Darry got in the truck and started up the engine. Soda got in beside him and Ponyboy hopped in the back. "You always getta sit in the front." Pony complained.

"Hey, you snooze, you loose." Soda said flipping on the radio.

"Seatbelts." Darry called before pulling out onto the street. He turned the blasting radio down a bit so he could think. He looked at Pony through the rear view mirror. He was sitting back there, his arms crossed over his chest and his face slightly red from frustration and anger. Darry sighed and turned onto 5th Street. He wished that Pony would get his act together. He hated having to go through this with him all the time.

Soda reached back over and turned the radio up again and got an annoyed look from Darry but he didn't make Soda turn it back down. He just kept driving. He was not up for a 'radio volume' battle with his little brother.

"You-ah aint nothin but a hound dog… crying all the time." Soda sang as he banged on the dashboard. "You-ah aint nothin but a hound dog!" Darry smiled and rolled his eyes. Soda was such a character. Ponyboy laughed, looking up from his homework.

"Darry, a negative times a positive equals a negative, right?" Pony asked after Sodapop had calmed down a bit.

"Yeah, why?" Darry asked looking back at his little brother.

"Ponyboy Curtis! You told me you did your homework!"

"Well, I did." Ponyboy said looking back down at the paper. "I just didn't do this."

Darry sighed exasperated and turned his gaze back to the road. "When I ask you if you've done your homework I mean all if it, not just most of it." Darry said. "If you didn't do that than you should not have said you'd finished your homework!"

"Well, don't have a cow, Darry." Ponyboy said. "I only have like ten problems left or something like that. I can most likely finish it by the time we get to school."

"That isn't the point!" Darry bellowed. Ponyboy rolled his eyes. "And you know I like to look over your math homework."

"Well, it aint the end of the world if you don't one time." Pony said.

"Ponyboy, if you know what's good for you you'll quit talking back. You shoulda done your math homework last night." Pony sighed and leaned his head against the window. He decided not to say anything else. He was tired of fighting about it and afraid to test any more of Darry's patience. At least at the moment.

"Well don't just sit there." Darry spoke after a minute. "If that homework aint done by the time we get to school you're gonna catch it Pony."

"Fine!" Pony said snatching up his paper. "I'm working, ok!?"

"Don't you take that tone with me." Darry said. "Sodapop, turn the radio off."

"How come?" Soda asked.

"Just turn it off, Soda." Darry said again. Soda reached over and flipped it off reluctantly.

"Were am I going?" Darry asked himself out loud. "See Pony, you've got me so frustrated now that I'm not even paying attention to were I'm driving. I'm going in the completely opposite direction of the DX."

"It aint my fault." Pony said angrily as Darry made a U-turn and went back in the direction they came from.

"Just be quiet and do your work, Ponyboy." Darry said. "I don't want to hear you the rest of the way there."

Ponyboy looked hurt. He continued to work on his math homework quietly. "It aint my fault he went the wrong way." Ponyboy thought to himself. "Why does he have to blame everything on me?"

Soda looked back at his sad little brother. "C'mon, Dar." Soda turned to his older brother now. "Don't be so hard on him."

"Soda, not now." Darry warned. "I aint in the mood for it."

Soda had a response for that but he held it in. Darry's patience was just about gone by then. He was mad because he'd been going the wrong way half of the time and now he'd have to drive back. This would take an extra ten minutes and all three of them would be late, especially himself.

"Well I'll have plenty of time to finish this now." Ponyboy laughed.

"You'd better keep quiet kid!" Darry yelled. "It's not funny. All three of us are gonna be late."

"Will you quit hollering at me." Pony said. "All I said was…"

"I said keep quiet." Darry yelled.

"Why do I always have to shut up and keep quiet!? Pony yelled back. Why can't you just…" Pony blurted out every dirty word he could think off and continued to yell. Darry started screaming to.

"Darry, watch the road!" Soda yelled. "Darry you're gonna crash!" Darry was so busy hollering at Pony he didn't notice the red light. "Darry STOP!!!" Soda screamed. Darry slammed on his breaks but not quick enough. The truck slammed into the car in front of them.