Warren Pony. And if Jessica doesn't get a spanking she's going to grow up thinking that being mean to people is ok and not be a very nice person. Whereas you and Sodapop will grow up to be nice people because you know the difference between right and wrong and good and bad."
"If it's right and good I get a nice felling inside, if it's wrong and bad, I get my bottom smacked." Pony repeated the lesson that had been taught to him first by his parents and now Darry.
"Exactly," Darry said, looking at Soda. He's been quiet throughout the entire conversation, something that was very unusual for Soda.
"What about if something's good and wrong, or bad and right? What would happen then?"
"I don't know Pony. Look, why don't you go do some colouring ok? I want to talk to your brother."
"Ok," Pony said, happily hopping off Darry's lap, the tears dried up and the spanking forgotten about in his little 7 year old head. Darry turned to Soda.
"What's up with you little man?"
"Nothin'," Soda muttered, shrugging Darry's arm off him.
"Oh right, nothing. Your just sitting there like a dying duck in a thunder storm for no reason I suppose," Soda scowled at him. "Come on, spill."
"I told you Darry. I told you I'd hate it and I didn't want to go. I told you but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened. That bitch will tell everyone at school on Monday, all the socs will be after me. All because you didn't believe me. If I'd looked after Ponyboy all by myself like I asked you, then none of this would've happened."
"Soda, watch your mouth. Don't make me smack you again because I will you know."
"Sorry," Soda muttered sulkily. Darry put his arm round him again, Soda let him.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you earlier," Darry began, he felt Soda lean against him slightly. "It's just I had no choice. Your to young to be left on your own with Ponyboy, Soda, I know you don't think you are but it would be wrong of me to leave you with him. It wouldn't be fair on either of you so I had to find a sitter and Mrs Warren was the only person who'd have you for free at such short notice. All the guys were busy and I had to go to work, you know how short money is at the moment. You do understand don't you?"
Soda seemed to think for a minute, then nodded his head, and lent against Darry's side happily.