Tuesday October 6th, 3:57 pm
Darry didn't think anything could ruin his good mood. Despite the cool October breeze, Darry's t-shirt was damp with sweat. It always was when he worked on roofs, it was just part of the job. But something about working in October, when it was cool enough to actually enjoy being outside made Darry just a bit happier to be hauling bundles of roofing. As he stood up, wiping some sweat from his brow, he savored the way the breeze was able to cool him off.
He made his way down the ladder to get some water. They were working with a small crew today, just a quick job to fix a small part of the roof that had sprung a leak in the storm that rolled through last week. His boss had only sent Darry and two other guys, leaving the rest of the crew to keep working on the bigger project they were working on over on the west side. Even though a smaller crew meant more work, the guys working with him were dependable and they were able to get the job done with everyone pulling their weight.
The house actually belonged to an old high school buddy, Daniel, and his new wife. He had been three years ahead of Darry but they had been on the football team together and Darry had always liked the guy. Daniel had just become a cop, following in the footsteps of his older brother who was a detective at Tulsa PD. While Darry typically didn't trust cops, he knew these guys had grease in their blood. And he thought the police force could use a little grease.
It had been nice catching up with Daniel that morning before they began the work. Daniel's brother had been on the force when Darry's parents had been in the crash and when all that shit with Bob Sheldon went down so he knew about what the Curtis's had been going through. It was nice to have someone know, without having to explain it all. It helped skip through all the awkwardness and worse, the pitying looks people gave when they heard the story. Darry loathed those looks, he didn't want to look like some pathetic charity case. Because he wasn't. Darry worked hard every day to make sure he was enough for his two kid brothers. He made sure they had enough to eat, they had clean clothes, and a roof over their heads. He had put his blood, sweat, and tears into making sure those two were okay. And they were. It had been about a month since the Windrixville incident and while some days were still hard, all of them were doing better. Pony and Darry still had disagreements but they had quit arguing and pulling Soda into the middle of it.
Darry sure was proud of that kid. He really was trying to keep his head out of the clouds, cut back on smoking, and he was doing good in school. He was even staying late after school today to work on some track drills with a few of his teammates, even though track wasn't even in season yet. Darry could see how hard he was trying. And Darry was trying too. He was slower to yell, quicker to listen, and he was trying to find a good balance of big brother and guardian.
So with all these things going for him, plus getting to work on a buddy's house instead of soc's over on the west side, Darry decided to treat Pony and Soda to some ice cream down on the strip later after dinner. He thought they all deserved a treat for doing so well after the tough times they had just gone through. Hell, he'd even spring for getting ice cream for Steve and Two Bit if the two of them were over for dinner. Which Darry was almost sure they would be.
A breeze danced across the back of Darry's neck. Almost like a ghost had trailed behind him, softly brushing their fingers against the back of his neck as they floated by. It sent goosebumps up and down his arm and an odd sense of foreboding seemed to settle in his stomach. He tried to brush it off, convince himself it's just one of those October breezes that he's so fond of but something told him there was something wrong.
A police car came speeding into the neighborhood. It pulled up to the curb, behind the truck Darry was currently leaning against to drink his water. A cop hurried out, urgently walking up the driveway and letting himself inside. Darry recognized the cop as Daniel's older brother. He glanced up at the crew on the roof, both were looking at him with a question on their face. Darry shrugged, knowing he ought to get back up there so they could finish the last part of the roof but that sense of dread kept his feet cemented to the ground.
Daniel's brother came out of the house, Daniel trailing behind him, in the process of getting dressed into uniform. It reminded Darry of Soda in the mornings, he was always getting dressed and running out the door at the same time.
Daniel's brother got in the car and picked up the radio on the center console. Darry couldn't hear what he said or if there was an answer over the air waves.
Daniel hustled up to Darry, buttoning his shirt as he did.
"Darry" he said. The friendly tone was gone. This wasn't old high school buddy Daniel talking. This was cop Daniel talking.
"Your brother Sodapop, he dropped out of school didn't he?"
Darry's heart started to race as he nodded. Oh my god, had something happened to Soda? He was supposed to go into work at 1:00, had something happened at the gas station? Dear God, had there been a hold up?
"Yes. He dropped out to work full time" Darry's voice didn't sound like his own.
"So there's no reason he would be at the high school right?"
Darry shook his head "No, he wouldn't be there unless he was picking up Ponyboy. But one of our friends usually gives him a ride home."
"Ponyboy usually gets a ride? So he's not usually hanging around the school after it's out?"
These questions were making Darry nervous. He didn't know what Daniel was trying to get at.
"Yeah he usually gets a ride. I like him to be home right after school and I don't like him walking by himself" Darry says and Daniel's shoulders seem to relax just a bit.
"Good, good" Daniel says.
Daniel's brother hollers out the window, telling Daniel they need to go now.
Daniel turns to leave but Darry grabs him by the arm before he can walk away.
"Wait Daniel, what's this all about?" Darry asks with a hint of desperation in his voice.
"Well it seems like something went down at the high school today after classes let out. But since your brothers weren't there I don't want to worry you about it" Daniel says waving him off. He doesn't see that the blood has drained from Darry's face. Daniel turns to leave again but Darry squeezes his arm harder, keeping him in place.
"Ponyboy stayed late after school today. He was gonna run some track drills with his relay team" Darry forces himself to say. Now Daniel is the one who pales. He glances over at his brother, who's hit the horn, signaling they really needed to go. But Darry can't let him go until he knows what's going on. He's praying to God, to his parents, to his friends up there that Ponyboy isn't involved in whatever has Daniel so worried.
Daniel pulls his arm out of Darry's grip and straightens himself tall so that he's looking into Darry's eyes. The words he says go through Darry's chest like a knife.
"Darry, they found the body of a student in the boys locker room."