(Darry's POV)

Even after I pulled the truck up and Soda and I put Pony's trophies and medals in it, I was still smiling. I was so proud of Ponyboy and everything he accomplished that I was certain I would be smiling the entire day. My kid brother not only beat the odds in terms of where we come from and how he's turned out, but he beat practically all of the best runners in Oklahoma too. I'm so proud of that kid.

Not two minutes after I parked the truck next to the curb, I spotted a tall, thin man walking up to us. At first, I thought he was a school official to tell me to move the truck, but he was smiling at me when I met his eyes. Not to mention, he wasn't dressed super fancy like I would expect from any type of school worker. "Excuse me, do you all know Ponyboy Curtis?"

Steve, Two-Bit, and Soda were busy talking, but once the man spoke, they all got quiet and turned to look at him, curiosity evident. "I ought to, he's my kid brother," Soda said with a huge smile on his face. I knew he was just as proud as I was of Ponyboy, and we were both excited to take him out for dinner to celebrate. We made sure to save enough money so we could spoil him after the meet.

"I'm his other brother, Darry," I said, trying to be polite.

The man smiled as he looked at me directly. "Ah yes, you're Ponyboy's legal guardian, correct?"

I immediately got tense. Who wants to know? Pushing my anxiety and stress aside, I attempted to remain polite, yet firm. "Yes, I am. Who are you?"

"I'm Joe Johnson. I'm the track coach at the Oklahoma State University," the man said as he extended his hand to me, which I took a shook it firmly. "I saw your brother run, and I'd like to talk with him about his plans after high school."

"Not so fast, Joe," a shorter, slightly stockier man said as he walked up to us. Before any other words were exchanged, he shook my hand and spoke quickly. "My name is Brad Anderson, and I'm the head track coach at the University of Oklahoma. I'd also like to talk with Ponyboy."

I was already proud of Ponyboy, but with multiple college coaches potentially interested in having him run for their schools, I was ecstatic. I always knew he'd be the best of us. Still, I had to remain calm and act like this was just a typical day.

As I looked at the two college coaches standing in front of me, I could see Soda, Steve, and Two-Bit behind them, looking as excited as I felt, and I was surprised they could all keep their mouths shut.

"He's in the locker room right now, but he should be out soon," I told both of the coaches. "I'm sure he'd like to speak with both of you." That may not have been entirely true; Pony tended to be quiet and not talk much to adults, let alone strangers. However, I was going to make sure he at least listened to the college coaches.

The two coaches gave each other a look, similar to a glare, and I immediately got the impression that they were rivals.

"Tell you what," coach Anderson started. He reached into his pocket, grabbed a business card, and handed it to me. "Have him give me a call whenever he's free. We can discuss things without anyone else overhearing," he said, glancing back at coach Johnson.

"Thank you, sir," I said, gladly accepting the card.

After coach Anderson left, coach Johnson looked at me. "I apologize for that. He and I have a little history," he said, laughing a little.

"Yeah, I got that impression," I said with a grin.

Coach Johnson reached for his wallet, pulled out a card, and handed it to me. "I'm sure you all want to get goin' and celebrate Ponyboy's great performance, so how about he gives me a call when he can?"

I nodded. "Yes sir. Thank you."

As the couches walked away, I couldn't help but think sarcastically. Of course Pony would miss out on talking to coaches because he wanted to take a shower. The moment there were no college track coaches around, the guys all started talking excitedly.

"Boy howdy, that kid is gettin' scouted by the big leagues!" Two-Bit exclaimed.

"It's college Two-Bit, not the big leagues," Steve muttered, although I didn't miss the grin on his face.

Soda put his arm across my shoulders and took the cards out of my hand so he could look at them closely. "Wow, these look real official, don't they? Our kid brother is gonna lose it when he finds out!"

I took the cards away from Soda and put them in the glove compartment of the truck before they got lost or dirty.

"What's takin' him so long anyway?" Two-Bit asked.

"You smelled him earlier," Steve said. "He needs to shower before I even think about being in the same room as him."

"I'm giving him two more minutes before I go barging in there to tell him the good news," Soda said.

"Calm down, Soda," I said, not fighting the grin on my face. "Just give him some time."

I remembered whenever we won a big football game, after cheering and celebrating with the guys on the field or in the locker room, I always liked to take a minute for myself before I went to see my family. Don't get me wrong, I liked it when they congratulated me or mentioned a specific moment that they thought I did something great, but it was nice to just be alone with my thoughts once in a while; that is, until my thoughts became engulfed with concerns about my brothers or paying bills. If Pony was anything like me, I figured he might want to bask in the victory for a minute before the guys and I overwhelmed him.

The guys all started talking, but I ignored them as I leaned against the truck, still smiling. Pony's going to go to college and probably get to run track on a scholarship. My kid brother is growing up and keeps impressing people. I'm so proud of him.

We all waited around for a little while, watching other athletes and their families walk back to their cars. Most of Pony's teammates were part of the middleclass, but when some of the Soc runners walked by, I had to tell Steve and Two-Bit to leave them alone and ignore the looks we got from them. Since I knew at least two college coaches had attended the state meet, I couldn't be sure if there were any other coaches around, and I wasn't going to let the greaser-Soc problem impact Pony's chances of a track scholarship.

Once it seemed like the majority of athletes and families were gone, I started wondering what was taking Pony so long. Sure, he wanted to shower and change, maybe even be alone for a minute, but it shouldn't take him so long. As I was wondering what my brother was up to, Two-Bit's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Why do you think they're here?" Two-Bit asked.

I spotted three Socs walking out of the school. Two of them looked nervous, but one seemed like it was just a normal Saturday. I hadn't seen any of them by the track, and they weren't walking with any of the runners, so I didn't know why they would've been there if not for the state meet.

"I don't know, but that David guy is an asshole," Steve spat. He said it loud enough for the Socs to look in our direction, but instead of sneering or saying something about greasers, they just moved away quickly.

"You know those guys?" I asked, watching the Socs scurry away.

"Yeah, David's taken Bob's spot of top Soc in the school," Steve said.

I hated hearing anything about Bob Sheldon because it reminded me of the horrible week that Pony almost died multiple times, Johnny killed someone, and then two of our friends died. To make matters worse, none of that would've happened if it wasn't for me losing my mind and hitting Pony. If I never heard about Bob Sheldon again, I would be thrilled.

"Where the hell is the rugrat?" Steve asked.

Soda punched his best friend in the arm. "Don't call him that. He's gonna be a college athlete before you know it. Then he'll be callin' you a rugrat."

Deciding I couldn't wait anymore, I moved away from the truck and walked towards the school doors. "I'll get him." By the sounds and voices behind me, I knew the guys were following me. I guess we're all going. I hope Pony's at least dressed.

Muscle memory from years of football came back in full force and my feet guided me to the locker room without any thought. It was a short walk, but when we were in the hallway and I got close to the locker room, I noticed that smoke was curling from underneath the door, and an alarm was sounding from inside the room.

"What the hell?" Two-Bit said from behind me.

I reached the door, but when I put my hand on the handle, the painful heat on the metal made me retract my hand with a hiss.

"He ain't in there, right?" Soda asked, worriedly. "Maybe we missed him in the hall."

"We would've seen him," Steve said quietly. We all knew he was right, but Steve's words made everything seem all too real.

Did Pony start the fire? It doesn't matter, I need to find him. He has to be in there.

I looked at Two-Bit. "Go get help. Call 9-1-1." He immediately took off running, and I started thinking of a plan. I couldn't wait for the fire department to arrive if Pony was in a burning room, so I knew what I had to do.

I took my shirt off, wrapped the fabric around my hand, and opened the door to the locker room. A wave of thick smoke flew into the hallway, making me, Soda, and Steve immediately start coughing and take a few steps back. With the door finally open, I rolled my shirt into a long, thick piece of fabric, covered my mouth and nose, and tied the rest behind my head. Soda was watching me, and right as I saw him grab the bottom of his shirt, I grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Stay here, Soda," I ordered, my voice muffled from the fabric covering it.

"No way," he said, eyes looking almost angry. "If you're going, so am I."

"I need you to stay out here in case Ponyboy shows up," I said sternly. I wasn't overly optimistic that it was going to happen, but I had to convince Soda to stay out of harm's way. I couldn't have both of my kid brothers unaccounted for in a fire.

"What if he does show up?" Soda asked incredulously. "You want me to come in and tell you?" I knew that if that was the case, Soda wouldn't hesitate to come find me, and that thought made me cringe.

"If I can't find him in five minutes, I'll come back out," I said, completely lying through my teeth. If there was a chance Ponyboy was in a burning room, I wasn't going to give myself a time limit to find him. I'd search every inch of it if I needed to.

Soda looked like he was going to keep arguing, but I didn't have time for it. "I know the room like the back of my hand, Soda. I won't be long," I said, trying to convince him. I gave Steve a look that I hoped he interrupted correctly; don't let him follow me. Keep him safe. The look and nod he gave me told me we had an understanding.

With no time to lose, I headed into the inferno.

(Sodapop's POV)

The moment Darry disappeared into the fiery locker room, I resumed my attempt of taking my shirt off to follow Darry's lead. Unfortunately, Steve grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"You ain't going in there," Steve said harshly.

"Like hell I'm not!" I shouted at him, trying to pull my arm away from him.

"Darry said-"

"I don't give a damn what Darry said," I spat, finally get out of Steve's hold. "I can't just wait here while my brothers are in there!" The thought of Darry and Pony getting stuck in a fire drove me crazy with worry.

"C'mon Soda, another person in there isn't gonna help," he said, pleading with me. "You heard Darry; he doesn't even need to see to know where he's going."

I turned, about to walk right into the blaze. "I don't care, I can-" I was cut off when the smoke made it into my lungs, making me start coughing. I covered my mouth with my arm and shouted at Steve. "They aren't gonna be able to breathe in there!"

Steve reached forward, grabbed my arm, and yanked me away from the door. "Neither are you!"

I tried to get out of Steve's grip again, but he suddenly put me in a hold and pinned me to the floor. "Get off me, Steve!"

"No Soda, I'm not gonna let you go in there," Steve said calmly and sternly.

I heard footsteps down the hallway, and I turned my head to see Two-Bit running towards us. "What's goin' on? Where's Darry?" he asked once he reached us.

"He went in there to look for Ponyboy," Steve said.

Two-Bit's eyes got huge. "What?!"

I tried wiggling out from under Steve, but I couldn't do it. "Let me go!"

"You're not goin' in Soda," Steve said with finality.

"I gotta help!" I tried shouting, but it was hard to yell with Steve's weight crushing me to the floor.

Two-Bit's next words were optimistic, but his tone was doubtful and distant. "Superman will get him."