"I'm bored," Ponyboy announced for about the fourth time that morning. He had been sitting in the same spot on the couch, tossing a hackey sack up in the air and catching it for what seemed like hours.
"I have an idea little buddy... you can clean that room of yours, pass a few hours," joked Darry, from the recliner where he was reading the newspaper.
Before Ponyboy had a chance to make the smart comment he was planning, Sodapop walked into the room, after just taking a shower.
"Hey Soda, think fast!" said Ponyboy tossing the hackey sack at his brother. The hackey sack flew right past Soda and hit a framed picture hanging on the wall, knocking it to the floor with a crash.
"Oops," Pony muttered.
"Dang it Ponyboy! What are you thinkin' throwin' that thing in the house?" Darry hollered.
"Hey, it was Soda's fault for not catching it!"
Sodapop held up his hands in a don't-look-at-me gesture. "You're the one with the bad aim," Soda joked, grinning widely.
"It don't matter whose fault it is, just get it cleaned up before someone cuts their dag-gone foot." Darry sighed.
Just as Ponyboy was dumping the dustpan full of broken glass into the garbage can, the front door slammed open and Two-Bit came through the door, followed by Steve.
"Check it out fellas. I got us a game to play," Two-Bit announced, holding up a box. "It's called...Mono-poly? I swiped it from my sister, to piss her off," he chuckled.
"Uhh, I think you mean Monopoly," Ponyboy corrected, coming out of the kitchen.
"He don't know what he means," said Steve, punching Two-Bit playfully on the shoulder.
"Who cares, let's just play," Two-Bit said while dragging the card table out from behind the couch and unfolding it. Once the game was set up on the table and all the guys had pulled up a chair, Two-Bit grabbed the instructions, looked at them for a couple of seconds, then wadded them up and tossed them over his shoulder. "Too much to read."
Luckily, Darry knew how to play. He had learned a few years ago at a friend's house. He began passing out the money, explaining the gist of the game as he did so. Somehow, nobody noticed when Soda grabbed a few extra $500 bills from the stack and shoved them into his pocket.
In the meantime, Two-Bit was laughing at the little silver pieces. "Look, it's a tiny hat," he giggled while placing the little hat on Steve's head.
"Okay, cut it out guys. I'll take the first turn, just so you guys can see how it's played," Darry said, rolling the dice. He moved his piece three spaces and landed on Baltic Avenue. "Now, since nobody owns this one yet, I can buy it, see?" he asked, putting $60 into the bank and selecting the deed from the stack. "It's real easy. If one of you guys lands on my property, you have to pay rent to me."
"Hey, you never charge us rent to crash at your house!" Two-Bit complained, pretending to be offended.
Next, it was Steve's turn. He rolled a two, and moved his piece to the Community Chest. He drew a card and read out loud, "Go straight to jail, do not pass Go, do not collect $200." The guys erupted into laughter, saying things like, "Hood!" and "No-good greaser!" Steve smirked as he moved his piece to the spot marked "Jail."
On Two-Bit's turn, he rolled a 4 and moved his tiny hat to the Income Tax space. "Yeah right! I ain't paying taxes," he laughed. Sodapop snatched the cash from Two-Bit's stack and put it in the middle. "Sodapop Curtis! How dare you steal from the poor!" Two-Bit feigned shock.
Sodapop rolled a twelve and moved his piece to the Electric Company. "Hey, I can buy this one!" He announced excitedly and paid $150 to the bank. "Now I'm gonna shut off your power Two-Bit."
Steve said, "Hey buddy, shut off the power in this jailhouse so I can bust out of here."
"Nope, this ain't like real life, you gotta get out legit," Sodapop laughed.
"Okay, my turn," Ponyboy grabbed the dice.
"Nope, I got doubles so I get another turn," Sodapop held his hand out. Ponyboy dropped the dice into Sodapop's hand and pretended to glare at him. Sodapop ruffled Pony's hair and rolled the dice. He rolled a ten this time, and moved up to the Chance space. He drew a card and read it out loud. " 'Get out of jail free.' Hey, cool! I need a couple of these to carry around in my wallet." He waved the card in Steve's face. "I'll give this to ya for $2000."
Steve snorted, "Ain't worth that much buddy."
"Now it's my turn," Ponyboy tossed the dice across the board and came up with an eight. He moved to Vermont Avenue and decided to buy the property. "Y'all better stay off my land," he laughed.
"Haha, you sound like a Soc," teased Two-Bit.
After about an hour, the gang's attention spans started to reach their ends. Darry owned almost all the property on the board, with the exception of a couple owned by Ponyboy.
"This is getting boring," Two-Bit complained, and moved everyone's piece to Jail. "Now you're all in Jail and can't do nothin'."
Sodapop gathered up everyone's money and stuck it in his pocket, alongside all the bills he'd been stashing since the start of the game. "Darry may have all the property, but I'm the one with all the cash!" Steve and Two-Bit stood up and grabbed Sodapop by the arms and tipped him backwards out of his chair, causing him to kick the game board and send it flying across the room. They held him down while Ponyboy took all the money from him. Darry couldn't help but laugh, knowing he'd won the game.
"Okay, okay, you're tearing up the game, boys," Darry scolded, not really upset. "Remember, it ain't ours to destroy."
The wrestling match over the fake money broke up and Ponyboy packed the game back up in the box. Two-Bit slapped Steve on the back and said, "I guess we're gonna go find something excitin' to get into, you comin' Soda?"
"Sure am."
The three of them set out for who-knows-what, Soda tucking his Get Out Of Jail Free card into his back pocket. Ponyboy sat down on the couch, and after a minute or so, announced, "I'm bored."