One Step At A Time
Summary: When he was only two, a car accident took his leg, and his mother. Now, Ponyboy must learn to deal with life as a fourteen year old with only one leg. With the help six brothers and dad, he's just going to have to take it one step at a time. (Mr. Curtis is alive!)
Disclaimer: No, silly, I never have nor will I ever own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton owns The Outsiders. *sighs* :( I simply borrow them for my own creative enjoyment purposes.
White collar black wolf: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter. Here's the next one.
HappierThanMost: I love Darry in college as well! I'm glad I've gotten in realistic details in this story, that's always my goal. I hope you enjoyed the Soda scene in here! And literally the banter between any of the boys is my favorite to write and read. I'm so glad that you liked the chapter, I value your opinion so much! Thank you for taking the time to always review. :)
Amanda (Guest): Yay I'm so glad that you thought so! I was really insecure about the way I wrote that. And true! I'm loving Darry in college too. Thank you so much for your review love. :)
Candymouse22: I remember him saying he was heartbroken when Sodapop dropped out in the book, so I tried to show that in here. I'm glad you enjoyed the brotherly banter, that was my favorite part to write. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Kas3y: Aww, thank you so much! :) You're so kind.
Chapter 5: Drama, Dropout, and Decisions
~ Friday, September 8, 1966 ~
The bell chimed as Sodapop pushed open the door and walked into the DX gasoline station, his eyes landing on the man he was anxious to talk to; his boss, Mike. There was a bright orange dropout form sitting in his car, folded and hidden under the passenger seat, waiting for his father's signature.
"Hey, Mike? Can I talk to you before my shift starts?" Sodapop asked politely, relieved when Mike motioned for him to follow the older gentlemen into his office.
"What's on your mind, Curtis?" Mike drawled. As a World War II veteran, he referred to all of his employees by their last names; Randle, Curtis, Alvarez, Smith, and so on, and there was a rumor that he probably didn't even remember any of his employees' first names, but Soda still thought he was one of the best guys he has ever worked for.
"I was wondering if you had a position for me here full-time."
"You droppin' out of school?" Mike questioned, but he didn't sound disappointed or angry. Just curious. It was the first semi-positive reaction Sodapop had received since he told Ponyboy about his plan.
"School just isn't for me, Sir. I'm not meant for college, I'm meant to work with cars," Sodapop explained.
"You're a good worker. If you're daddy gives the green light to you dropping out, then I'm happy to have you here full-time," Mike decided, his words instantly taking a huge weight off of Soda's shoulders. The younger man stood up, shaking hands with his boss.
Sodapop walked outside, spending the remaining fifteen minutes of his shift sitting in his car with his head against the steering wheel, his mind swirling with a million different ways to tell his dad, but he knew not a single of them had a positive, argument-free outcome.
OoOoOoO
Since Sodapop laid a bombshell on him a week ago, they hadn't spoken about it since. Pony had been upset, but whenever he had an opportunity to talk to Sodapop alone, he couldn't think of what to say to convince him. That is, until Sodapop came home from work one Friday night while Ponyboy was out on the porch smoking.
"Hey, Pony," Sodapop greeted. Ponyboy didn't say anything, so Soda sat down on the porch next to his little brother and watched him light up his cigarette, but the younger boy refused to make eye contact.
"You're really mad at me, huh?"
Ponyboy sighed. "I'm just upset that you're giving up. I could help you!"
"It's a waste of time," Sodapop interjected. "You're not mad. You're just disappointed in me, aren't you?"
"A little bit," Ponyboy admitted after a pause. "I'm just disappointed that you won't stick it out two more years."
The word "disappointed" cut right through Soda, but he wasn't mad. He knew how important school was to his little brother, and this was something that would take him a while to get over.
"But I know you're gonna tell Dad tonight, so let's see what he says."
Ponyboy stood up, but before he disappeared into the house he offered Sodapop a cigarette.
"You're gonna need it," was all he said, but to Sodapop it was a peace offering of sorts, a silent agreement that although he didn't agree with Soda dropping out, he had his back. Sodapop finished out the cigarette, allowing it to take the edge off of his nerves.
OoOoOoO
No words were spoken. Sodapop just walked inside and sat a bright orange form in front of his dad, who was working on bills at the kitchen table.
"Sodapop Curtis, what is this?" Darrel's voice had a hard, warning edge to his otherwise calm demeanor.
"I'm dropping out," Sodapop explained, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.
"Not over my dead body you are," Darrel exclaimed. Sodapop sat down at the kitchen table across from his father.
"Dad, I'm not meant for school," he pleaded, begging his father to understand. "I want to work with cars, and I'm just wasting my time at school. I'm dumb anyway."
Darrel took a deep breath. "You aren't dumb, Soda. And don't you at least want a high school degree?"'
"Mike already said he'd hire me full-time, what's the point? I'm failing anyway. My math grade is at a 42%. And that's the highest it's been all year!"
"Let me think about it," Darrel decided finally.
Three days later his dad never said anything, but the dropout form reappeared on the kitchen table with Darrel's signature on the bottom right corner.
A/N: If anyone has any suggestions/requests that would be great, I'm in desperate need of a filler because I got rid of some of my ideas and now my whole outline is messed up. Plus I don't mind doing requests anyways, so send them in please!
Stay Gold,
~ Alee XxX