(1/3) The Outsiders - the Sequel.

Chapter 8

        The morning after the drive-in "incident," I didn't have to go to school. There wasn't a whole lot to do, mostly cause Sodapop was at work, and so was Darry (he's been able to go to work for a few days, now), and if you know mr and my story, you would know that I had already read every single book in the house. Multiple times. So, I was all alone, with nothing to do. Luckily, Two-Bit and Shirley came over before I could get really bored. It looked like Shirley picked up on Two-Bit's habits, because she didn't knock when she came in.

        Shirley came running into the house, and threw herself into me. I was astonished (yep. Using big words to describe a big feeling) when she wrapped her arms around me, sobbing, "Thank you for saving my life! Thank you, thank you!" Now, I'm not a touchy-feely person, but this was honestly kinda nice! Two-Bit came in behind her, and slowly shook his head. "Listen, kid, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions last night. Thanks for saving my sister. I owe ya big time," he said.

        They stayed to play a couple board games, but if you know Two-Bit, you know that he cannot sit still. Ever.

        When Soda and Darry came home from work, they were exhausted. Like always. So, instead of going and doing something outside in the freezing cold, Darry's fiancé, Valerie, came over. She had seriously been like a sister to me. We decided to make it a date night, so Shirley and Cherry came over.

        We played lots of games. We tried playing Risk, but the girls weren't getting a kick out of it, so we played Trouble! and Candyland. Let me tell you, it got pretty competitive.

        Shirley had to leave early, because she wasn't feeling well (which, honestly, is probably because she ate way too much candy). Soda thought to give Cherry a ride on Mickey Mouse (good old Sodapop), so he went to get him. I walked outside to the backyard with Cherry, waiting for Soda, and we were greeted by a stunning sunset. Streaks of pink, blue, orange, purple, yellow, and yes, gold, streaked the clear sky.

        The sunset hadn't looked quite this beautiful since the second night in Windrixville. Maybe it had, but I hadn't noticed. Out of the blue, Cherry, who I forgot was there, said, "Ponyboy, I've got a special feeling about Soda. I mean, there aren't many out there of the sensitive, understanding folk. How do I tell him?" I sat there and thought. I never thought about how to tell a girl how to tell a boy something. "Well," I started. "He's getting his horse ready to take you out on a ride. He's pretty good at listening, so why don't you tell him how you feel while you're riding off into the sunset?" She thought for a moment, and smiled at me. "You know what? I think I will. Thanks, Ponyboy."

        The rest of the night was pretty great. I mean, since Shirley went home, I really didn't have a whole lot to do, but everyone else seemed like they were having a mighty fine time. While Darry, Valerie, Sodapop, and Cherry were doing whatever, I opened my new copy of The Lord of the Rings (I got it for Christmas. I honestly really like it, even though the rest of society frowns upon fantasy).

        I think I was almost done with chapter two, when the phone rang. I looked around, expecting Darry to answer it, as always, but I don't think he even heard it. So I got up and answered it. It was Grandma Curtis. She decided to take the airplane to and from her house, and I guess she had a layover in Salt Lake City, Utah, but couldn't fly to Olympia yet, because the flight was delayed due to a big snow storm. Again, why would anyone want to live in Utah? Anyways, she called to see if we were doing okay (although, I made the point that we did fine before she came along), but I didn't tell her much, except that there were a few things we needed to talk about when she got back. I told her it was nothing serious because I didn't want to worry her.

        Yeah, so, you know how Dennis was borrowing Valerie's car? Well, she stopped letting him use it, and guess what she found in the glove compartment. The back brakes of our car. Dennis sabotaged the car. Let me tell you, he is definitely out for us.

        After the girls went home, I brought it up with Darry. "Maybe he's jealous, or angry, or protective, or something. I'm sure he doesn't have anything against us," Darry said. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, right.

        About a week later, Grandma Curtis came back, except she moved into that apartment she bought. I was surprised (though, it shouldn't have shocked me) to see that she had an indoor carrot farm to put in her windowsill. When I just stared at it, grandma said, "I like... carrots. But that doesn't mean YOU have to like... carrots." So, I love my grandma to death, but just imagine one of those "crazy cat ladies" but replace the cats with carrots. So, yeah. That happened.

        Oh, and when we were helping her unpack, she made us spill out all of our stories. Then you wonder how people can tell you're hiding something. I think she was kinda angry that I told her we were all fine over the phone.

        As I carried some of grandma's boxes to her apartment, I noticed one of them was lighter than the rest. I looked around, and not seeing anybody, I carefully opened the box. It turns out there were tons of old documents and records in the box. But right on top were my parents' death certificates.

        I was shocked. I as soon as Grandma Curtis walked through the door, I hammered her with questions. "What are you hiding?" I finally asked. Soda and Darry walked through the door, arms full of boxes. "Pony, what're you doin'?" Darry asked me. I almost said, "Grandma's hiding something and I'm trying to find out what!" but I actually said, "Grandma isn't telling us everything." "About what?" "About our parents," I said quietly. So, that started a whole thing, and we were all trying to find out what had happened.

        Grandma wouldn't tell us. At least, not yet. Instead, she just said, "That's a story for another day, boys." It was driving us all crazy.