Chapter Twelve: Soda To You

Sonia shifted uncomfortably in the seat. It was almost as hard and cold as the social worker's eyes.

"No," the woman was saying, "Your house has not been sold. It was entrusted to you in your mother's will—she came and had it made up with a lawyer in this very office, as a matter of fact. It will be held in our custody until you can claim possession of it when you are eighteen."

"Oh, okay," Sonia said calmly, though her heart was pounding out of her chest. She still had her old house key. "How will it be kept up?"

"We are not responsible for taking care of the house," the woman said sharply. "We are not housemaids here."

"All right," Sonia said nonchalantly, but smiled inwardly. Perfect.

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In the weeks that followed, Sonia returned to school in Philly and got a job. It wasn't at a gas station, but at the Indian grocery store at the end of her block. She found it hilarious that Mr. Singh, a known penny pincher, actually paid her more than the DX owner had back in Tulsa. Or maybe he just favored her because she was Indian. Either way, life was looking up.

Someone was rapping incessantly on the front door. "I'm coming," Sonia called, swiftly drying her hands on a dishtowel. "Coming, coming," she sighed as the knocking continued impatiently.

She swung open the door and her eyes bugged out, for standing there was the last person she had expected to see.

Not Soda, or Seamus, or Hannah, or even Two-Bit. It was Anne.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" were the first words out of, surprisingly, Anne's mouth.

"I ought to be asking you that question," Sonia replied dryly. "How did you get here?"

"I took the bus. And you're coming back with me."

"You seem awfully confident about that."

"You gotta come back!" Anne blurted. "It's killing Soda. Ponyboy says so. Two-Bit and Steve practically have to tie him to a chair to keep him from driving up here."

Despite herself, Sonia's heart was racing. "Why?" she demanded. "He can have any girl he wants, why me when I obviously can't stay in Tulsa?"

"Ask him yourself," Anne replied. "He sent you a letter, you know."

"I never got it. But I haven't checked today's mail either," she added, running to the stack of bills the mailman had left for her. Bill, bill, more bills...ah. There it was, a thick white envelope postmarked in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Anne peered over Sonia's shoulder as she ripped open the envelope and began reading it. "I already know what it says," Anne said. "I just wanted to read it again."

"I wasn't complaining," Sonia muttered.

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Dear Sonia,

I might not have known you long but I want you to know I love you anyways. This letter is realy hard to write, mostly cause I miss you and don't know what to say but also because I pretty much suck at writin and school stuff.

Two-Bit's worried and Steve wants to wring your neck, and I just want to see you again. Don't ask me why or how I feel this way, but I just do. I haven't felt this way about a girl since Sandy.

Please write me back, or better yet come back to Tulsa. I know its been a while, but there's still an opening at the DX. Nobody's filled it yet and actualy we're getting kind of desprat.

At least come and visit us sometime maybe, okay?

Love, Sodapop Patrick Curtis (Soda to you)

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