The Outsiders Parody - Darry

CHAPTER 11

The hearing was exactly as stressful as I thought it would be. Randy was questioned first, and I made it clear to Pony that he should keep his trap shut, and he'd get his chance to talk.

I got asked a few questions about Dally, and no matter what the question was, I either responded with "No, sir" or "Yes, sir". I didn't let the fear growing inside me show on my face.

The only thing that surprised me in the hearing was that they didn't ask Ponyboy a single thing about the night Bob died. Only if he liked school, and liked living with me, and if he made good grades.

The answer to all three of those questions was "Yes."

Things were mostly the same for me after that. Pony became a clumsy, forgetful and tuff mess though.

A few weeks after the hearing, me and Ponyboy got into an argument about schoolwork. The fourth one we'd had that week.

It was your normal, run-of-the-mill argument, before Pony shouted back at me,

"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 had never worried about Soda, because he had never made good grades. But with Ponyboy...it's like looking in a mirror.

And we certainly don't need more of me.

"You're not going to drop out." I said, hoping whole-heartedly that it was true. "Listen, with your brains and grades you could get a scholarship, and we could put you through college. But schoolwork's not the point. You're living in a vacuum, Pony, and you're going to have to cut it out. Johnny and Dallas were our buddies, too, but you don't just stop living because you lose someone. I thought you knew that by now. You don't quit! And anytime you don't like the way I'm running things you can get out."

Ponyboy shot up, he was pale.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? Well, it's not that easy, is it, Soda?"

I glanced over to where Sodapop was sitting, and he was even paler than Pony.

"Goddamn you guys!" He screamed, and jumped up.

I stood, and watched him sprint out the door, in silence.

I looked across the table, and saw an envelope that Soda had dropped.

The second I saw it, I knew what it was.

I grabbed the folded paper, and sighed.

"It's the letter he wrote Sandy. Returned unopened."

I remembered what Soda had said to me, a few months after him and Sandy had started dating.

"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."

"You don't have to draw me a picture." Pony said, snobbishly.

"He wanted to marry her anyway, but she just left. Why didn't he tell you? I didn't think he'd tell Steve or Two-bit, but I thought he told you everything."

"Maybe he tried." Ponyboy said, letting go of his anger.

"He cried every night that week you were gone," I whispered, hoping Pony could hear me. "Both you and Sandy in the same week." I tossed the envelope back on the table. "Come on, let's go after him."

We followed Soda to the park. I wasn't very fast on my own, but since Ponyboy had done track, it wasn't that hard to catch up.

When we had gained on him, I looked to Pony, and said,

"Circle around and cut him off. I'll stay right behind him."

Ponyboy nodded, and circled around.

Eventually, I came up on Pony and Sodapop.

"Where did you think you were going?" Ponyboy demanded.

"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?"

I was shocked. Throughout everything, I had thought that I never had to worry about Soda. He was the tough one, and I never had to think about how he was doing. Even when he was cryin' all those nights, I thought he would be okay. But now...

"I mean," Soda continued, while picking dead grass. "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 serious, 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 I'm 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." His eyes glistened with tears. "Golly, you two, it's bad enough having to listen to it, but when you start trying to get me to take sides..." We wiped his eyes, and sniffled. "We're all we've got left. We ought to be able to stick together against everything. If we don't have each other, we don't have anything.. If you don't have anything, you end up like Dallas...and I don't mean dead, either. I mean like he was before. And that's worse than dead. Please...don't fight anymore."

I put my hand on Soda's shoulder.

"Sure, little buddy. We're not going to fight anymore."

Soda turned to Pony, and so did I. Ponyboy was crying too, now.

Through tears, Sodapop grinned and said,

"Hey, Ponyboy. Don't you start crying, too. One bawl-baby in the family's enough."

"I'm not crying." Pony protested, while sniveling.

Soda jokingly punched Ponyboy on the shoulder, and grinned.

Pony then hugged Sodapop, and I said,

"No more fights. Okay, Ponyboy?"

"Okay."

Soda then got to his feet, and challenged Pony and I to a race.

Of course, I could never decline such a request.

And so we raced, until we reached the front door of the house in which we lived.