I sat around on the sidewalk waiting for the black caddy to pull up. Instead I got the beat up ford. Darry wasn't very happy looking. He went on to tell me that he had gotten a letter in the mail saying I was failing math. I didn't even know they sent those letters out. I would have gotten it out of the mailbox.

"Yeah, the teacher gave me a huge packet of extra credit." I said as I started out the window. I wasn't sure if I cared that Sunny smoked pot. Two-Bit tried it, I knew Dally smoked because Tim did and well they were two of a kind . It didn't really have an affect on my friends at school that did it. On the other hand, if those people from the state figured it out, we could get taken away. Pony and I could be split up. Darry would be furious.

Something poped in my face. I realized Darry had snapped his fingers in them. "Huh?" I asked

"This is why you are failing math. You can't pay attention." Darry growled. "When is that packet due?"

"The twelfth." I answered. This is why I didn't want to be in school.

"Sodapop!" Darry slammed on his breaks hard at the stop sign. "That is tomorrow!"

"Hey, I didn't agree to go back to school! I was perfectly happy working at a gas station and contributing to my family! It was you and stupid Sunny that made me go back!" I felt my face get hot. I didn't like fighting with Darry. I always ended up bawling like a baby.

"Look, I know you aren't happy, but your income isn't needed anymore. Finishing school is going to be better in the long run for you. Not to mention, the state has been off our backs since you went back to school. You need to finish, Sodapop. End of story." He rubbed his temples. "Look when we get home. We'll start on your homework." He rubbed his temples over his head.

"Wonderful." I said. There was no more to the conversation. Darry was serious. He didn't even let me take a break. We started on the math extra credit right away.

"Soda, do you have a lot of other homework?" He was paging though the packet.

"Just reading." I answered. I didn't bother to tell him I didn't have plans to actually read anything. "I also have problems one though thirty odd."

"You're going to have to catch up with that reading on your weekend." He said. "This packet is going to take all night. You shouldn't have waited last minute."

Two and a half hours later we were only on the second page. Darry was frustrated and I was frustrated. "Darry, why can't I just fail, I'm not going to learn this." I pleaded.

I was thankful for when Sunny and Pony came though the door. Darry jumped to his feet. "What did his school want?" Darry asked.

"Our brother is the biggest moron." Pony said. I could tell he was kidding.

Sunny picked Pony up and swung him on the couch. "Shut it! I let you drive."

"What's going on?" Darry demanded.

"Pony's theme, they want him to take English and history and math that will give him some college credits." Sunny said.

"Sunny traded his cadillace for a used truck!"

Darry laughed until he saw the look on Sunny's face that let him know he was serious. I watched him jog to the front door. "You moron!"

Sunny held up a wad of cash. "I think this can be used in better places."

"Why would you do that? What are the chances to ever being able to own a car like that again?" Darry just stood there shaking his head.

"Anyways, Darry. College credits!" Sunny put emphasis on college credits.

"Darry gave a rare true smile. "That's great kid."

"Yeah."

"Pony do you know anything about this x and y business?" I asked holding up my math packet.

"Sure." Pony would have gone on but Darry cut him off.

"No, he needs to learn that! You can't do his math for him. Ya, hear me Ponyboy?"He then turned to Sunny and began to explain all about my math grade.

I sat in my chair and looked Sunny up and down. He didn't look high. He looked like Sunny. I never had seen him all giggly, or stoned looking. He was always kind of spacey so you wouldn't be able to tell from that.

"Darry's making it worse!" I said in my own defense.

Darry rolled his eyes at me. "You are getting way too mouthy."

"Let me try to help him." Sunny sat down at the table across from me. He examined the packet. "Okay, this type of math looks scarier than it is. Once you simply it will be easier than you realize." He said. "And for the life of me I don't know where you will use log rythems and this type of algebra."

I smiled a little bit at least he was a lot calmer than Darry was. Not to mention Darry hollering "You just have to learn it!"That just made me all jittery.

The first game was against the North High dragons. I could hardly believe it. Coach Carter was so nervous because in gym he didn't put me against anyone much bigger than me. We had to play basketball. I never got the point of this game. Sunny loved basketball and so did Darry. I just couldn't get into it.

Coach Carter blew on his whistle, right before the guy I was playing against made a basket. The kid rolled his eyes at me. "Ponyboy, You need to go to my office with me."

He was serious. I figured he was going to say something about tonight but when I got there, there were two police officers standing inside along with the principal.

"Ponyboy, I need to talk to your about Mark Jennings."

"What about Mark?" I asked as I sat in a chair. "I haven't seen him in a while, he supposed to come to the game tonight you"

"He's been arrested." The officer cut me off.

"Do we have to do this now? This boy is supposed to play football tonight?"

"If you would like to stay in here, I would advise you to shut up and let me talk to the boy. Ponyboy, I will cut to the chase. He got arrested for possession and the possible selling of LSD. You hung around with him. Do you know anything about this, who he has been selling too, where at, anything?"

I didn't know he was selling. I got a sick feeling in my stomach. A girl Kathy I had liked, her little brother got all messed up from that stuff. For the life of me, I didn't know why anyone would do that. I wondered if he had sold to Kathy's brother. "No, sir. I didn't know he was selling."

"You spent time with him. You can honestly tell me that you didn't know?" The police officer was looking at me like I was a deliquent.

"Sir I'd get taken away from my brothers for things like that. I don't do drugs. I don't understand why someone would do them."

"Look officer, the kid said he didn't know. The boy who lived with him didn't know until last night, and he called the cops on him. We conditioned twice a day in the summer. He cut neighbors lawns for some money. Ponyboy Curtis has nothing to do with drugs or anything else."

I could tell the officers had looked at my record. They knew who I was. They new I was liked to Dally, they probably wanted to arrest me too. "Look, Ponyboy, if you know anything you let us know." He handed me a card.

"Have a nice day." Coach Carter said as he opened his office door and waved the police out. "Give me the card."

I handed the officer's card over to Coach Carter. He tore it into pieces and tossed into the trash. "You need to get better friends, or better yet just play football. This is our first game, and it's a big one."

"I'll be fine coach, but if you don't mind, I need to go outside for a minute."

"I know you have been through a lot kid. You got something going for you. Don't screw it up like your buddies. You better not smoke more than one cigarette either."

I got out of my chair and went outside. It was just now starting to get cold again. Mark and I had become pretty good buddies. Some how, it didn't surprise me either he was selling drugs. I don't know why. I wasn't exactly ready to loose another friend. Coach Carter has said buddies, he wasn't referring to just Mark. He meant Dallas, and Johnny. I lit my cigarette. Johnny wasn't hood. He had saved kids, but that didn't cover up the fact in some peoples minds that he killed Bob. Some people just wouldn't look at the fact that Bob was the real hood. Johnny saved my life.

"Can I bum one?"

I looked up to see Steve standing there. "Cutting class?"

Steve shook his head. "I saw the police, and then saw you come out. I'm sorry about Mark, it sucks loosing a friend." I handed him my box of smokes.

"Yeah, life aint going to get normal?" I wondered if Steve was talking about Soda, or if he was referring to Johnny or Dally.

Steve sat down next to me. "When is it ever? Look kid, don't get mixed in with the shit."

I looked over at Steve. "I don't want too. Getting high it just hasn't lead to good things. Bob, Johnny's parents, Mark, and MandM. Sunny drinks a lot now. I don't think he realizes how much more messed up it's making him."

I looked over at Steve. He was just staring at me like I had grown two more heads. "When the hell did you grown up?"

"Wow, is someone finally noticed."

The bell rang. Steve smashed his cigarette in the grass. "Let's get to class."

It was in history class, that the guy next to me jabbed me with his pencil. "Hey, are you related to him?" He held up a really thin book, it was hardly even a book. It read I Pledge My Allegiance by: Sunshine Curtis. It had a picture of the president with an American flag over his eyes.

I nodded. He was the type kid who would burn flags.

"Hey, if your finished can I read it?"

"Your brother is wicked! Here, I'm finished with it. Man, it must be awesome living with him!"

I stuffed the book in my backpack. It was going to be interesting to read it. Maybe get some insight to Sunny.

We hadn't even been there five minutes and girls were all over Soda.

"Maybe we should have put a mask on him." Sunny whispered.

I laughed. "Are you kidding me, I think they would be able to sniff him out. He goes to the music school now, they are either loving a sensitive artist, or they think it's mysterious."

The game was about to start. It was Pony's first game. I think I might have been more excited than he was.

"Darrel, what number is Ponyboy?" Sunny asked suddenly. He had a sharp tone.

"Twenty six." I answered then suddenly realized why his voice was no sharp. "Kickers don't start! Soda do you know anything about this, do any of you?"

Soda shook his head along with Steve and Two-Bit.

"He's a receiver." Sunny stated. "If that fucking fat ass, tackles him."

The guy behind us glared at us. "Shut up will you? Some of us are watching the game."

"Come on Pony!" Soda cheered as the ball went straight toward my youngest brother who caught it and took off running. However he went faster than a stack of bricks when not one but two guys came after him. He was sandwiched in the middle. From where I was standing it practically looked like he was snapped in half.

"Shit, that had to hurt." Sunny said.