……………………….A Cautious Optimism

The bullet wound, with the help of some heavy duty narcotics, had become bearable. The judge granted us a review in a month, and based on how Johnny was doing, the trial might resume.

I visited Johnny once a week, Wednesday, and brought various friends of his with me. I'd go to the Curtis' house Wednesday afternoon, roughly the time Ponyboy got home from school. I never knew who I'd find there, due to the irregularity of the boys' schedules. On this particular Wednesday it was just Ponyboy, sitting at the kitchen table behind a pile of schoolbooks.

"Hi, Mr. Williams," he said, just glancing at me before going back to flipping through his text books.

"Hi,"

I could tell by the intense way he was working on this assignment that he probably wouldn't come with me to see Johnny.

"Mr. Williams?"

"Yeah?" I had sat at the kitchen table with him and was reading the spines of his school books.

"Johnny's missed an awful lot of school,"

I nodded, noticed how yellow the sunlight looked coming full force through the bay window, no curtains to dull it.

"It's the least of his worries," I said. Ponyboy shrugged.

"He'll probably quit anyway,"

"Maybe,"

It staggered me, for just a moment, how badly I wanted Johnny to be found not guilty, to be able to quit school or do anything else. Because I could still drop the ball, despite Clyde's help, he could still end up in the electric chair.

"Coming today?" I said. He shook his head.

"Can't. Too much work. Tell him I said 'hi' and I'll go next week, 'kay?"

"Sure,"

"Oh, uh, Mr. Williams?"

"Yes?"

"Could you wait for Soda? He said he wants to see Johnny today, he's gonna leave work early,"

I nodded, went to get some water to wash down my pills, and sat on the couch to wait for Sodapop Curtis.

………………………….Soda

Sodapop was, as Ponyboy put it, "movie star handsome,". When he was in a room it was hard to keep your eyes off of him.

He had more energy than Ponyboy and Darry. They had a calmness, a steadiness. Soda bounced off the walls.

"Hey, Mr. Williams, thanks for waiting," He shook my hand, headed to the kitchen, ruffled Ponyboy's hair, poured a glass of milk, unbuttoned his shirt.

He drank half the glass at one gulp, shrugged out of his shirt.

"Let me take a quick shower and we'll go, alright?" Before I could answer he was in the bathroom and I heard the shower running.

…………………………A Little Better

I could tell the hospital intimidated Soda but he was trying hard not to show it.

"How is he?" he whispered to me as we followed the orderly to his room.

"He's okay. He's a little better,"

And somehow he was a little better. It was by excruciating millimeters, but he was getting better.

His back was to us and he was flipping through a book. Probably "Gone With the Wind". Ponyboy had brought it for him last week.

"Johnny?" I said. I could feel the energy coming off of Soda in waves. Johnny turned around at the sound of my voice.

He was sleeping better. The dark circles under his eyes were gone. And he was losing that drawn, pinched look.

"Hi. Hey, Soda," The pleasure in his voice at seeing Soda was apparent.

"Hey, kid, how are ya?" Soda went over and ruffled Johnny's hair, same as he did with Ponyboy.

"Okay," Johnny said softly, ducked his head, and actually smiled.