𝐆𝐎-𝐆𝐎 | 𝐬.𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬

𝟎𝟎𝟕. 𝐂𝐨𝐜𝐚-𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐚

Chapter 7

Coca-Cola

"Here comes the aeroplane!" Steve sang like a mother would to a fussy toddler as he 'flew' a fat glob of chocolate cake he had stuffed in his grubby hands towards Soda's mouth. Only for it to get knocked away by Darry as he adjusted his shirt for work.

"How about you get some eggs, little man." He clasped a hand on his brother's shoulder and pushed him towards the kitchen. Steve shrugged absentmindedly at the dismissal of his aeroplane, shoving the entire piece of cake into his mouth in one bite. Smearing it messily across his cheeks, nose and lips.

"Steve, if you mess one crumb of that on my floors I'll skin you and use your face as a mop, ya hear?" Darry stuck a finger out scoldingly at the mechanic, only for him to stick out his tongue like a disobedient child.

Soda waddled swiftly to the kitchen, trying his hardest not to touch the cold tile floor for more than a second, from where he stood, he could hear Two-Bits roar of laughter as he wrestled a newly awoken Johnny to the floor.

"Cut it out, Two-Bit!" He scrambled like a beetle on his back, trying to get himself out of Two-Bits unrelenting head-lock, who cackled loudly at his failure to release himself. Ponyboy was able to hop over the two as he stumbled into the kitchen to grap his bag for school.

"Mornin' Pony." He grinned at his younger brother and ruffled his hair. Only to get his hand smacked off as the younger boy grumbled on about his ruined hair-do.

"C'mon Soda! It took me fifteen minutes to get the swirl right." He complained, desperately clutching his hair as he ran back to the bathroom. He however, didn't make it before he got caught up in Johnny and Two-Bits' ordeal, tumbling to the floor with a shout as Two-Bit dragged him by the leg.

The Curtis boy promptly scoffed down the eggs on his plate. Rushing back into the living room as he straightened his collar.

"Soda— shoes." Steve reminded him as he wiped his chocolate covered face, washing down the pieces stuck between his teeth with a swig of the beer Two-Bit had left open on the table behind him.

The penny in Soda's head dropped as he realised what he was forgetting. Waddling once more to his shared room with Pony. Grabbing the first pair of shoes he saw. And

making a mad dash at the door for the second time in the last two minutes.

"Cya Pony!" He exclaimed as he and Steve ran out of the Curtis home and skipped done with weed-cracked steps, shoes in hand and a willingness not to be late.

___________

Amid the steady hum that emitted from the air conditioning of the DX, Soda manned the cash register, placing through transactions and giving recipients, like he did every other day he had worked there.

He had tried getting under cars before, playing around with the mechanics and all that. But after he became a human oil spillage. He decided it wasn't his thing.

Despite what you may think, he knew jackshit about cars. He only took the job when Steve offered it for some extra money since his parents died and he had to drop out of school because they couldn't afford both Pony and Soda an education anymore with their thin budget. Not that he'd tell anyone that though...If someone asked, he was just dumb.

Although it was a blow to his pride, at least he was making bucks.

Now however, his biggest rival was not his paycheck, but trying not to not fall asleep behind the counter as only a few bodies entered and exited the store. His tousled hair gave his efforts away as he consistently ran his hands through it, tugging at the roots to bring his mind off shutting his eyes.