Stupid doctor, Ponyboy thought waking up the next morning with a headache. He'd tried so hard not to fall asleep but that sedative was to strong and he wished the doc hadn't written out that prescription. All because Darry's all worried since I ain't sleeping. He wouldn't sleep neither if he kept having that dream. Pony thought. Darry had been right though. He'd been to tired to dream anything. He threw off the covers and got out of bed to go fill his empty stomach. "Darry? Soda?" He yelled. Everything was to quiet.

"We're in the kitchen, kiddo." Darry said.

"What time is it?" He mumbled, making his way to the ice-box.

"It's six o'clock." Soda answered, his mouth full of chocolate cake.

Pony glanced out the window. "And it's already light out?"

"It's six p.m. Ponyboy. I told you, you were tired. You slept all the way through the night and today." Darry said.

"You even slept through the fight that took place in our living room with Steve and Evie. She barged right in here and grabbed him." Soda piped up. "I think she was just about trying to kill him. I ain't ever seen her act that way before and I am on Steve's side for the most part but gosh, you can't really blame her for being ticked off at him when he-" Soda went on but Ponyboy didn't hear him. He had something else on his mind.

"You both went to work today?" Pony asked when Soda had finished the story. He noted Soda had his DX shirt on and Darry's clothes had some company's name written on them. Pony figured it was from his new job.

"Yes, and you were just fine here by yourself." Darry answered.

"You left me alone all day!?" He shrieked.

"You were fine by yourself just like I told you, you would be and tomorrow you'll be fine by yourself as well."

Ponyboy sighed but didn't say anything else about it, even though the idea of being left alone scared him. He got the silverware and walked out into the dinning/living room to set the table.

"You wanna come to the Dingo with me and Steve tonight?" Soda asked. Pony glared at him, something he rarely did. He was tired of his brothers trying to get him to leave the house. Soda sighed and dropped the subject.

"You've still got till tomorrow before you can go anywhere, Sodapop." Darry said. He was at the stove fixing spaghetti and meatballs.

"Oh c'mon, Darry. What's one more day?"

"You bug me about it anymore and it'll be two more days." Darry said, tired and not in the mood for an argument. Soda rolled his eyes and finished off his last bite of chocolate cake before going into the living room to watch TV.

"How was the first day?" Pony asked, Darry.

"It was all-right. I'll get the hang of it but I ain't to partial to only using one arm. Sometimes I'm about to pick something heavy up and then I remember my left arm is in this sling.

"Your arm hurt?"

"Sometimes." Darry admitted. "It'll pass though. Pony, you gotten any schoolwork done recently?" Darry asked.

"I called up Tom yesterday and he gave me English and History for the past few days but I haven't gotten around to all of it." Pony walked back into the kitchen to find something to eat. He wasn't about to wait for dinner when he was this hungry.

"If you wanna have have a lot of free time over the summer I suggest you catch up on everything when you get back and bring your grades back up and keep them up. I'll put you in summer school this year if I have to. Also your school just sent home a letter the other day about midterms in two weeks from now and you'd better pass those with flying colors. Hear me?"

"I will." Pony mumbled. "I ain't as far behind as it seems." Ponyboy picked up an apple and hoisted himself up onto the counter, resting his head against the cabinet.

"Oh, what's the use." Darry said, aggravated, throwing down the spoon. "Ponyboy, do me a favor and finish up the spaghetti. I'm just making a mess using only one hand. Pony hopped off and went over to the stove.

"Darry when is it that I'm aloud back in school again?"

"Next Thursday."

"What's today?" Pony asked.

"It's Friday. You've got detention tomorrow from eight to three." Darry said.

"Seven whole hours of detention?"

"Hey, you asked for it, kiddo."

"Well, I ain't going."

"If you don't show up they'll give you an additional seven hours and you are going, regardless of your fear to leave the house."

Pony started to cry, thinking about going outside. "But I can't go! I've already told you I can't and I won't! I'm scared Darry! I don't wanna go nowhere. I wanna stay right here." Pony sobbed, falling down on the kitchen floor, brining in his knees and hiding his face in his arms.

"Darry." Soda came in and sat down beside Ponyboy, putting his arm around him. "Dar, you can't make him go tomorrow. Look at the kid." Soda had heard them and jumped off the couch to come to his younger brothers rescue.

Darry sighed but nodded, not quiet sure what was wrong with his little brother. He wasn't sure if this was normal or not but he sure new it wasn't good. "All-right, ok." Darry knelt down beside him. "Ok, I'll call your school and tell them your sick but your going next Saturday. Now c'mon and get off the floor." Darry and Soda hoisted their brother to his feet. "Pony, go read or something while I talk to Soda, ok?"

"Promise I don't have to go tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I promise." Darry said. Ponyboy walked out and went back to his room. "He's scaring me." Darry began to talk when Pony was out of hearing reach.

Soda looked at his feet. "Yeah, I know. Me too."

"You think I outta take him to see someone?"

"Oh, c'mon, Darry. He ain't crazy!"

"I know that. I know, but he hasn't been himself lately and its almost been a week now and he's still afraid to even go out to the front porch."

"Well he did almost get shot." Soda said, refusing to believe there was anything wrong with Ponyboy.

"Regardless, he can't keep hiding like this. It's not good for him. He can't just not go to school because he doesn't wanna go outside. And that's not even the issue for him though. He's not trying to ditch anymore. He really is afraid to go outside. He really does think that if he does he's gonna get shot at."

Soda sighed deeply. "I dunno, Darry. Why don't we just let him be for a while?"

"Because the more we 'let him be' the worse he gets."