Chapter 25

It was a pretty restless night for at least two out of the four Curtis siblings. Ponyboy and Sodapop seemed to have slept pretty peaceful, but Sara and Darry did nothing but toss and turn. There was plenty of times that both siblings wanted to venture into each other rooms, but neither one ever had the courage to do so. There were times where each one had gotten up to move around the house to use the bathroom or to get a drink, but neither one ever did at the same time. It most likely happened that way on purpose. Darry doesn't know how many times he had counted hearing Sara up and about, but always waiting until he couldn't hear her anymore before he go up himself. The last time he had been up the clock had read a little past four. He doesn't know how it happened but he did eventually fall back to sleep, but was annoyed when the buzzer of the alarm clock was ringing at six thirty. He decided to hit it and roll over to try to catch a few more minutes, for it was Saturday and he could afford to lay there for a bit for he didn't have to get the two youngest Curtis members up, fed or out the door on a Saturday. As Darry laid there hoping for a few more minutes of rest he could hear some type of sparrow outside his window whistling its tune. Darry threw a pillow over his head in hopes of drowning out the damn thing. After about another five minutes of the sparrow still signing and Darry not getting any more sleep he decided that he would get up and go wake up Sodapop. For him and Soda were working this morning and Pony was in charge of Sara for most of the day. Darry hated to have to wake Pony up but he never got time last night to touch base with him about today. He pulled himself up outta bed and grabbed a dark green t-shirt and some black jeans and a flannel and threw them on. He opened his door and shuffled on down the hall. When he had come upon Sara's room, he noticed that the door was still closed. He paused and debated with himself if he should enter or not. Finally coming to a conclusion he continued to walk on pass without entering. He came to the boy's room where the door was cracked open and popped his head in. Both boys were still asleep. Darry noticed how peaceful the two looked and decided that he would give Sodapop a little extra time and moved on pass to the kitchen where he immediately started some coffee for himself. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Johnny was already up and had the television on without any volume. "Morning, Johnny." Darry said in a low, soft voice as not to startle the dark haired raven boy nor wake the rest of the house up. "You're up kinda of early, aren't ya?"

"Ya, well, you know." Johnny said shyly.

Darry did know all too well. He wished that he could erase the whole thing, but that wasn't going to happen. "Sorry about that Kid. It was one of those nights. Can I get you some breakfast? I'm gonna throw some eggs and toast on." Darry offered.

"If it's no bother?" Johnny said from the couch.

"It's the least I can for keeping you up all night." Darry sent Johnny a smile before turning back to the kitchen. Johnny got up and followed Darry, Darry grabbing a frying pan, and Johnny getting the eggs from the fridge. The two boys worked together side by side in complete silence, Darry cooking the eggs, and Johnny making the toast. In between flipping eggs Darry managed to grab some much needed coffee, and Johnny grabbed a glass of chocolate milk. The two eat in about just as much silence as they did cooking. Darry was thankful to Johnny for being here last night with Pony, and Johnny being thankful for a nice hot meal in his stomach. As the two finished, Darry got up and headed for the boy's room to wake Sodapop. When Darry got there he was surprised to see that Soda was already up and throwing on some jeans. "Eggs for breakfast kiddo?" Darry asked from the door.

"Yeah, with grape jelly." Soda answered back in a hushed voice.

"Toast?"

"Sure. I'll be right out." As Darry moved back into the kitchen to get Soda's eggs ready he wasn't one bit surprised to see that Johnny had already made quick work of the dirty dishes. Darry came up behind Johnny and gave him a soft pat on the back with a smile.

"You didn't have to do that, Johnny."

"And you didn't have to feed me. So I guess we're even now." Johnny returned Darry's smile and threw down the dishtowel that he was using to dry the dishes with and moved outta Darry's way.

"Morning Johnny." Sodapop said sliding into his chair at the table.

"Morning Sodapop."Johnny responded back. Johnny always understood silent message and he took Darry's very well and started to head out of the kitchen. Darry poured himself another cup of coffee as he watched Johnny wander back into the living room and Sodapop scoff down his eggs and toast. Soda could feel Darry watching him and remembered Darry telling him last night that they would finish their discussion today. Soda was wondering if he meant now, or later, so he was waiting to see who was gonna bring it up first. Finally Darry couldn't stand it anymore and was the first to break the silence.

"So, I don't really want to open a can of worms right now, but I just need to make sure you're gonna be around later this afternoon so that we can all sit down and talk about what happened last night. I thought that I would swing by the DX on my home and have a little discussion with Steve. Then I will have more of a solid foundation before heading into this mess. But I'm just giving you one chance to throw anything out there that you think we need to discuss or want to share." Soda stopped chewing his eggs and just stared at his older brother. He was trying to figure out what Darry meant by giving him one chance to throw anything out there. Was he talking about Steve and Sara, or the incident between Sara and Darry? Soda scratched the itch that was starting to form at the top of his head. When he hadn't responded in a timely manner Darry pressed again. "Soda, I'm giving you a chance to speak your mind here, you can take it or leave. If you choose to leave it, then I don't want your two cents worth later."

"Umm, Dar, I don't really know what you want from me. Do you want me to tell you that you were wrong for hitting her last night? Or do you want me to tell you that you were right? Because honestly I can see both sides here. Yes, she was being a brat, and yes, she pushed you too far, and yes she crossed the line, and yes she used some colorful language, but you hit her, man. Not just once, but three times, and who knows how many more it would have been if I hadn't jumped in to stop you. I've just never seen you snap like that with her before. But you did, and now you have to live with that, I can't tell you what you want to hear Darry. I just can't. But I will stand by you and try to help both you and Sara get through this. What is done is done. We can't go back and change it. And I'm pretty certain that both you and Sara wish you could, but you can't. So as a family we need to move forward. And like I said, I'll try to help you do that, but please don't ask me to help make you feel better about what you did. Because I can't. And as for Steve, I already laid into him last night about not telling us, and I'm pretty sure he knows that I'm pissed, but I can kind of see why he did it. In a way I should feel honor that he was trying to protect our sister and give her the chance to tell us on her own. But I know you too, Darry, and I know that you'll need to give him a little piece of mind, and maybe, just maybe he needs to hear it again. Just remember while you're chewing him a new asshole, that you remember why he was doing what he did. Try to look at both sides of the picture here, not just Darrel Curtis' side." Sodapop got up from the table and took the last gulp of his chocolate milk and walked his plate to the sink and sat it down gently. "So, there it is, Darry. You wanted me tell you what I thought and there you have it." Soda didn't stand there waiting for a reaction from Darry, instead he just walked passed him, half smiled and moved on to the bathroom to finish getting ready for the morning. Darry walked over to the sink and tossed the rest of his coffee down the drain and stood there with his hands pressing firmly against the sink and stared out the window to the side of their yard. He wasn't sure if what he just heard from Soda helped or not, but it definitely gave him a lot to think about today while he was sweating his ass off on some damn roof across town. He sat there for a few more minutes just staring out into space and thinking when he knew he had to do the inevitable. As he walked pass the bathroom he stopped and poke his head in.

"Soda, after you're done I need you to wake Ponyboy up and tell him I want to see him on the couch." Soda looked a little surprised and glanced at Darry with some hesitancy on his face.

"Ok. I'll get him out there."

"Thanks." Darry had to force himself to enter into Sara's room. She was curled up on her right side facing the wall and Darry couldn't tell if she was really sleeping or just pretending. He thought that when he had first opened her door that he noticed her moving around, but he might have been just hoping so. As he approached her bed he decided that it would be wise to call out her name first. "Sara?" He called in a soft, low voice. When there wasn't a response he tried once again, this time louder. "Sara?" By this time he was already beside her bed and was looking down at her. She was lying still, with her eyes closed, but if there was one thing for sure Darry knew that she wasn't sleeping, she was playing possum as their father used to say. "Sara, I know you're playing possum, now stop wasting my time. I need you to get up and come out to the living room. I need to talk with you and Pony." There was a moment of silence and Darry was again losing his patience with this child. "Sara, you're going to make me late for work. Now come." Darry gave her one more chance, and when she didn't respond, he quickly swooped in and tossed the covers from her and reached in to grab her hand, but the minute Darry's hand touched hers, she pulled it away. She said nothing, instead she grab Mr. Bear and crawled past Darry and his hand and jumped down from her bed and rushed out the door. Darry let out a sigh and quickly followed her. By the time he had arrived Soda had gotten Ponyboy to the couch and now he had the whole family present. Sara had attitude written all over her, and Ponyboy looked half awake. Darry towered over the two and just looked from one to the other before speaking. "So, here's the thing. Both Sodapop and I have to work until later this afternoon. One of us should be home around 2:30 or 3:00. 3:30 the latest, right Sodapop?

"Yeah, 3:30 the latest for me."

"So, Pony you're in charge. You two are not to leave this house, do you hear me? I don't care if Two-Bit or Dallas come around and tells you otherwise. I'm telling you neither of you are to leave. Sara, Ponyboy is in charge. You will listen to him and do as you're told. No arguing or fighting. If I hear different than there will be consequences. Ponyboy, I want the whole yard mowed before I get home, and the laundry taken care of. Sara, you can help Pony fold it and put it away. I also need you to take care of the books that you moved off of the bookshelf to make room for the record player. Pony, if everything is done when I get home, then I'll let you go out tonight to the drive-in or something, but if it isn't you'll be staying home with me. And Sara when I get home you and I'll will be sitting down and chatting about last night. Are we clear?"

"Yup." Was Ponyboy's only response, but there was still nothing from Sara, and Darry had quit enough of it.

"Sara, you can continue to give me a cold shoulder, but the attitude best be gone by the time I get home, if you know what's good for you." Darry was in no mood this morning to take any crap from anyone, especially, Sara. "Sara!"

"I heard you!" She yelled back. Sara got up from the couch and started to retreat back to her room when Darry caught her on the way by. He stood there holding her upper arm and let his eyes do the talking. The two sat in a Mexican stand off for about a minute before Darry finally spoke again.

"Sara, I mean it." Sara shrugged herself loose and ran away from Darry and back to her room. Sodapop was right on her heels.

"Sara?" Sodapop called after her.

"Leave me alone!" Sara yelled back and slammed her door right in his face, but Sodapop wasn't letting her get away with this attitude either. He pushed the door open and marched in to confront his little sister. "Sara Marie, I agree with Darry, you need to ditch this attitude, and fast. It's sure the hell not going to help you none with Darry when he gets ahold of you this afternoon. I can tell that you didn't listen to what I told you last night, did you? But it looks like you have most of the day to think about it." Soda leaned in to place a kiss on Sara's head when she pulled away him. "Fine, be that way." He added.

"Sodapop!" Darry hollered down the hall, "Get out here, we've gotta run." Soda moved over to Sara's door and was about to exit when he turned back around and gave her one more piece of advice. "And Sara, don't mope and sulk all day long, it's not becoming of you."

"Sodapop, get a move on, or you'll be walking." Darry yelled again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Sodapop ducked his head into his room and grabbed his DX ball cap and placed it on his head and ran out to the living room to get his shoes. As he was grabbing them he noticed that Ponyboy and Johnny were sitting there watching some Saturday morning cartoons. He waved to the boys. "You guys have a good day. Ponyboy, be nice to Sara today."

"What? Me? I'm always nice to her." Pony tried to defend himself.

"You know what I mean." Soda said smiling while Darry was honking the horn to help motivate him to get a moving. "Jeez Darry, you don't need to wake up the whole neighborhood!" Soda said plopping down the stairs trying to get his shoes on.

"That brother of yours can sure put a smile on anyone's face." Johnny said to Pony as he was getting up to go find something for breakfast. Pony opened the refrigerator and noticed that there were only two eggs left in the carton, but there was still enough milk. He went to the cupboard and reached for two bowls, then went to the drawer and grabbed two spoons and the Rice Krispies. He shuffled towards Sara's room and poked his head in.

"Sara, come get some cereal." Pony demanded.

"I don't want any." Sara muffled out.

"Yeah right. I'm not buying it. Now come on." Pony tried again.

"Pony, I'm not hungry."

"I have a hard time believing that. You didn't eat dinner last night, so that means you haven't eaten anything since your lunch yesterday. Now, just stop being a pain in my ass, and get out here and eat something." Sara let out a huff and a puff before Pony cut in again.

"You can huff and puff like Pete the Dragon all you want, but you're gonna get out there and eat." Sara rolled her eyes at her older brother but obeyed his request and got up from her bed and walked on out to the table. She slid into her chair, where Pony had placed a cereal bowl and spoon in front of her. Pony was quick at filling her bowl half full with Rice Krispies and then milk. Sara tried fooling Pony that she wasn't hungry but she wasted no time in diving into the bowl and filling her mouth. The two sat there in silence while they listened to the cartoons that Johnny was still watching. Pony broke the silence with what the plan for the day should be. "Sara, I was thinking that we should get the laundry hung out first, and then I'll start on the lawn before it gets too hot. By then it might be time for lunch and we can take a break and eat. We can then take the clothes down and fold it, and I'll finish the lawn and you can work on your books. How does that sound?"

"Fine, I guess."

"How about you come out and play in the yard while I mow? That way I can keep an eye on you. Maybe you can swing or something?" Sara appreciated that Pony was at least trying but she was still in such a foul mood that she wasn't being very nice.

"Alright." Sara said with a strained voice. Pony looked over at her sulky demeanor and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "What?" Sara asked with a little attitude.

"Oh, nothing." Pony said still smiling, but finally added, "It's just I can see you're gonna be full of conversation today. It might be kinda of nice." Pony knew that his last statement might cause some confrontation so he quickly moved to the sink to place his bowl down. Sara watched Pony go to join Johnny in the living room but did not remark back to his sarcastic statement. Instead she finished her cereal and retreated back to her room where she decided that she would get dress for the day. She found some "play clothes" as Darry called them and put them on. She looked around her room and spied the pile of books on the floor that Darry was talking about, but instead of doing what he asked with them she just kicked at them with her stocking feet. The pile fell over and splattered across the floor. She was already in a bad mood and doing what Darry had asked was far from her agenda. Instead she turned her radio on and turned it up as loud as she could stand it. Pony knew just what she was trying to do, but it didn't bother him none. He just started gathering items up so he could start the laundry. The two puttered around the house for a few hours until Pony knew he needed to get started on the lawn. "Sara, I'm going out. Are you coming?" Sara wasn't as anxious as Pony seemed but set out to find her sneakers.

"Where did Johnny go?" Sara asked as she looked around the house not finding him anywhere.

"He left about an hour ago. Why?" Pony asked slipping on his black chuck taylor's.

"No reason." Sara said struggling with trying to tie her sneakers. Pony was about to get up and help her when Two-Bit and Dally came plowing through their screen door.

"Hey cowboys!" Two-Bit said laughing. "What are you two hoods up to?"

"Hey Pony, Little Curtis." Dally said flopping onto their couch.

"Hi ya, Dal." Sara softly spoke.

"What's got you so down Little Curtis? Is it that bottom of yours still?" Two-Bit couldn't resist a joke about the spanking she had received. Sara's cheeks instantly turned red with embarrassment of what all the gang had witnessed last night.

"Lay off, Two-Bit. Ya don't need to rub it in." Pony could tell that his little sister looked close to tears with shame and embarrassment. Two-Bit stopped laughing and really took a look at Sara, and felt a little bad.

"Oh, Sara. I'm just teasing you. I didn't mean any harm." Two-Bit came over and bend down so he was at Sara's level. Sara was trying to pay him no mind and kept trying to make the bunny ears on her laces and loop them under, but she continued to mess it up. When she refused to look up to Two-Bit he had grabbed a hold of her chin and lifted it so he could see her eyes. "Sara, I'm sorry, I was just being…"

"A jack ass." Dally finished Two-Bit's sentence for him while taking a swing at his arm. Two-Bit flashed Dallas a dirty look, but finished helping Sara tie her sneakers.

"Not really what I was gonna say there Dal. I think that calls for a dime in the swear jar. Look at that thing; it's almost full to the rim. What did Darry say he was gonna do with it?"

"He hasn't yet. Guess when he sees the need then he'll use it. What are you guys up to?"

"Nothing much. Just seeing what you turkeys were doing. Do you want to go bother Soda and Steve?" Two-Bit asked tossing his car keys up and down in the air.

"No, we can't. Darry's still in a mood. He told us to stay here."

"Oh, so it's still that bad then, huh?" Dallas asked while flipping his dime. Pony didn't dare say anything but just shook his head in agreement. Sara stood up and grabbed one of Soda's old red and white baseball caps and threw it on her head and stormed out the door. She hated to be talked about like she wasn't in the room. "Gosh, she's not taking this well, huh? You know what I heard last night? I heard that after Darry took off from here he ended up at Buck's."

"No, freaking way!" Pony and Two-Bit hollered out at the same time, with the exception of Two-Bit using a different f word other than freaking, but still beginning with an f.

"Yeah, that was my same reaction too. Buck said that he had a couple of Cap's and Coke and stayed for close to two hours. I guess Darry ran into Shepard there and the two sat at the bar talking the whole time."

"What a hypocrite!" Pony yelled out. "He's always riding Soda and I's ass about not going anywhere nears that place and what does he go and do." Pony was shaking his head when he remembered that Sara had stormed out the door and was outside unsupervised and that the lawn wasn't gonna mow itself. "As much as I would love to hear about Darry's and Tim's conversation I've gotta mow the lawn. What are you guys up to tonight?"

"Thinking about hitting the drive-in, you and Johnny want to come? I'll swing by around 6:00ish to get you, that is if Darry still doesn't have you on house arrest?" Dally said while pushing himself up from the couch.

"Nah, he said that if I got his to do list done, than I was free to go out tonight." Pony moved towards the door in hopes of seeing his little sister.

"Sounds good. Hey Two, you wanta go harass the boys at the DX? See what they've got for chicks hanging around?"

"Sure thing, Dal!" Two-Bit said laughing. "We'll catch you later, Pon." Pony watched Two-Bit and Dally spin off towards the DX while Ponyboy headed to the shed to find the push mower. As he rounded the corner of the house he found Sara digging in the dirt driveway with a stick.

"Sara, I'm gonna start on the front yard, stay where I can see you." Pony requested.

"Ok." Sara watched Pony get the mower from the shed and check the blade and when he was satisfied with it he moved out front and starting mowing. Sara didn't want to dig anymore so she started wandering around the house. She weaved in an out of the laundry that was hanging half dry on the clothes line. She ingested the smell of the clean clothes with the warmth of the sun and had a sudden flashbacks of when she was little and coming out to get the laundry with her Mother. Sara's heart began to break at the memories. Feeling sad now she moved away from the clothes and rounded the other corner of the house to the side yard. Her and Pony made eye contact and that was good enough for Pony as he continued with the yard. The side of the house was shaded from the sun and it felt nice and cool. Sara flopped herself down on the cool grass and lied on her back looking up at the beautiful blue sky. She watched the clouds drifting on by above her. As she laid there she wondering what it would be like to fly. At that moment she wished that she could fly away like the sparrows that were flying from the trees to the power lines and back to the peak of the roof. Just to feel the freedom to go where ever you liked, and to do what you like, when you like to, gosh that idea felt so good to Sara. Sara got lost in her thoughts when Pony had come around the corner with the mower. "Move, Sara. I need to mow over here." Sara huffed and puffed again but got up and retraced her steps back to the clothes line and shed. As she was walking past the shed she noticed the glimpse of her bike. She hadn't ridden her bike in a long while now. Her father and Pony had taught her last summer. She was still a little wobbly on it, but maybe she would give it another try. As she started to pull it out, Pony rounded the corner and noticed what she was doing. "Sara! Not now. Wait until I'm finish so I can watch you." Sara was annoyed that Pony was refusing to let her ride, but she continued to push the bike towards the driveway, as she got closer, she heard the crunch of gravel behind her. "I told you to wait until I was done, so I can watch you. You know Mom and Dad's rules about riding your bike."

"Well, Mom and Dad aren't here anymore, so their rules don't apply, and Darry has never said anything about not being able to." Sara hissed at Pony while still trying to push the bike towards the driveway. Pony wasn't gonna take anymore of her attitude. He moved to the front of the bike and firmly placed his two hands on the handle bars and stopped Sara in her spot. "I said, you'll have to wait. And just because Darry hasn't told you otherwise, I am! Now stop being a pain and go do something else while I finish up. I'm gonna do the back yard, and when I'm done the laundry should be too. I'll need your help with it." Sara took her hands off the bike and started to walk away. Pony let out a heavy sigh and placed the kickstand down on the bike and left it on the driveway. He watched Sara as she headed towards her swing. There she plopped down on it and just kind of swayed back and forth. Pony was good with leaving her there to go finish up the back. It took him about 15-20 minutes and when he was finished he found his sister still on her swing. He walked over and said, "I'm all done now, why don't we go in." Sara looked Pony up and down and decided to go with him. When they got inside the house Sara threw herself down on the couch while Pony hunted for something to make for lunch, when all he could find was peanut butter and jelly he ventured back to the living room and kicked his sneakers off. "It looks like it's gonna be peanut butter and jelly for lunch. That ok?" Sara nodded her head and Pony retrieved back to get started on the sandwich. Sara just felt so unsettle, she felt like climbing out of her skin but didn't understand what was making her feel this way. She managed to pull herself up off the couch and found herself heading into her room. She walked in to her room and just took a good long look around it. She hadn't yet taken care of the books that Darry had asked of her, and her book bag was still lying in the corner by the scattered pile of books. As she stood looking around she decided that it probably was best to get started on the books. As she started to pick one up she felt a breeze kick up from her window and it blew the curtain away from the sill where she caught a glimpse of her bike that was still in the driveway. She then moved to her other window in the back of the house and looked out at the laundry that was fluttering in the warm breeze. She stood there thinking about her Mother again and all the days she remembering running through the clothes and being chase by her beautiful Momma. After her thoughts disappeared Sara turned back toward her book bag. She went over and grabbed it and took it over to her braided rug and emptied all the contents of it out onto the floor. Her lunch box fell out, along with some graded papers, her library book, some pencils, crayons and the flier that Ms. Martin had handed them before leaving school on Friday. Sara sadly picked up the flier and took a look at the picture that was on it. Yeah, right she thought and she tossed it aside. She grabbed he lunchbox and headed back out to the kitchen with it. "Hey, what are you doing with that?" Pony asked her as she placed it on the countertop.

"Oh, I'm just unpacking my book bag from yesterday. This was still in it."

"Oh, well your sandwich is ready. You want some chips?" Sara shook her head yes. "How about some lemonade?" Again Sara shook her head yes. Pony had made himself two sandwiches and had shoveled them down, before Sara had even taken two bites of hers. Pony watched as she just kept moving her chips around on her plate. "I'm gonna jump in the shower real quick. Then I'm throwing in another load. We should be able to get it out on the line and dried before the sun goes down. When I get out I'll need your help bring them in, ok?" Pony got up and placed his dish in the sink. He cautiously watched his sister. She continued to play with her food. Pony didn't know what to do, so he just ended up threating her. "If you don't eat that, I'll tell Darry about you not listening and following directions. You don't want that do you?"

"I don't care what you do, Ponyboy Michael Curtis!" Sara snapped but didn't move from her chair.

Pony was very irritated by Sara and ended up shouting back at her. "You're to stay there and eat what's on your plate and it best be all gone by the time I get out of the shower."

"You know, you sound just like Darry!" Sara hollered after Pony while he left the room.

"I guess it runs in the family, now doesn't it! You best eat that Sara Marie, if you know what's good for you." Pony had entered his room and fetched a new pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt. When he came back out he caught a quiet glimpse of Sara who was pouting while sitting there playing with her chips. Pony let out a soft chuckle and walked into the bathroom. Sara sat there and listened to every sound that Pony was making, when she heard the door latch she jumped up from her chair and grabbed her lunchbox and returned back to the table. When she heard the toilet flush she jumped up again and grabbed her thermos and some sandwich baggies. When she heard the shower turn on she flew open her lunchbox and opened the sandwich baggies and tossed her sandwich in one bag, then her chips in another and filled her thermos with the lemonade from her glass. She quickly placed her glass and dish in the sink and flew to her room. She grabbed Mr. Bear and her book bag and tossed her lunch box and Mr. Bear in and buckled it up. She tipped toed to the back door and made sure she caught the door before it made any noise when it closed. She ran over to her bike and threw her book bag over one shoulder and across her chest. She flipped the kickstand up and climbed on up to the seat. She placed her feet on the pedal and started to take off down the driveway. She had to stop a few times to catch her balance but when she was out of the ruts of the driveway and on the pavement she had better balance and control. She looked one last time back at her house and then down the street towards the DX and turned to her left and headed down the road for what could end up being the adventure of her life.