Dream to Reality

After Court

Pony's POV

Soda cooked dinner that night,and everything came out right. That was unusual,because he's always trying something different. One time we had green pancakes. Green. I can tell you one thing:if you got a brother like Sodapop,you're never bored. All through supper Soda was quite,and he didn't eat much. That was really unusual. Most of the time you can't shit him up or fill him up. Darry didn't seem to notice,so I didn't say anything. Jasmine and Johnny were both quite too. They were probably surprised too. Then after supper me and Darry go into a fuss,about the fourth one we'd had that week. This one started because I didn't do my homework and I wanted to go for a ride. It used to be that I'd just stand there and let Darry yell at me,but lately I'd been yelling right back. "What's the sweat about my schoolwork? I'll have to get a job as soon as I get out of school anyway. Look at Soda. He's doing okay,and he dropped out. You can just lay off!" I shouted."You're not going to drop out. Listen,with your brains and grades you could get a scholarship,and we could put you through college. But schoolworks not the point. You're living in a vacuum,Pony,and you're going to have to cut it out. You don't quit! And anytime you don't like the way I'm running things you can get out" said Darry. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? You'd like me just to get out. Well,it's not that easy,is it,Soda?" I asked. But when I looked at Soda I stopped. His face was white,and when he looked at me his eyes were wide with a pained expression. "Don't....Oh,you guys,why can't you...."Soda jumped up suddenly and bolted out the door. Darry and I were struck dumb. Darry had picked up the envelope that Soda had dropped. "It's the letter he wrote to Sandy. Returned unopened" Darry said without expression. So that's what had been bugging Soda all night. And I hadn't even bothered to find out. And while I was thinking about it,I realized that I never had paid attention to Soda's problems. Darry and I just took it for granted that he didn't have any. "When Sandy went to Florida....it wasn't Soda,Ponyboy. He told me he loved her,but I guess she didn't love him like he thought she did, because it wasn't him" said Darry. "You don't have to draw me a picture. He wanted to marry her anyway,but she just left" I said. Darry looked at me with a puzzled expression. "Why didn't he tell you? I didn't think he'd tell Steve or Two-Bit or anybody else but I thought he'd tell you everything" Darry asked. "Maybe he tried" I said. How many times has Soda started to tell me something,only to find I was daydreaming or stuck ina book? He would listen to me,no matter what he was doing. "He cried every night that week you were gone. Both you and Sandy in the same week". He put the envelope down. "Come on, let's go after him" said Darry. Darry looked behind him and noticed that Jasmine and Johnny were there. He must have forgot they were there. They both had shocked expressions. We just went out the door and we'd just deal with them when we get back. We chased him clear to the park. We were gaining on him,but he had a block's head start. "Circle around and cut him off. I'll stay right behind him" Darry said. I headed through the trees and cut him off halfway across the park. He veered off to the right,but I caught him in a flying tackle before he'd gone more than a couple of steeps. It knocked the wind out of both of us. We lay there gasping for a minute or two,and then Soda sat up and brushed the grass off his shirt. "You should have gone out for football instead of track" said Soda. "Where did you think you were going" I asked. I lay flat on my back and looked at him. Darry came up and dropped down beside us. Soda shrugged. "I don't know. It's just....I can't stand to hear y'all fight. Sometimes....I just have to get out or.... it's like I'm the middleman in a tug o war and I'm being split in half you dig?" Soda asked. Darry gave me a startled look. Neither of us had realized what it was doing to Soda to hear us fight. What he said was the truth. Darry and I did play tug o war with him,with never a thought to how much it was hurting him. Soda was fiddling with some dead grass. "I mean,I can't take sides. It'd be a lot easier if I could,but I see both sides. Darry yells too much and tries too hard and takes everything too serous,and Ponyboy,you don't think enough,you don't realize all Darry's giving up just to give you a chance he missed out on. He could have stuck you in a home somewhere and worked his way through college. Ponyboy,I'm telling you the truth. I dropped out because am dumb. I really did try in school,but you saw my grades. Look,I'm happy working in a gas station with cars. You'd never be happy doing something like that. And Darry,you ought to try to understand him more,and quit bugging him about every little mistake he makes. He feels things differently than you do. Golly,you two,it's bad enough having to listen to it,but when you start trying to get me to take sides...."Tears welled up in his eyes. "We're all we got left. We ought to be able to stick together against everything. If we don't have each other,we don't have anything,you end up like Dallas is. Please don't fight anymore" Soda said with a pleading look. Darry looked really worried. I suddenly realized that Darry was only twenty,that he wasn't so much older that he couldn't feel scared or hurt and as lost as the rest of us. I saw that I expected Darry to do all of the understanding without even trying to understand him. And he had given up a lot for Soda and me. "Sure,little buddy" said Darry softly. "We're not going to fight no more". "Hey,Ponyboy,don't you start crying,too. One bawl-baby in the family's enough" said Soda. "I'm not crying" I said. Maybe I was. Soda gave me a playful punch on the shoulder. "No more fights. Okay,Ponyboy?" Darry said. "Okay" I said. And I meant it. Darry and I would probably still have misunderstandings_we were too different not to_but no more fights. Sodapop would always be the middleman,bit that didn't mean he had to keep getting pulled apart. Instead of Darry and me pulling him apart,he'd be pulling us together. "Well,I'm cold. How about going home?" Soda asked. "Race you" I challenged,leaping up. The three of us tied.  We got inside and Jasmine and Johnny was still there. Soda ran to Jasmine and kissed her.

Jasmine's POV

About 39 minutes had passed when Soda,Pony,and Darry came back in. Soda ran to me and kissed me. I hope everything is okay with him. That's when I remembered the letter Soda wrote to Sandy. How it returned unopened. And how Soda ran away then Pony and Darry had to go run after him. That was the last chapter of the book. The book is done. I guess a lot of things had changed in the book. I can't believe I did it. I changed some events in the book. I am still happy that Johnny and Dallas are still alive. I wonder if Johnny still wrote Pony a letter. I hope am not sent home tomorrow. I don't even know why I was brought to this world. Maybe to change things or something. I don't know. Well either way I was happy to come here. And if I didn't,Soda wouldn't even be my boyfriend.

Hey guys!! Hope you liked this chapter. So I am finally done using The Outsiders book. I don't know if I well add the letter that Johnny wrote to Pony or not but I just might. Or I well add a different letter but from Johnny sense both Johnny and Dallas are still alive. Sorry if this chapter was a little too long. Anyways,have a good day. Stay Gold