Soda's POV
"Sodapop Patrick Butler, get your ass down here this minute!"
What the hell was my dad yelling at me for this early in the morning? It was Saturday and I could sleep until any time, as long as it was before noon. Well, I knew I had to go any ways or else my dad would kill me.
"You called, sir?"
"Hurry up and come down the stairs."
I hurried down, and saw he was holding a letter in his hand. I noticed it had the school crest on it. I went to this private school called Kingston Institute. You were normally supposed to stay in the dorms over there, but pops wouldn't allow it. I had to come home everyday no matter what. I hated the school. There were so many conceited bastards. Everyone was all about the money, and they were always bragging about it. It was so annoying. I mean there were some people who didn't care about all the money they had, me being one of them. I mean, yeah, mom and dad were rich, but I didn't care.
Well anyways, my dad was holding one of those very important looking letter. Damn I knew I was in trouble.
"Do you know what this is!?" he asked me.
"A letter from school?"
"Look, don't get smart with me if you know what's good for you!"
"Well, you asked me a question and I answered it," I said calmly.
"I'm warning you Soda."
"Okay, okay. I'll shut up."
"Well, you're right it is a letter. You know what it says?"
I shook my head.
"They said that Thursday morning they saw you jumping the gate! Naturally you would have been arrested for ditching, but they decided not to say a word because something else happened!" He stopped talking for quite a while. When I couldn't stand the suspense any longer I asked, "Yes?"
"YOU FUCKIN' FLUNKED OUT OF SCHOOL!"
"What!? But How!?"
"That's the exact same question I'm asking! HOW?"
"But, but, the teachers said I was doing okay. I wasn't getting A's or B's but I wasn't flunking!"
"That's not what the principal said!"
"But, they didn't even give me a goddamn warning! They never said to me 'you better pull your grades up or you'll be flunking out of school.' I swear they didn't."
"Okay, this is what I'll do. I'll talk the headmaster to work this all out. I'll tell him to give you one more chance, but now that I've gotten this letter you'll be working your ass off. There isn't going to be anymore free time on Saturdays, but since at least need one day of rest, you can keep Sunday. You will keep your free time at the end of the day, but only to get ready for bed, and write to your brother, understood?"
"Yes, sir."
We both calmed down, but I knew my dad was still kinda mad. I was relieved when he said I could still write to Ponyboy because that was the main thing that was bugging me. I worryin' about not being able to keep in touch with him.
"Okay, you're may go Soda."
"Thank you, sir."
I left without another word. I hoped they would let me back into the school, or else my dad would go insane. I wish my mom was here. She was home for the first week, but then she had to go to New York for business. She was a kind woman, and I really liked her. She is a great woman, and I knew that once she came back she would be a great mother.
As I went into my room, I heard my phone ringing. My dad had decided that I should have my own line, so that my dad didn't have to stop me from talking to my brother when he needed to use the phone.
I picked up he phone. "Hello?"
"Hello, may I speak to Sodapop, please?"
"This is he."
"Oh, hey Soda. It's me, Ponyboy. I didn't recognize your voice over the phone. How are you?"
He sounded so damn polite. "I'm okay. I kinda flunked out of school, though. My pops went nuts and we kinda got in a row."
"What!? How can you flunk out of school?"
"I've told you before. I'm stupid. I ain't like you and Darry. I'm surprised I didn't just quit school."
"Well it's good that you haven't dropped out yet, but still. Flunking out!?"
"Yeah. I was surprised as you are. No teacher ever told me I was failing a class, like they do with the other morons of the class."
"Well, that isn't fair. Is anyone going to do anything about it?"
"My dad is gonna talk to the headmaster, but if he won't give me another chance I'm dead. I mean if my dad doesn't kill me, he's probably gonna send me to some other private school."
"Which one?"
"Well, I don't know. He hasn't said anything yet. God, I'm hating him right now."
"You're always hating him. You keep talking about how hard he is on you."
"He is hard on me, and I hate it. He won't even let me go out of the house on weekends. He won't let me go to Tulsa to go visit the old buddies."
"I'm going tomorrow. My mom is taking me because she's going to visit a friend of hers. I asked her if I could go because I have friends there too, so she said 'yes'."
"Lucky you. Hey do me a favor and say hi to everyone for me. Oh and check up on Steve. Ask him about Sandy. Okay?"
"Yeah, okay. Well, I got to go."
"Oh, okay. Thanks for calling."
"No problem. Well good-bye."
"See ya."
I hung up the phone and then just lay on my bed. It was only 11:30a.m. I decided to get up and take a nice cold shower. I walked to the bathroom and got undressed. After 30 minutes I got out of the shower, and walked to the sink. I noticed a beard was starting to grow, so I started shaving. When I finished I got dressed. I went downstairs, and since it was around 12:15 I had to eat brunch. My dad wasn't home at the moment so I had the house to myself. I made myself I honey ham sandwich. All I did was put honey instead of mayonnaise and mustard. Then I put in the ham. That was the first food invention I made for a long time. It tasted pretty good.
"You already made yourself a lunch, Mr. Butler?"
It was the maid's daughter. She was around my age, or a little younger. I didn't know her to well as she rarely came out of her room. She had green eyes, and long dark brown hair. She was Hispanic, and was really good looking. I didn't know to many Hispanics, as they mostly lived in California, New Mexico, and Texas. They were less around here, but there were still plenty.
"Where's your mom?"
"She had to go shopping for food, and left me in charge."
"Oh. Well, yeah I made me a honey ham sandwich."
"Honey ham?"
"Honey with ham."
"Invention of yours?"
"Yeah."
"Interesting. What's it taste like?"
"I don't know. I haven't tried it yet."
"Well, I better get to work or else my mother will throw a fit."
"You wanna try the sandwich?"
"No, thank you. I'm not really hungry."
"It's only trying it, not eating the whole thing."
"It belongs to you, sir. You eat it."
"No. I'm giving you an order. Try the sandwich."
"No."
"Are you objecting my authority?" I said in a mocking way.
"Okay, fine. I'll try your sandwich."
She took the sandwich out of my hand and took a bite.
"Well, how is it?" I asked.
"Mm...It tastes great!"
"Glad you like it. You want me to make you one?"
"No, thank you, sir."
"Stop calling me sir. I ain't old you know. My name's Sodapop, but you can call me Soda."
"Okay, Soda."
"Hey what's your name?"
"Elizabeth," she said simply.
"So how bout that sandwich?"
"No, thank you. I can make one myself. You shouldn't trouble yourself."
"No trouble at all, honestly. It's not like I have anything better to do."
"You don't have anything to do on a Saturday?"
"Yup. Absolutely nothing."
"That's surprising. You'd think that a guy like you would be on a date with a girl or something."
"Yeah, well I ain't out on a date, so I can easily make you that sandwich."
"Well, if you insist."
"Okay, I'll be right back."
"I'll be upstairs in the bathroom."
"Okay."
I walked to the kitchen and got bread, honey, and ham. I just finished my own sandwich and was quite good, so I decided I would make another one for me.
I finished both sandwiches and I walked upstairs to give Elizabeth hers.
"Here you go."
She smiled and said, "Thank you. Hey, let's go down to the dining room. I really don't feel comfortable eating in the bathroom."
I laughed and said, "Yeah, me either."
We walked down to the dining room.
"So, Soda...how do you like it here?"
"I liked it better in Tulsa."
"Oh is that where you lived? How was it over there?"
"It was great. I lived my whole life there. I had 4 great friends. Dallas, Johnny, Two-bit, his real name's Keith, but everyone calls him Two-Bit because he's always gotta get his two-bits worth in. And then there's my best friend Steve. I have a great brother named Ponyboy, and there's my...uh, other brother Darrel.
"We had good times there. You know me and Steve would go dancing with our girlfriends almost all the time, and then after we took them home we'd have a drag race with some other guys."
"What was your girlfriend's name?"
"Um...Sandy."
"Oh, well it was nice talking to you. I really have to get back to work now. See you around."
"Yeah, okay. Bye."
With that she went to do her chores. She was a nice girl, and I now thought that maybe my life here won't be so bad.
"Sodapop Patrick Butler, get your ass down here this minute!"
What the hell was my dad yelling at me for this early in the morning? It was Saturday and I could sleep until any time, as long as it was before noon. Well, I knew I had to go any ways or else my dad would kill me.
"You called, sir?"
"Hurry up and come down the stairs."
I hurried down, and saw he was holding a letter in his hand. I noticed it had the school crest on it. I went to this private school called Kingston Institute. You were normally supposed to stay in the dorms over there, but pops wouldn't allow it. I had to come home everyday no matter what. I hated the school. There were so many conceited bastards. Everyone was all about the money, and they were always bragging about it. It was so annoying. I mean there were some people who didn't care about all the money they had, me being one of them. I mean, yeah, mom and dad were rich, but I didn't care.
Well anyways, my dad was holding one of those very important looking letter. Damn I knew I was in trouble.
"Do you know what this is!?" he asked me.
"A letter from school?"
"Look, don't get smart with me if you know what's good for you!"
"Well, you asked me a question and I answered it," I said calmly.
"I'm warning you Soda."
"Okay, okay. I'll shut up."
"Well, you're right it is a letter. You know what it says?"
I shook my head.
"They said that Thursday morning they saw you jumping the gate! Naturally you would have been arrested for ditching, but they decided not to say a word because something else happened!" He stopped talking for quite a while. When I couldn't stand the suspense any longer I asked, "Yes?"
"YOU FUCKIN' FLUNKED OUT OF SCHOOL!"
"What!? But How!?"
"That's the exact same question I'm asking! HOW?"
"But, but, the teachers said I was doing okay. I wasn't getting A's or B's but I wasn't flunking!"
"That's not what the principal said!"
"But, they didn't even give me a goddamn warning! They never said to me 'you better pull your grades up or you'll be flunking out of school.' I swear they didn't."
"Okay, this is what I'll do. I'll talk the headmaster to work this all out. I'll tell him to give you one more chance, but now that I've gotten this letter you'll be working your ass off. There isn't going to be anymore free time on Saturdays, but since at least need one day of rest, you can keep Sunday. You will keep your free time at the end of the day, but only to get ready for bed, and write to your brother, understood?"
"Yes, sir."
We both calmed down, but I knew my dad was still kinda mad. I was relieved when he said I could still write to Ponyboy because that was the main thing that was bugging me. I worryin' about not being able to keep in touch with him.
"Okay, you're may go Soda."
"Thank you, sir."
I left without another word. I hoped they would let me back into the school, or else my dad would go insane. I wish my mom was here. She was home for the first week, but then she had to go to New York for business. She was a kind woman, and I really liked her. She is a great woman, and I knew that once she came back she would be a great mother.
As I went into my room, I heard my phone ringing. My dad had decided that I should have my own line, so that my dad didn't have to stop me from talking to my brother when he needed to use the phone.
I picked up he phone. "Hello?"
"Hello, may I speak to Sodapop, please?"
"This is he."
"Oh, hey Soda. It's me, Ponyboy. I didn't recognize your voice over the phone. How are you?"
He sounded so damn polite. "I'm okay. I kinda flunked out of school, though. My pops went nuts and we kinda got in a row."
"What!? How can you flunk out of school?"
"I've told you before. I'm stupid. I ain't like you and Darry. I'm surprised I didn't just quit school."
"Well it's good that you haven't dropped out yet, but still. Flunking out!?"
"Yeah. I was surprised as you are. No teacher ever told me I was failing a class, like they do with the other morons of the class."
"Well, that isn't fair. Is anyone going to do anything about it?"
"My dad is gonna talk to the headmaster, but if he won't give me another chance I'm dead. I mean if my dad doesn't kill me, he's probably gonna send me to some other private school."
"Which one?"
"Well, I don't know. He hasn't said anything yet. God, I'm hating him right now."
"You're always hating him. You keep talking about how hard he is on you."
"He is hard on me, and I hate it. He won't even let me go out of the house on weekends. He won't let me go to Tulsa to go visit the old buddies."
"I'm going tomorrow. My mom is taking me because she's going to visit a friend of hers. I asked her if I could go because I have friends there too, so she said 'yes'."
"Lucky you. Hey do me a favor and say hi to everyone for me. Oh and check up on Steve. Ask him about Sandy. Okay?"
"Yeah, okay. Well, I got to go."
"Oh, okay. Thanks for calling."
"No problem. Well good-bye."
"See ya."
I hung up the phone and then just lay on my bed. It was only 11:30a.m. I decided to get up and take a nice cold shower. I walked to the bathroom and got undressed. After 30 minutes I got out of the shower, and walked to the sink. I noticed a beard was starting to grow, so I started shaving. When I finished I got dressed. I went downstairs, and since it was around 12:15 I had to eat brunch. My dad wasn't home at the moment so I had the house to myself. I made myself I honey ham sandwich. All I did was put honey instead of mayonnaise and mustard. Then I put in the ham. That was the first food invention I made for a long time. It tasted pretty good.
"You already made yourself a lunch, Mr. Butler?"
It was the maid's daughter. She was around my age, or a little younger. I didn't know her to well as she rarely came out of her room. She had green eyes, and long dark brown hair. She was Hispanic, and was really good looking. I didn't know to many Hispanics, as they mostly lived in California, New Mexico, and Texas. They were less around here, but there were still plenty.
"Where's your mom?"
"She had to go shopping for food, and left me in charge."
"Oh. Well, yeah I made me a honey ham sandwich."
"Honey ham?"
"Honey with ham."
"Invention of yours?"
"Yeah."
"Interesting. What's it taste like?"
"I don't know. I haven't tried it yet."
"Well, I better get to work or else my mother will throw a fit."
"You wanna try the sandwich?"
"No, thank you. I'm not really hungry."
"It's only trying it, not eating the whole thing."
"It belongs to you, sir. You eat it."
"No. I'm giving you an order. Try the sandwich."
"No."
"Are you objecting my authority?" I said in a mocking way.
"Okay, fine. I'll try your sandwich."
She took the sandwich out of my hand and took a bite.
"Well, how is it?" I asked.
"Mm...It tastes great!"
"Glad you like it. You want me to make you one?"
"No, thank you, sir."
"Stop calling me sir. I ain't old you know. My name's Sodapop, but you can call me Soda."
"Okay, Soda."
"Hey what's your name?"
"Elizabeth," she said simply.
"So how bout that sandwich?"
"No, thank you. I can make one myself. You shouldn't trouble yourself."
"No trouble at all, honestly. It's not like I have anything better to do."
"You don't have anything to do on a Saturday?"
"Yup. Absolutely nothing."
"That's surprising. You'd think that a guy like you would be on a date with a girl or something."
"Yeah, well I ain't out on a date, so I can easily make you that sandwich."
"Well, if you insist."
"Okay, I'll be right back."
"I'll be upstairs in the bathroom."
"Okay."
I walked to the kitchen and got bread, honey, and ham. I just finished my own sandwich and was quite good, so I decided I would make another one for me.
I finished both sandwiches and I walked upstairs to give Elizabeth hers.
"Here you go."
She smiled and said, "Thank you. Hey, let's go down to the dining room. I really don't feel comfortable eating in the bathroom."
I laughed and said, "Yeah, me either."
We walked down to the dining room.
"So, Soda...how do you like it here?"
"I liked it better in Tulsa."
"Oh is that where you lived? How was it over there?"
"It was great. I lived my whole life there. I had 4 great friends. Dallas, Johnny, Two-bit, his real name's Keith, but everyone calls him Two-Bit because he's always gotta get his two-bits worth in. And then there's my best friend Steve. I have a great brother named Ponyboy, and there's my...uh, other brother Darrel.
"We had good times there. You know me and Steve would go dancing with our girlfriends almost all the time, and then after we took them home we'd have a drag race with some other guys."
"What was your girlfriend's name?"
"Um...Sandy."
"Oh, well it was nice talking to you. I really have to get back to work now. See you around."
"Yeah, okay. Bye."
With that she went to do her chores. She was a nice girl, and I now thought that maybe my life here won't be so bad.