Chapter Text
I was standing in the courtyard in front of the school with a few of the guys on the track team, talking about a new Paul Newman movie set to come out soon. Most of them didn’t seem too interested in the conversation, but there wasn’t anything else to talk about. The track meet had been cancelled because the coach’s daughter had broken her leg or something like that. Now some of us were waiting for our rides to come.
“Yeah, I heard he had to film one scene naked,” said Stark Johnson, one of the younger boys.
“Awh no way!” exclaimed Grant Johnson, his older brother. Of course, that’s what got them into the conversation. I opened my mouth to say something, when someone called my name.
The conversation ceased and we all turned to look from the direction it had come from. I knew the person wasn’t calling for anyone else, since how many people are there named ‘Ponyboy’ out there. A skinny short lady was walking towards us, a clipboard in hand.
She reached our group and smiled.
“Hi! My name is Amanda Fletcher, I’m a social worker. Are any of you ‘Ponyboy Curtis’?” she said, still smiling.
I shifted uncomfortably.
“Um, I am,” I said, and my friends parted so I could see her better.
“Great! I need to talk to you away from this group! So, you can grab your stuff, and we’ll go.” She said, clapping her hands together the best she could with the clipboard.
I met eyes with a few of the boys, but all of them were just as confused as me. I grabbed my backpack and my track bag and followed her as she walked away. She stopped in the parking lot.
“Hello Ponyboy. Do you have any idea why I’m here today?” she asked kindly.
I shook my head.
“Right, so recently the court went through a lot of family files, and after an examination of your family’s, they have decided to… How do I put this…” she pursed her lips for a moment before clapping her hands together. “They want you to come stay at our boy’s home. But! Before you freak out, you’re only required to stay for a few days.”
I let out a breath of relief. I was glad she’d clarified before I could panic too much. As soon as she’d mentioned the home, I’d gotten dizzy and almost detached, but thankfully I stopped before it got too bad.
“Okay, what if I don’t want to go?” I asked.
She looked annoyed.
“You have too.”
“But… What if I don’t?”
She sighed.
“Ponyboy, if you don’t listen to the court then you might end up in a home permanently.”
My heart dropped and my lips parted slightly. She saw it happen and nodded her head sagely.
“Will you lead me to your home Ponyboy?” she asked, tucking her clipboard under her left arm. I hesitated, but her words rang in my head. ‘You could end up in a home permanently’. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t end up in a home, I just couldn’t.
“Yeah, okay,” I said, turning and beginning to walk towards our house. She followed closely behind me. The walk home took about 15 minutes normally, which wasn’t that long, but this lady seemed exhausted.
“How much longer until we arrive?” she asked, out of breath. We weren’t really walking that fast.
“A few minutes. Normally my buddy Steve drives me home.” I responded, slowing up so she could call even with me.
We eventually made it home, and I opened the gate to our yard. She stopped to adjust her outfit and hair and take a deep breath.
I opened the front door.
Soda was sitting at the counter eating, and Darry was reading a book on the couch. They both looked up as I walked in. Soda opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he saw the woman.
Darry sat up straighter as she stepped in.
“Hi! Are you Darrel Curtis?” she asked, holding out her hand. Darry stood up and shook it.
“Yes, that’s me.” He said gruffly, looking at me questioningly. I simply shrugged slightly.
“Hello, so I’ve already informed Ponyboy here of the news, but he will be coming to stay at St. Bruno’s boy home.” Soda gasped, looking horrified, and Darry tensed up heavily.
The woman smiled sweetly.
“But Ponyboy will only be required to stay for a few days for now.” She finished, nodding her head. Darry looked at her for a moment.
“Does he have too?” he asked. He seemed angry, but I knew he was trying to keep his temper in check in front of this lady.
“This was the court’s decision and the only way he wouldn’t have to is if you got a lawyer and went to court about this,” she said, clasping her hands together.
Darry scowled.
“Fine. But will you give us a minute?”
She smiled.
“I’ll be waiting outside Ponyboy.”
As soon as she left Soda ran over to me.
“What happened? Who is she? Did’ya do somethin’ to get you in trouble?” he exclaimed, grabbing my shoulders. I shook my head.
“I swear I didn’t! I swear I didn’t Soda, she just came up to me and said! I don’t think it’s fair, and I don’t wanna go.” I said, still shaking my head.
“We don’t have enough money for a lawyer, and bringing it to court would take too long...” Darry muttered, clearly conflicted. He looked up at me, a hand on his chin. “Will you be okay there Ponyboy?” he asked. I nodded, although I knew that wasn’t the truth. Darry seemed to know too.
He stepped forward and looked into my eyes.
“Ponyboy, if you can’t handle this, I will take it to court,” he said.
I shook my head again. “You can’t Darry. We don’t have enough money and we’ll lose anyway. I’ll go. Let me go grab a few things.” I ran upstairs before either of them could stop me. In my room I grabbed a bottle of grease and the ‘Gone with the Wind’ book. Me and Johnny had finished it a few weeks ago, but I still thought it was a good book.
I went back downstairs, and before I could even take a moment to see the front door, Soda tackled me in a bear hug.
“Oh Ponyboy, I’m so sorry. Maybe I should come with you, I don’t know how you’ll survive there.” He said, pulling away to look into my eyes. His were glossy with unshed tears.
I shook my head.
“You can’t Soda. I’ll be fine. It’s only for a few days, what’s the worst that could happen?” I said, forcing a smile onto my face. Soda only seemed more upset.
The three of us stood there silently for a moment.
“Well. I… I guess goodbye for now,” I said, looking at Darry sadly. It shocked me to see that he was crying. Soda was too.
“We love you Ponyboy. Don’t forget that,” Soda said.
“I love you guys too.” I turned away before I could fall to my knees and beg Darry to not let me go. I had to go, or else I would be put in a home for real. And I wouldn’t have that.
I walked outside and the woman was waiting outside the fence. There was a car there now. A nice one too.
She held out her arm to the door.
“Let’s go, Ponyboy.”