The Outsiders - Three Brothers

48

"Holly really broke up with you?" Ponyboy asked as they ate lunch together. It was a week before summer ended and the two were home alone while Darry was at work. He'd been waiting since open house at school to ask Sodapop have Holly.

"Yeah. Couple weeks ago."

"Why?"

Sodapop took a bite of his pasta and shrugged, "people breakup sometimes Pony."

"But... how come? If you both still like each other, why do you break up?"

"Well..." He knew that Ponyboy wasn't just being nosey, he was genuinely trying to understand the idea. He was pretty clueless about relationships and Darry and Sodapop were the only people he really had to go to for advice. That being said, he still didn't really want to tell his kid brother all about his failed relationship. "Her and I are just really different people. I'm gonna spend my life working on cars here, and she's going off to college to be somebody. She doesn't have time for a relationship with a high schooler when she's going to a big college with loads of guys her age and older."

"Oh... " Ponyboy obviously didn't like that answer, but it was the answer he had to accept.

"There's plenty of girl's out there though." Sodapop repeated what Darry had told him when he went to have a real conversation with him about the break-up. He personally didn't like that advice either - he currently felt like he'd never love someone again and that no one would be as good as Holly had been. "Break-ups happen all the time. People grow apart, or they just don't work together. Sometimes it's not that they don't like each other - but their paths of life are to different. That's what Darry said anyways."

"You think you could get back together if she came back form college?"

"Dunno. But I doubt it. Even if she comes back here after college she'll have a degree and getting a good job."

"Just cause you aren't gonna go to college, doesn't mean you aren't good Soda. You're still really smart - especially with cars. Without guys like you we wouldn't be able to get around."

"Thanks Pone. Maybe I'll open my own garage. Make a living fixing the Socs cars up and taking their money."

"Yeah. I'll help you run it."

"You gonna keep the books? Thought you said you aren't good at math."

"I said it's my hardest subject. Not that I'm bad at it."

Soda laughed, "you're right. Even with having a hard time you make good marks in Math."

"I'll probably need some extra help this year, more than before. I gotta take pre-algebra so I can get a head start with my high school math courses."

"You gonna take a lot of honors classes like Darry is pushing for? You already taking an honors class this year right?"

"Yeah, and I guess I will. Johnny says I should. I'm just worried about it."

"Why? You're smarter than anyone I know."

"Cause... I'm really smart compared to most the kids in my class in regular classes. But In high school it's mixed with all the grades or with the honors classes. Its gonna have a bunch of kids who are as smart or way smarter than me. What if I'm not as good as everyone thinks? I don't wanna let Darry down if I'm actually just... Average."

Soda pointed his fork at Ponyboy and waved it a little before speaking firmly, "Ponyboy you are extremely smart. And if those classes get to be to hard you just say so. Darry isn't gonna be upset if you can't do it, he's gonna be proud of you either way."

"But he's always on about getting good grades so I can get a scholarship for college and -"

"That's doesn't mean he's gonna think less of you if you struggle sometimes. Trust me. You should talk to him about how you feel too."