"Soda, I wish you'd talk to me like you used to." Pony said, softly on their way into town.
Darry looked over at the two. "Pony, don't upset him." He cautioned. It was true, his vocabulary had dramatically decreased since the death of their parents. You couldn't talk about loosing them with Soda without him having a breakdown. The doctor said it was because stress was multiplied for people with Soda's condition and Darry had to be consistently encouraging Soda to talk as much as he could.
Soda reached over and took Pony's hand in his as if to tell him it was okay. Ponyboy thought it was ridiculous that people called Soda stupid. He understood things better than most people.
"What'd you all do last night?" Steve asked when they'd ordered and sat down.
"Same as usual." Darry said.
"Went to a movie, but I didn't catch much of it if ya' know what I mean." Dally smiled.
"Soda was hanging out with a hot broad all day yesterday." Two-Bit quipped.
"What?" Steve asked, looking up.
"Shut the hell up Two-Bit." Darry said.
"What in the world is He talking about?" Steve demanded. Johnny whispered something to Ponyboy but Darry didn't catch it. Pony rolled his eyes.
"He means Monique stupid." Pony said. Steve glared at him but than his eyes lit up at the humor of it.
"So Two-Bit wants to get down with the babysitter." Steve said and there was an uproar of laughter from the table. Pony's ears turned visibly red. Darry hid his grin and fixed Steve with a stern glare.
"You wanna watch your mouth in front of my kid brothers, huh?"
"Awe, c'mon Darry. She aint to bad to look at now is she?" Two-Bit asked. It was true Monique was beautiful but she was socy. She had a degree in child psychology and the address her checks were mailed to certainly wasn't on the east side. Thankfully the state paid for such expenses though. Due to Soda's condition Darry was allotted forty hours of childcare a week and Monique was a teacher as well which conveniently took care of Soda's education.
"You just keep your hands off." Darry ordered. "I can't have her running away because some hairy grease monkey like you won't leave her be."
"Don't worry your pretty little head." Two-Bit reassured. "She's a college grad and she works for a living. I don't think I'd have a chance anyways." He said and knew it was the truth.
"Damn right you wouldn't." Dally said.
"You think you'd have a good chance with her then?" Johnny pointed out. Everybody stopped. Dally glared at him dangerously. It was on a rare occasion that Johnny talked back to anyone let alone Dallas Winston. But Johnny was Dally's pet and everyone knew it. The front of his lips slowly turned up and he ruffed the kids hair.
"Smart ass." He said.
"Smart ass." Soda repeated. Two-Bit doubled over laughing and almost fell onto the floor, earning an annoyed glance from the waitress.
"Dallas can't you watch your mouth?" Darry said angrily. "You know he repeats stuff. And Soda…" Darry looked at him pointedly. "I don't like that word." Soda looked away ashamed. Which word didn't he like? Smart or ass? Darry was confusing sometimes. He liked lost of words but every now and then he found some that he didn't like. It was hard to keep them straight. "Because that's not a nice word." Darry offered some explanation when Soda looked troubled.
"Nicer than a lot of things I could've said." Dally mumbled.
Pony rolled his eyes at Darry's lack of understanding. "He means he don't like the word ass, Soda. Smart is fine." Pony leaned over and explained. "Understand?" Soda nodded.
"Right." Darry said, annoyed that he hadn't figured the problem out first. Ponyboy understood Soda better than anybody and Darry wished he shared this gift.
The food came and everything quieted down for a few minutes, to Darry's relief. About half way through the meal Soda put his head in Darry's lap and stuffed French fries into his mouth.
"Soda, sit at the table nice." Darry patted his arm to get his attention. Soda sat up and sighed. He reached across the table for the ketchup, nearly knocking over Steve's Pepsi and Two-Bit handed it to him quickly. Soda gave Two-Bit a thumbs up.
"You're welcome." Two-Bit winked at Darry who looked pleased with Soda's direct response. "I'm gonna go over to the nightly double tonight. It's my day off."
"Every day is your day off." Dally reminded.
Two-Bit nodded with a knowing grin. "Yup. Anybody wanna tag along?"
"Darry, can I go?" Pony asked. "Johnny, come with us, huh?" Pony asked. Johnny nodded.
"Are you done with that report that's due on Monday?" Darry asked
Pony looked down at his lap. "Not completely but I've done half of it. I'll finish it tomorrow Darry." He reassured him, hoping like crazy that he'd allow it.
"You're not going if that reports not done Ponyboy."
"Why not?" Pony asked, frustrated. "I have all day Sunday to work on it."
Steve chimed in. "And you won't. You'll get home late, and sleep till the afternoon. Then you'll lounge around all day."
"Shut your trap, Steve. Nobody asked you." Pony said. Steve Randall was capable of hitting Ponyboys last nerve and right now he certainly wasn't helping him get around Darry, who was increasingly strict about schoolwork. He would have used some other choice words with Steve but Darry was right there and that would have killed his chances of going anywhere that evening.
"Ponyboy." Darry warned but gave Steve a look. Pony didn't need anyone helping to fuel his teenage temper. Goodness knew he was entirely capable of getting himself worked up into a hormonal fit all by himself.
"What if I finish the rough draft tonight and than you can go over it an' tomorrow I'll do all the corrections?" Pony compromised.
"Will you do a good job, and not rush through it?" Darry pressed. He didn't want Pony writing it hastily just so he'd be allowed out. That would defeat the entire purpose. Pony nodded.
"All-right. I reckon that's fine, long as you're home on time." Darry said, though he was worried about the evening he had ahead of himself. Soda was difficult to put to bed as it was but without Ponyboy present he'd have an even bigger challenge on his hands. "And no sneaking under the fence. You have an allowance. Go in the legal way, yah hear?"
"Sure Darry." Pony agreed, knowing that Two-Bit would probably talk him out of it though.
Soda handed his empty coca cola cup to Darry, wanting him to ask for more. "No, you've had three. That's enough. Finish your lunch." Soda reached over for Steve's then. Darry took a hold of his hand firmly and brought it back. "I said no, and you know better than to take someone else's." Soda stomped but didn't persist. He'd have drunk ten if Darry would let him. Steve looked at Soda as if to tell him he'd have given him the drink if Darry'd not been there. Soda laughed loudly at the silent shared defiance, causing Steve to chuckle to.
"Don't encourage him, Steve. He'll get all riled up." Darry said. Soda shook his head but began to bounce up and down in his seat, making the whole booth shake. "Sit nice." Darry placed a hand on his leg to still him. "Finish up guys, he's not gonna last much longer." He cautioned his friends, knowing that Soda had nearly reached his limit of sitting still. Soda made a noise of frustration and placed his head on Darrys shoulder, as if in agreement. "Almost done, Pepsi-Cola." He reassured him. They finished up within the next few minutes and Soda was relieved to head outside into the fresh air where he leapt out onto the sidewalk enthusiastically.
"Only he can jump around like that after a huge meal." Dally said.
"Oh yeah?" Two-Bit jumped high in the air and trotted along next to Soda. He flipped and made to start walking on his hands.
"Two-Bit don't teach him that." Darry insisted. Little did Darry know it had already been taught and Soda got down on his hands and began to show off this trick with glee. Pony laughed. "I wanna try that."
"No." Darry pulled him back by his shirt when he made to participate in the escapade. "Soda, stand up." Soda had no intention of listening but he lost his balance and tumbled over onto his backside. Dally just shook his head. He didn't understand Soda for the life of him but the kid was funny, he had to admit. Soda looked bewildered at first and Darry was afraid he might cry. Then Two-Bit slapped him on the back and went on about how he was the most talented hand walker in the world and Soda looked pleased.
Darry picked him up of the ground and dusted him off and Soda resumed his hopping down the sidewalk. "Hey the trucks this way buddy." Steve said. Soda seemed oblivious to this though.
"Soda." Darry clapped his hands and Soda finally looked over. "Lets go." They loaded up and headed home.
---------------------
"You get back here on time. Hear me?" Darry said, as Pony headed out the door to meet Two-Bit and Johnny.
"I heard you the first ten times, Darry." Pony snapped.
"Ponyboy Curtis don't you get mouthy or you aint going anywhere. I want you back here by eleven. Any later and you better believe I'll have something to say about it. Saturday night, everybody and their mothers are out looking for trouble. Be careful, understand?"
"Yeah." Pony sighed and stomped out, the door slamming behind him.
Darry sighed, aggravated. Soda looked out the window, anxiously at Pony walking down the sidewalk. "He'll be back tonight buddy. Don't worry." Soda hated it when Pony wasn't around to play with him. He wished he didn't have school all day during the week. Darry went to retrieve Sodas schedule. "Time for you to sit down and read." He said pointing to the picture of the book. Monique had requested that Darry have Soda read, outside of school for ten minutes every evening since he had been hitting a brick wall in that area. He could do math at the level of a fifth grader but could only read at the level of a second grader.
"Never." Soda flopped back down onto the ground, placing his train on the tracks.
"Soda, turn the train off." Darry said with forced patience. He was exhausted already from the earlier events. "Darry, no!" Soda insisted. He wanted to play with the train. He hated reading.
Darry bent down and lifted Soda up, as best he could, since Soda immediately forced all of his weight back down. But Darry managed to set him on the couch and Soda buried his face in the cushions between the armrest, knowing that Darry's action meant he was punished which meant Darry was displeased. Soda hated it when anybody was unhappy with him and he hated reading so he started to cry bitterly.
It pained Darry to hear it. When Soda cried it always made Darry feel like a horrible person. Still, he didn't dare give in and sat down to read his paper, pasting a solid look on his face for the times that Soda decided to steal a look over and then go back to wailing. "Soda, calm yourself down." Darry said after a while. Then he was shocked when Soda sat up and spit at him. Darry shot up out of his chair, all compassion gone. "That's your warning!" Darry cautioned pointing his finger at Soda's surprised face. "And it's the only one you're gonna get. If you don't stop this the trains gone all day tomorrow." Darry warned, hoping he wouldn't have to carry out on that threat. That would be near impossible since they'd all be sitting around the house tomorrow, no work and no school.
"NO!" Soda yelled out in horror.
"Then stop it!" Darry yelled, his patience gone. Yelling at Soda was no good. He massaged his temples as he contemplated how to handle the seemingly impossible situation. Soda's lip quivered a little bit in his frustration and he refused to look at Darry. "Take a minute and calm down. Then go pick out your book." Darry said, quieting his tone and hoping that Soda had tired himself out. Darry was exhausted.
Four hours later Soda was drifting off to sleep in Darrys bed. Darry moved carefully and took Soda's head off his shoulder, placing it on the pillow. Soda stirred and Darry held his breath. It hadn't been easy to get him to sleep without Pony there. Thankfully he just rolled over onto his stomach and let out a sleepy sigh. Darry glanced at the clock and headed out to the living room. It was 11:15 and there was no sign of Ponyboy. He grunted angrily. This was not something that he wanted to deal with on top of everything else. He stormed into the kitchen and did the dishes quietly, as much as he'd like to bang around he couldn't handle Soda waking up. Darry puttered around in a state of growing worry but two hours later Ponyboy still wasn't home and he feared the worst.