The Outsiders - Three Brothers

Pink slips

Darry let Ponyboy skip school the following day, the kid was miserable and in pain. "I can stay home with him." Sodapop said that morning while the three of them sat eating breakfast.

"No. You need to go to school today. You can skip twice a month. And you've already done that. Remember? I'm not having the case worker show up for truancy."

Sodapop sighed, he wished Darry would sign off and let him drop out now. But he was making him wait until he was sixteen and can do it without a guardian's signature. "Pony can't stay home alone though. He's hurting bad." And Sodapop didn't feel like squirming at a desk all day from boredom and a sore ass.

"I'm taking today off to stay with him."

"Ponyboy you okay?" Soda asked when the kid winced a little. He was trying to hide it but Soda saw everything.

"It just hurts. I'm okay," he mumbled taking a spoonful of his cereal and rubbing softly at his ribs. His face looked swollen and worse than yesterday - but it was his chest that was giving him the most problems.

"You want some aspirin?" Darry asked.

Ponyboy shook his head, "no. I just wanna lay down some more."

"Finish your breakfast and then you can go back to bed for a little longer." Darry told him.

"Okay," Ponyboy shoveled his cereal faster now, wanting to bed as soon as possible.

"You finish up too Soda. I'll drive you to school today."

"Fine." Soda grumbled, grumpy now.

"Watch the attitude mister." Darry warned, getting up from the table with his coffee mug to refill it.

"Done," Ponyboy stood and took his bowl to the sink. "Will you stop at my school and get what I missed today?" Ponyboy asked Soda. Pony was still in eighth grade, so he and Soda weren't in the same school now since the older boy was a sophomore.

"Yeah. I'll get a ride home from Steve and have him stop by the school."

"Thanks," he tried to hug his brother, but flinched when Soda squeezed to hard.

"Sorry...you put some more ice on those bruises okay?"

"Okay."

"Finished." Soda crammed the last of his toast in his mouth before taking his plate to the sink too.

"Brush your teeth and then meet me at the truck." Soda nodded and hurried off to the bathroom to do as he was told.

~~~~~~

Ponyboy was fast asleep when Darry came back from dropping Sodapop off at school. He peered into the bedroom, saw he was out like a light, and closed the door to let him sleep for another hour. He'd wake him back up at eight thirty - if he slept too long he wouldn't sleep tonight.

Darry went out and turned the TV on, falling against his recliner with a sigh. It was nice to get a day off - even if it was to watch an injured Ponyboy.

At eight-thirty he got up from the couch and opened the bedroom door, "Ponyboy wake up now." He heard a small groan and watched as the covers moved higher up to cover the boy's head. "Now Pony, you aren't sleeping all day."

"A little longer." Darry came over and pulled the comforter from Ponyboy, exposing his face to the sunlight. He whined and rolled onto his side away from the window. "I don't have to be anywhere. Lemme sleep!"

"If you sleep all day you won't sleep tonight. I will pick up you and carry you out of this bed. Don't make me do it."

"You're being mean." He said childishly.