I arrived at the house I was roofing shortly before seven. As usual, I was the first one there, besides the boss who was already walking around trying to see if we'd be done with the roof by the end of the day. He doesn't like staying at one place more than he has to.

"Hey Curtis, I need you to start carrying bundles of roofing up the ladder." The boss instructed when he saw me.

I didn't say anything, instead, I just grabbed two bundles of roofing and carried them up the ladder. As I went up the ladder, I could almost hear Ponyboy and Soda yelling at me. They don't think I should carry more than one bundle up the ladder at a time. Especially since I threw my back out a few weeks ago. But, if I don't carry two bundles at a time, I'd have to waste more time going up and down the ladder and less time actually roofing the house.

"Darry, don't strain yourself." Greg told me as he climbed up the ladder after me. "Carrying one bundle at a time isn't going to kill you."

I gave him a small grin. "Yeah? My brothers say the same thing."

"Maybe you should listen to them." Greg said. He was in his early forties. Almost the same age my father would have been if he were still alive. "You're twenty-one, Darry, you don't want to be walking around like an old man yet."

"In other words, I'm still young enough to go out and have fun?" I asked as I got to work next to him.

"Exactly. Don't let your youth pass you by." Greg told me, his blond hair blowing in his eyes.

"That's easy for you to say, you didn't have two younger brothers to take care of when you were my age." I replied.

Greg just looked at me. "Just don't be so serious all the time."

We stopped talking and worked silently next to each other. The sound of our hammers echoing in the wind as we worked. A short distance away, I could hear some of my other coworkers talking. And if I looked towards the street, I could see Soda walking to work in his bare feet, carrying his shoes and socks in his hand.

"Come on, lets get this roof finished today!" The boss yelled up to us from the ground.

"Someday, that will be you down there." Greg teased me.

"In your dreams." I replied with a grin. I was still hoping to eventually go to college and find a better career for myself. I was just waiting for Pony to finish up with high school first.

The morning went by quickly and beofre I knew it, it was time for lunch. Greg and I sat next to each other, eating what we had brought. A few of the other guys joined us. All of them older than me. I was usually the youngest one roofing houses unless the high school kids were on break and their parents insisted that they get a job instead of sitting at home all day, which was usually in the summer when we really needed the extra help.

"It's a nice day out today." Fred commented as he took a bite of the ham sandwich his wife had made for him.

The rest of us all nodded in agreement and I made a mental note to try to play a quick game of football with my brothers, Steve, and Two-Bit before I had to go to my other job later. We usually play football on Saturdays, but today was a good day for a quick game. I just had to get through another three hours of roofing the house first.