Tuesday October 6th, 4:25 pm
Soda drummed his fingers against the counter. The phone call from Darry had left him with an odd feeling, like Darry wasn't telling him something. Figuring he'd get it out of his brother at home, Soda decided to pass the time at work by flicking folded receipts at Steve, who was leaning against the counter reading a car magazine.
"Would you knock that off, Sodapop?" Steve said, swatting at Soda with his magazine. The game transformed then into Soda flicking the receipts while Steve tried to hit them with his rolled up magazine.
They were interrupted from their makeshift baseball game when a group of high school kids came bursting into the store. Soda recognized a few kids from Shepherd's gang among them. They were all talking quickly, seemingly in disbelief about something that had happened at school.
"At least a dozen cop cars!"
"I heard his head was cut clean off his body"
"They don't know who killed him"
"Blood all the way up the ceiling!"
Clips of their conversation floated over to Soda and Steve, who raised their eyebrows at each other.
A tall skinny senior, a kid named James, came sauntering up the counter, putting a pack of cigarettes and a couple candy bars on the counter.
"Y'all hear the news?" James drawled.
"Nope, what news?" Steve answered.
"Some kid got murdered after school today. Apparently it's a real bloody mess"
Soda felt like he was getting tunnel vision. His mouth dried up to the point he couldn't ask the question desperately trying to escape him. Luckily, Steve did.
"What the hell?! Who is it?" Steve demanded.
"Don't know" James shrugged "Apparently his face is real messed up, hard to tell who it is. All I know is they found him in the locker room"
Soda's heart thudded. 'It's not Pony, it can't be' he thought to himself. He hoped, he prayed, that Darry had already picked Pony up and they were on the way home.
Soda had been standing there frozen, unable to finish ringing James up. Steve gently nudged him to the side and finished it up. James gave a nod of thanks and then lit up a cigarette as he left. The rest of the boys followed him out, leaving the store quiet in their absence.
Steve gripped Soda's shoulder.
"Hey buddy, take a breath. It's probably a bunch of rumors. It's not the kid"
"How do you know it's not him Steve?" Soda said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.
"Because we've lost enough already. We ain't losing anyone else, especially not the kid" Steve said, giving Soda a little shake.
An anger so strong rushed through Soda that he moved before his brain even realized what he was doing. He yelled, and slammed a hand across the counter, sending everything crashing to the floor. Soda's chest heaved as he looked at the papers and pens and phone he had sent crashing down. As quick as the anger had come, it was gone, replaced with a fear that they were about to lose someone else. And not just anyone, Ponyboy. Soda could handle a lot, he had handled a lot, but he knows he'd never be able to handle losing Ponyboy.
"Cool it buddy" Steve said, already bending down and picking up the mess.
"Sorry" Soda answered, also bending down to help Steve.
"It's all good man. It'll be okay. Darry was going to pick the kid up, they're probably already back home"
Soda nodded, but thought back to Darry's phone call. Soda knew something sounded off, and now he knew that Darry had probably heard what had happened. Trying to shake off his apprehension, Soda started to reorganize the counter.
The two of them stood there, unsure what to do now. The weight of the news seemed to press on them, keeping them planted where they were standing. Steve broke the spell first, going over the cooler and returning with two Pepsis. He popped the top off of one and handed it to Soda.
After a couple minutes, Soda couldn't take it anymore. He needed to know what was happening. He picked up the phone, figuring his brothers would be home by now. He was met with silence as he held the phone to his ear. He shot Steve a panicked look.
"Steve! I think I broke the phone. What if Darry tried calling but couldn't get through?!" Soda said, the fear evident in his voice. Steve took the phone from him, examining it.
"Nah it ain't broken. It just got unplugged from the jack when you knocked it off the counter" Steve said, plugging it back in. Soda sighed, glad it was an easy fix and glad that Steve was there to help keep him calm. No sooner had Steve plugged the phone back in, it started to ring.
"DX. This is Steve"
Soda heard his older brother's voice over the phone and shoved Steve out the way, snatching the phone from him.
"Darry, you got Pony right? There were some kids here saying some kid got killed at the school and I was starting to freak out" Soda asked desperately.
"He wasn't here Soda. I don't know where he is". Soda didn't know what to say. His thoughts and his heart were racing.
"He's probably at home, right? Or the library?" Soda asks.
"Probably Pepsi Cola. I'm going to head home and wait for him"
"It's not…it's not him, right?"
"I'm sure it's not. It can't be….The cops are working on figuring out who it is. They said they'll let the family know as soon as they can."
Soda feels tears well up in his eyes but he refused to let them fall. He takes a breath, trying to keep himself together.
"I'm off soon, I'll meet you at home as soon as I'm done. But call me the second you know where he is!"
"I will, I promise. I'll see you little buddy".
Soda hung up. He looked over at Steve, who was looking at him with a serious expression.
"Go home Soda. I'll cover for you and then head over when I'm off."
Soda nodded, grateful to have a buddy like Steve.
"Thanks man. And call the house if Pony shows up here"
Steve gives him a nod as Soda grabbed his stuff and heads out the door and towards home. He walked quickly, hoping that maybe Pony will be waiting for them all when he gets home. Hoping that he just got distracted on the way home and went to the library or the movies. Soda smiled a little, picturing Pony wandering in after seeing a movie, unaware of the worry he'd put all them through. Soda swore he'd punch Pony on the arm for making them all worry so much, but then he'd give him a bone crushing hug because he loved the kid so damn much.
Darry's truck is in the driveway when Soda gets home. Soda allows himself to hope that both of his brothers will be waiting for him inside. He bolts up the front steps and slams the door open in his hurry to get inside.
"Pony?" He yells as he rushes into the house.
He's met with the worried faces of Darry and Two Bit. He knows just by looking at them that they still don't have any clue where Ponyboy is.
"He's still not here?" Soda asks, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice.
"No" Darry says with a sigh, looking out the front window.
"Let's go out and look for him" Soda says. Two Bit nods and hops up.
"I'll go check the lot and the library. Two Bit, will you check the movie house? And maybe the drive in?" Soda asks.
"Yep. We can meet back here in an hour" Two Bit says.
Darry is standing up too. "I gotta stay here. In case…in case Ponyboy calls". Soda is thankful that Darry didn't say the real reason he had to stay. In case the cops came by.
"Two Bit, take the truck, the movie house is a long walk" Darry says, tossing the keys to Two Bit. Two Bit catches them and heads out the door. Soda knows Two Bit is just as anxious to find Pony as he is.
"Steve is covering the rest of my shift, and then he'll head over after. He said he'd call though if Ponyboy stopped by"
Darry nods.
Soda turns to leave but stops with his hand on the door knob. He turns back and goes to Darry, pulling him into a tight hug. Darry hugs him back, just as tight.
"He'll be okay, Soda. He's gotta be okay" Darry says.
Soda nods, wiping the tears that had started to leak from his eyes.
He leaves, heading towards the library. The sun was just starting to set, making Soda pause. He thinks hard, trying to send his thoughts to Pony, wherever he is. 'It's almost sunset Pony, come home so we can watch it together'.