Story Time

Ponyboy's POV

I slammed the door and stalked down the hallway to my room. I threw my door open and dropped my bag in the middle of the floor and flopped down on the bed. I closed my eyes and released a long breath. I had a bad day. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. The Socs were on my back again, I made bad times at track, and some kid accidentally ran into me at lunch, spilling his Pepsi all over me. I had to walk around school with a giant brown stain on the front of my shirt.

I heard my bedroom door open and I opened my eyes to see Sodapop trip over my bag. He stumbled but quickly regained his balance and then glared at me.

"Sorry," I muttered. His eyes softened and he hopped onto the bed, sitting next to me. He put a hand on my shoulder.

"What happened?" He asked. I'm still surprised at how easy he can read my emotions.

"Just a bad day."

"Wanna talk 'bout it?" He asked.

"Nope," I said, popping the "p."

"You sure?" Yup, I'm definitely sure. I nodded.

"Ok...," he said, then his eyes scanned the room, landing on my bookshelf. He jumped out of the bed and walked over to the shelf, skimming through the titles. Finally, he picked one up and sat back down next to me on the bed. I glanced at the cover. It was one of those little kid stories.

"You want me to read this?" He asked. What, does he think I'm some little kid? I shake my head.

"Ponyboy...come on. It'll be fun."

"I said I didn't want to read the book!" I snapped. Hurt flashed across his face. He stood up and walked out of the room, making sure to slam the door. I didn't know why he ran out like that. I knew I snapped at him but he never reacted like that. I looked at the book again and I felt like a terrible little brother when I noticed what book it was.

My brother, Sodapop, bought me the book for my seventh birthday and every day he would read it to me. When he got to the funny parts he would use different accents and make funny faces. Sodapop was eleven then and he would always make time for me, his kid brother. Even when he wanted to go play outside with Steve he would read to me first, much to Steve's annoyance. It was sorta our thing, until Soda went to high school and got a part time job at the DX. Then we were just busy. And we didn't even have time to think about reading the book when mom and dad died. There was just no time. But here was my brother offering to read me the same book because I had a bad day. I climbed out of bed and grabbed the book, then quietly made my way down the hallway.

I found Soda on the front porch, smoking a cigarette.

"Hey, Sodapop," I said gently.

"Hey," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry about that. Just lost my temper. Had a bad day," I apologized. He shrugged. I held the book out to him. He glanced at me.

"You wanna read to me?" He tried not to smile but I could see it fighting it's way through. I smiled back.

"Sure." Together, we walked back inside the house, back to our room. We both sat on the bed, leaning our heads against the headboard. He opened the book and began telling the story, complete with the accents and funny faces. Suddenly, my day didn't seem so bad anymore.

This chapter is dedicated to Kylelover10, because she came up with the idea. I hope this is how you pictured it. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy. Please review.

Up Next: Ponyboy's First Date

What happens when Ponyboy is getting ready to go on his first date? Features all the Curtis brothers. Sequel to "Girl Advice."

- Stay Gold -

Sincerely,

Teenbookworm13