Pony sulks while the thermometer dangles from his partially opened lips like an unlit cigarette. Two-Bit pulls up in his car, Betsy, who is barely hang on, speeding as recklessly as usual into the Curtis's front lawn. For once Darry doesn't chew him out for his driving as he helps himself to some chocolate cake. Dallas trudges in behind him, propping himself against the wall, his usual greeting of "howdy boys" making Soda smile and shake his head.
"Hey, Pony, you goin' for a new casual trend?" Two-Bit jabs, howling with laughter. Pony's clad in Soda's way-too-loose old, grey cut-off hoodie he threw on this morning and a pair of boxers he wore last night to bed.
"Yeah, right," he plays along, and then turns sour. "Ask Darry. Apparently I ain't goin'."
"We're gonna start this one again? You are staying home, end of discussion," Darry sounds exasperated, and Pony stays silent, staring through the TV.
"Well, shoot, Darry. He got a fever?" Two-Bit asks, mildly concerned while Dally just looks mildly bored with the whole conversation.
"How did you even get sick?" Darry asked.
Flashback:
Pony sat on the bench of Tulsa County Jail, bored out of his mind. Darry had to pick Dallas up from the cooler and Pony was stuck coming with him.
While Darry dealt with the legal stuff, which all went over even Pony's head, the youngest Curtis sat next to a lady and her baby. They both appeared to be Chinese and the older woman looked really angry at someone or something.
"Watch ze chiald!" She snapped at him in broken English and a heavy accent, rubbing her nose and coughing. Pony, the young teen having no idea what-so-ever what he should do, watched her set down the toddler and stalk off towards the restroom.
The child climbed onto Pony's lap, coughing hard. Pony stiffened, but didn't push the child off.
What the heck? He thought wildly, awkwardly patting the child on the back, who had only stopped coughing to sneeze, in Pony's face no less.
That's how Darry and Dallas found Pony. Confused, Darry told Ponyboy that they needed to go.
"I gotta watch him. Some lady just walked off and told me to watch him," Ponyboy told him. Darry wanted to argue, but didn't want to leave a young toddler by hisself in a jail. So they waited until the lady came back with her husband and picked up their child.
End Flashback
YOU ARE READING
Hateful Cigarettes
Teen FictionIt all started with a cough. And a fever. And then hospital and pills. Ponyboy's quitting track, smoking, and that's just the beginning. And Darry said that it was just a cold *I do not own The Outsiders
