Ponyboy walked through the aisles of the library. The silence of the library soothed him, with his feet softly crunching on the carpet below him. His hand brushed through different books as he mindlessly walked to his favorite section. Of course, he found himself in a very specific section, the young adult novels.
After Winderixville, he had rekindled his love for reading. Johnny joined him as well, always preferring for Ponyboy to read. Just the thought of Johnny made Ponyboy stop at a book that reminded him of Johnny. He would want to read it, right?
With that logic, Ponyboy went along the shelves, picking up books that he thought Johnny would like. Of course, he picked some of his own that he would like to read, but, those were smaller and in his eyes, “less significant.” At the end of his small endeavor, he found that he had more books than what he could easily carry.
Determined to not seem weak, Ponyboy still checked out all 14 books. Even if he did struggle to get them off of the librarian's desk, he kept his determination as he shoved it onto a random table.
Now, the real issue was getting home. Ponyboy stood around in the library, looking at his stack of books. Some books ranged from 500 pages to just 200 pages. With that thought, Ponyboy sat down right in the view of the librarian and started reading the smallest of the books.
If the librarian had minded, they didn't do anything about it. So, Ponyboy just read. He refused to look outside, for fear that it was way later than what he expected. Still, the books enticed him and after a moment, he found that his small stack of books had greatly dissipated.
Just as he had realized that he also realized a sensation of a hand coming down on his shoulder, clapping it hard. Instinctively, Ponyboy jumped, turning around to see the perpetrator. Two-Bit and Steve stood there, with Steve laughing as quietly as he could. Two-Bit had a goofy smile on his face, and his hand was still out, showing that it was him that startled Ponyboy.
“Glory kid, I didn't know ya got scared like that,” Two-Bit said with a smile. Ponyboy rolled his eyes, looking to the librarian. The librarian was now shelving, not paying any mind to the trio in the library. “What do you guys want?” Ponyboy asked, attitude slipping into his voice.
“What do we want?” Steve repeated, almost incredulously, “Kid, do you know what time it is?” Ponyboy thought about it for a moment, forgetting the fact that there was a clock right behind him. After a moment, he shrugged his shoulders. Steve slapped his hand on his face and sighed.
Two-Bit laughed at the sight, before turning back to Ponyboy. “It's around 10 PM.” Ponyboy's mouth dropped open as he looked at the clock. “Two-Bit you liar!” Ponyboy whispered shouted. Two-Bit held a goofy look on his face and batted his eyelashes. In actuality, it was just 6 PM.
“Jezz kid, you gonna read all of those?” Steve said, gesturing to the mass amount of books that Ponyboy had been reading. He was down to ten books now, making sure to not even open the books that he wanted to read with Johnny.
Ponyboy nodded, getting up and taking the books that he had already read to the librarian's desk. The librarian came back from shelving, “Returning these?” Ponyboy nodded, trying to ignore the stares of Steve and Two-Bit.
“Ya finally ready brat?” Steve called out. Ponyboy tensed, handing the librarian his library card. Two-Bit told Steve something in a hushed voice, something that Ponyboy couldn’t hear.
“See you again,” the librarian said as Ponyboy walked to his friends. Steve glared at him while Two-Bit had a small smile playing on his lips. “Why didya even come here?” Ponyboy asked as he struggled to pick up the books.
Two-Bit grabbed three of them, struggling himself. Steve punched him on the shoulder before taking eight of the books. Ponyboy held the other two, just watching the duo. After their little “fight,” Steve finally answered Ponyboy's question.
“Ya been out since 10 brat. Superman sent us.”
“Has it really been that long?” Ponyboy mumbled his head in the clouds again. Two-Bit nudged him, guiding him outside. “Yeah kid, Darry wouldn’t even start dinner without ya.”
Ponyboy rolled his eyes, of course, Two-Bit would instantly start talking about the loss of food. “Wait, he didn’t start dinner?” Ponyboy asked, his eyes going wide a bit. Steve sent him a small look, “Yeah, why?”
Then it hit Ponyboy.
“I was supposed to make dinner tonight,” he mumbled, his voice startled as he remembered. Steve punched him on the shoulder with his free hand, “So he didn't tell us to get ya for dinner. He wanted you to make dinner.” Ponyboy sighed as he put his books in the backseat of Steve’s car, a sign that told Steve that he was right.
Ponyboy had completely forgotten that he had switched chores with Sodapop. Mostly because Soda had to work more, same with Darry. Still, he mentally beat himself up for forgetting. Ponyboy kept trying to remember if he had forgotten something else, just in case. And before he knew it, a voice was the only thing drowning out his thoughts.
“Kid?” Two-Bit's voice called out. Ponyboy looked at him, realizing that they were outside of his house. Two-Bits eyebrow was raised, silently asking him if he was okay. Ponyboy quickly gathered himself and saw as Steve also gave him a worried look. Getting the memo, Ponyboy rushed inside- forgetting his books.
Steve and Two-Bit watched as he ran into the house, not even bothering a glance back. “Ya think he’s gonna come back for them?” Steve asked, gesturing to the pile of books behind Two-Bit. “Naw,” Two-Bit answered almost instantly. “Kid didn’t even remember that Darry came home early today.”
“Darry came home early?” Steve asked incredulously, stopping to look right at Two-Bit in disbelief. Two-Bit just looked at him. “And I thought I had the memory of a Billy goat,” Two-Bit joked. Steve rolled his eyes, “Why did Darry come back early?” Two-Bit bit his lip, unsure if he should remind Steve.
“I dunno,” Two-Bit lied. Steve softly punched him on the shoulder as he rolled his eyes. Steve got out of the car, making his way to the backseat to grab the books that Ponyboy forgot. Two-Bit followed along, not being able to carry any of the books that Steve did. “Are ya just weak or lazy ya bum?” Steve grumbled as he trekked up the stairs. Two-Bit smiled, not answering as they walked in.
Ponyboy worked on dinner as Darry watched him. It had also slipped Ponyboy's mind that Darry was getting back early. Almost everyone in the house was confused as to why the older boy was there. Still, Ponyboy wasn't as confused as he was frustrated with himself for forgetting to make dinner. Just as Ponyboy finally finished getting everything on the stove, or in the oven, Darry put a hand to Ponyboy's forehead.
“Ya ain't getting sick on me ya hear?” Darry said with a co*cked eyebrow. Ponyboy brushed off his hand, “Im fine Dar.” Still, Darrys concerned look stayed on him as he continued to pay attention to the food. Sodapop loped from the bathroom, ruffling Ponyboy's hair as he checked on the two.
“Hey Pone,” Sodapop greeted as he looked at the stove, his hand reaching for something in the cupboard. Darry had to swat Sodapops hand away from the food coloring as he did so. When the front door slammed shut, Sodapop went out to see who it was.
“Whoa Steve, didn't know ya liked to read so much,” Sodapop laughed. Ponyboy could practically hear the eye-roll that Steve did. “It ain't mine.”
“Really? Ya sure we don't gotta revoke yer library card?” Two-Bit joked despite knowing exactly why Steve had the books. Sodapop practically cackled as Darry went out to see what the commotion was. Johnny was on the couch, just watching as Steve grumbled around the two jesters. “Tell your brother to get his damn books,” Steve said as he put the books on the coffee table.
“Wait, those are all his?” Darry asked as he looked at the stack. While Two-Bit would've joked more, he nodded. “That's why he was at the library. Actually, when we caught ‘im, he had more!” Two-Bit said, a bit of astonishment clear in his tone. Darry looked at the books as Sodapop put a hand on his shoulder.
“He's gonna be finished with them by the time we can even see what the titles are,” Sodapop reassured. Steve rolled his eyes as he sat down on the couch. “Where's Dallas?” Steve asked. Two-Bit fumbled with the TV, trying to find which channel had Mickey on.
“He's at Bucks,” Johnny replied from the couch, his eyes gazing at the kitchen. Ponyboy continued to cook, trying not to forget anything as he did so. He was already mentally keeping a checklist of everything he had done that day. Which was more of reading than actually doing something “productive.”
“Whats for dinner?” Two-Bit called out to Ponyboy. Ponyboy knocked himself out of the trance and looked at the food. Suddenly, it didn't look like what he was trying to cook. A purple mass of vegetables looked back at him on a plate. And somehow, the potatoes he just mashed, had a tint of red in them.
“Sodapop!” Ponyboy yelled out, startling everyone in the living room. Sodapop laughed, just about falling to his knees. Darry rushed into the kitchen, in disbelief that he wasn't able to stop his younger brother from putting food coloring into the food. Everyone else in the living room claimed down a bit after seeing Sodapop regain his breath from laughing so hard. A small smile played on Ponyboy and Darrys lips as they plated the food, trying to ignore the color.
“I swear I’m gonna start locking up all the food coloring,” Darry grumbled lightheartedly as he dug into his purple vegetables. Sodapop ate his food with a ferocity that you would've thought he had never eaten in his life. All while somehow keeping a coherent conversation with Steve, keeping a mischievous smile on as he did so.
Ponyboy sat next to Johnny on the couch, the stack of books still on the coffee table. Johnny looked at Ponyboy and then to the books, asking a silent question. “Theres some books in there that I wanna read with you,” Ponyboy admitted shyly. Johnny's face lit up, a huge smile growing on his face.
“Whatcha talking ‘bout here?” Two-Bit joked with a full mouth of red mashed potatoes. “Ew Two-Bit,” Ponyboy said as he tried to push Two-Bit away. Two-Bit cackled, “Talking ‘bout yer library card needing to get revoked?”
Two-Bit wished he had a camera to keep the look of absolute disbelief on Ponyboys face forever. Just the sight made him fall down from laughing and choke on the food he was eating. After a moment to recoup, Two-Bit continued laughing. Steve laughed as well, with Sodapop and Darry trying to keep a straight face.
Johnny silently smiled up until Two-Bit started choking. Still, after Two-Bit almost dying, they continued to laugh. Ponyboy rolled his eyes, a small smile on his lips as he tried to eat the rest of his food.
“Honestly, I think they will have ta remove his card if he keeps checking out so many books,” Steve stated. Ponyboy rolled his eyes, putting his plate on the coffee table to switch it out with a book. Johnny huddled a bit closer to him, practically reading the book from behind his shoulder.
“At least he read more than you, ya dirty greaser,” Two-Bit joked, obviously trying to get a rouse from Steve. Ponyboy didn't even look up at the sounds of Steve and Two-Bit roughhousing around the living room. Johnny did, laughing a bit as Darry tried to direct the roughhousing to some furniture that he knew he could fix. Or at least, away from the fragile coffee table that temporarily home Ponyboy's stack of books.
Of course, the same thing happened the next week after that. Sodapop was right, Ponyboy did finish the books before they even knew what the titles were. Not only that, but, Ponyboy had gotten a whole new stack of books before they even knew that he had finished the other ones.
