Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders. Only Teresa Macks and Matthew Block….and technically I guess I own Mr. Meyer, too.
Chapter 6 – Soda's POV
I walked home in a daze. What's Darry gonna say? Was all that was running through my head at the moment. I carefully thought of the time when Darry had gotten mad at Ponyboy and hit him. Pony had been so upset that he had run away with Johnny. The whole soc killing-Johnny dying-Dally dying was because of it. I quickly wiped this thought from my head, not wanting to blame the whole incident on one person.
I carefully walked up the front steps to our house, holding my breath and skipping over the squeaky step that I had always made sure to hit when I was little. I opened the screen door. It moaned loudly, and I winced inwardly. I opened the wooden front door, and poked my head in. It was dead silent, exactly what I was dreading. It had been dead silent the night Ponyboy had come home, when Darry hit him. I shook my head fiercely. How would I know that? I had been asleep up until Darry had started yelling. I stepped into the living room fully now, looking around. No one. Not a soul. I craned my neck to see into the kitchen. No one there either. I suddenly relaxed when I checked the clock and remembered that Darry was at work. Ponyboy would be out doing something with his friends or Two-Bit. I plopped down on the couch, attempting to plan out what I was going to say to Darry when he got home. All I came up with was "Hi Darry, watcha doing?". I sighed, thinking hard…
Darry stared at me in disbelief.
"You what!" His eyes were wide and full of confusion and anger.
"I got fired for missing yesterday. Apparently I had taken off all my days. Yesterday was just an exception because Mr. Meyer thought I was too sick to even come to the phone." I sighed and plopped down next to him. He had his head buried in his hands.
"What are we going to do now? We can't afford to have only person employed in this house!" He said, rubbing his eyes. "…this is all my fault. I never should have called in for you yesterday….it's all my fault." Now it was my turn to stare in disbelief.
"Darry! Are you crazy! It wasn't your fault that you were sticking up for me and being protective. It just probably seemed like the right thing to do! Don't blame this on yourself, man, that'll just make it all worse." I paused for air before continuing, "I already looked through tonight's paper. There's an opening at the Dairy Queen down on Providence. I'm gonna go apply tomorrow, first thing in the morning so no one else can take it." I said, attempting to reassure him. Apparently it didn't work
"That won't work little buddy. I hate to tell you that. Providence Street is far enough away that you would have to drive, and we can't afford gas. It has to be somewhere close enough that you can walk." He massaged his temples, sighing heavily.
"Well I can use my 10 discount…." I trailed off, remembering I didn't have my 10 employee discount at the DX anymore.
"Well, what about that place down the street and around the corner from here? Oh, what's it called? You know, that gas station that hardly gets any business? You know the one I'm talking about, right Darry?" He looked up, hope in his eyes.
"yeah, that Phillips on the corner? I saw a 'Help Wanted' sign down there just today, as a matter of fact." He seemed much perkier.
"OK, I'll go apply there tomorrow, sound good?" I said, getting up. He just sat there, his head back in his hands. Apparently the hope had worn off rather quickly.
"Darry? You OK, man?" I asked, clapping him on the shoulder. He looked up.
"Sodapop, man, I don't how good we're doing financially. I'm not so sure we can even afford to keep Ponyboy in school for much longer. We might be able to afford a half of a semester. We're gonna have to take him out of the private school…" He looked like he might start to cry, but I knew he wouldn't. He was so upset about taking him out of the private school because that was where mom had wanted us all to go, even after she was gone. She had been an avid Catholic believer, and had sent us all to St. Anthony's for years. That was before I had dropped out to help with the finances.
"Well…I'll take Pony down to the Phillip's with me tomorrow morning. He's old enough to be pumping gas. He knows enough about cars to work at a gas station, right Dar?" I asked, false hope filling my voice.
"Sodapop, get a grip. You know Pony can't tell a transmission from a carburetor. He'll have to work somewhere else."
"Come on, Darry, you don't have to know that much to work at a gas station. I could be the mechanic while Pony pumps gas. All you have to know to pump gas is 'diesel or regular, ma'am?' That and where the oil reservoir is, and how to wet down a squeegee to clean bird crap off the windows. How hard can it be?" I asked, heading toward the kitchen. I hoped if I acted like the subject was closed, maybe it would be. Darry looked out the window. Pony was headed up the front walk.
"Well…I suppose it couldn't hurt to try…." He said. The front door slammed.
"What couldn't hurt?" Ponyboy asked, taking off his shoes and throwing them under the couch.
"You, little mister." Pony looked confused. "You're going with Sodapop tomorrow morning to get a job. We need more financial help around here, and you're plenty old enough to be helping." Darry informed him. Ponyboy looked over at me quizzically.
"…But….Doesn't Sodapop have a job already?" Oh crap Ponyboy. Wrong question! I pleaded to him telepathically not to go own, but it obviously didn't work. I cleared my throat loudly, and signaled for Pony to follow me into the kitchen. Darry was back to staring out the window. I sighed as I waited for Pony to come. Slowly he did, a look of genuine confusion on his face. He kept glancing from Darry to me, and back again. I followed him into the kitchen, shutting the door behind me.
"I got fired." I said plainly, getting into the cabinet to find a snack. He stared at me.
"What?" He said, trying unsuccessfully to cock an eyebrow like Two-Bit.
"I got fired for taking too many days off work. We can't afford it any more, and you might have to go to a public school. You're coming with me to get a summer job to help pay for stuff. We're applying at the Phillips around the corner tomorrow morning." I said, starting in on some saltines.
"But I don't know anything about cars!" Ponyboy said, grabbing a saltine out of the bag.
"You can pump gas. That doesn't take much. You know how to tell how much oil a car has, don't you?" He nodded. "Well, then you're all set. That, pumping gas, and washing windows are all you need to know." I said, stuffing another saltine in my mouth.
He mouthed wordlessly at me.
"No arguments. Case closed." I swallowed. "look, Ponyboy. Mom always wanted us to go to that school and the burden just got too big for me and Darry to handle by ourselves. You're old and tough enough. You can help pay for your tuition, too. Plus, Darry really wants to get you through college. He's even considered going into Mom and Dad's room and looking for the emergency money. Mom would be really happy if she knew at least one of us went through college and got a degree in only God-knows-what." I said. I got up and left the bag of saltines on the table for later.
"I'm going for a walk." I said to Darry as I walked out. He didn't even look up as I walked out the door and down the street. I wondered what he was thinking. Maybe he wished he had a girlfriend. Maybe he wished Mom and Dad were still alive. A flash of lightning and a crack of thunder interrupted my thoughts. I looked up, and a big fat drop of rain landed on my cheek. Crap was all I had time to think before it came down in buckets, dumping on my head, soaking my hair and clothes in no time. I watched as little kids down the street ran inside, covering their heads with their hands. A little one was still on top of the slide, visibly shaking. Whether from cold or from fear the everyone had left him, I couldn't tell. He sort of reminded me of Ponyboy when he was little. Always left alone when we all went to have fun. I watched as his mother came running out, wearing a baseball cap in an attempt to keep the rain off her face. She tried to coax him down, and in a matter of seconds, he was in his mother's arms and they were running for the house.
I heard a loud honking behind me. I turned and jumped out of the way as a blue Mustang roared by, splashing muddy water all over me. A Soc leaned his head out the window and yelled, "GREASE!" before they sped off. I cussed them out, thinking, Great…as if Darry's not mad enough as is… I walked off bitterly in the direction of home, thinking. Teresa never even crossed my mind after the incident earlier. I had my mind on other things…