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It’s been almost a year and a half since Darry Curtis graduated from Will Rogers High School. It shouldn’t make him stuffy under the collar of his worn work shirt to walk inside. But then, he considers the fact that he’d left on a path that had been well and truly derailed, and this time, he’s been called at work and summoned.
It wasn’t exactly a surprise to be told his brother had been fighting. Darry doesn’t even remember asking which one, since the Curtis brothers have a certain penchant for getting into scuffs, but Darry has to think to himself that both Soda and Pony are usually better at keeping it out of school.
Apparently, the time since his graduation doesn’t mean much- he gets to the principal’s office before he even realises it. He spots Sodapop sitting in one of the seats outside the door, and when Soda sees Darry, he shoots to his feet.
“I’m not coming back here Darry!” he exclaims determinedly “I’m done!”
“Slow down.” Darry tells him, his tone soft but leaving no room for argument, as he guides Soda back into the chair and crouches down in front of him to take an inventory of the result of his brother’s afternoon.
A split lip, a bloodied nose and what is already developing into an impressive black eye. His shirt is torn at the neck, his elbows are grazed, and there’s a rust-hued stain seeping through the knees of his jeans.
“What the hell happened, Sodapop?” Darry asks, but before his little brother has a chance to explain, the office door opens, and Principal Rockwell strides out.
“Mr Curtis,” he greets shortly “please, follow me.”
Whether the principal intends for it or not, Darry nods his head to Soda, beckoning him to join them in the office as well.
“Let’s agree to get straight to the point, shall we?” Principal Rockwell begins as he rounds his desk and motions for Darry to sit. He doesn’t acknowledge Soda at all, which immediately gets Darry’s back up.
“Let’s.” Darry agrees with a curt nod, feeling almost like a little boy playing grown up.
“I understand Sodapop has had some ongoing issues with the same boys, but multiple witnesses state that your brother initiated the fight today, Mr Curtis.” The principal tells him stiffly.
“I’m sorry, boys? As in, more than one?” Darry demands, ignoring for a moment that he’d had no idea Soda was having problems with anyone, never mind ongoing ones. The principal stutters for a second too long for Darry’s rapidly dwindling patience, so he looks to his brother instead.
“How many?”
“Four.” Soda grumbles, his cheeks beginning to bloom with what he can only describe as embarrassment.
Darry has no idea how he speaks over the roaring in his ears. He’s not sure he’s ever felt rage like this before, and if he’s honest with himself, it’s unchartered territory. But his brother is looking at him like he wants to combust, so Darry fights to keep his voice level.
“Soda,” he begins quietly, blowing out a quick, steadying breath “go make sure your locker is empty. You’re not coming back here.”
“I-I’m not?” Soda splutters, though a mixture of relief and amazement spreads the beginnings of a grin over his face.
“Mr Curtis, let’s not make any rash decisions.” Principal Rockwell says sternly, leaning his hands on his desk as he stands to look down at Darry. But Darry has had a flame lit underneath him, and he draws himself up to his full height as well. It is, notably, at least a head and shoulders above the man across the desk.
“Apparently this has been going on for some time, so I don’t consider this to be rash.” Darry answers, and he can’t quite keep his voice from shaking with the anger he is desperately trying to keep reigned in. He certainly can’t keep it’s volume from rising “You think this is the best place for him? Look at his face!”
Soda can’t help but stare. This isn’t Mr Curtis, his and Pony’s legal guardian. This isn’t even Darrel, trying desperately to step into Dad’s shoes, or Mom’s. This is Darry, his big brother. It’s been a while since Soda has seen him, but he’s more than grateful for the appearance.
“Mr Curtis, as Sodapop’s legal guardian, you have an obligation to make sure he has an education.” The principal huffs in a last-ditch effort, but Darry has already turned away, nudging Sodapop out the door. He thinks about ignoring the comment, thinks about being the bigger person, being a role model for Sodapop.
But they are, after all, there because Sodapop got into a fight at school. The role model ship had well and truly sailed, right?
“Well, as an educator, you had an obligation to keep him safe while he was at school, so I guess we’re both falling short.”
Darry lets the door slam behind him, and stomps loudly down the hallway. Soda has to quick step to keep up, but he’s smart enough to keep his mouth shut for a little while, even if he can’t keep the grin from his face.
“Anything in your locker you need right now?” Darry asks, his voice still sharpened from the altercation, but calming by the second.
“Nope, I’m good.” Soda chirps back happily. Darry gives a short nod and strides the rest of the way towards the exit, shoving through the door at the end of the hallway.
When they’re out in the open, Darry seems to deflate a little, and Soda simply cannot contain the whoop! that erupts from his chest either. He runs to the truck, almost as though he’s worried Darry will change his mind about letting him leave if he hangs around too much. Darry is still seething, and his anger helps him close the gap quickly.
“That was amazing, Dar!”
“No, it wasn’t.” Darry growls, yanking open the door to the truck. “You just became a high school dropout, you realise that?”
“Uh, yeah. I knew that when I said I wasn’t going back.” Soda retorts as he climbs into the truck, though he does manage to reign himself in when Darry shoots him a dark look. “C’mon Darry, don’t pretend you don’t know plenty of guys like me who dropped outta school and are doing just fine.”
“Guys like you? What the hell does that mean?” Darry demands as he peels away from the curb.
“I’m dumb, Darry!” Soda exclaims, his own irritation starting to flash “I know it, you know it, everybody knows it!”
“Hey, don’t say that! You’re not dumb, Sodapop. School just doesn’t come as naturally to you as it does to Pony, that’s all.”
“Darry, that’s not it. Don’t pretend that it is.”
But Darry isn’t pretending. He’s always known that Soda would rather be doing anything else than schoolwork, and that Mom and Dad had received more than their fair share of phone calls from Soda’s teachers over the years, detailing his escapades. He remembers Mom getting into more than one argument with members of school staff trying to label Soda as ‘lazy’ or ‘not trying hard enough.’ But Soda’s less than stellar report cards had always been put down to his mischievousness. It has never occurred to Darry that his brother’s lack of academic success might be down to anything less than Soda’s own reluctance.
With too many thoughts whizzing through his head, Darry rubs a hand over the stubble on his jaw, and makes a mental note make sure he shaves in the morning. The thought is gone almost as soon as it comes. Instead, he brings his attention back to the truck, back to Soda.
“I thought Pony was helping you?” he asks, sounding more and more tired by the second.
“He is, but Pony ain’t in my classes with me, Dar.” Soda answers softly.
“Have you thought at all about what happens next?” Darry questions, and Soda is relieved to finally have a way to prove to his brother that it wasn’t a spur of the moment want for him.
“Mr Anderson said I can go full time whenever I want.”
Darry isn’t sure whether to be thankful for Soda’s boss’s generosity or curse him over the fact that Soda had less motivation to stay in school with the promise of a full-time job lined up.
God, the drive between the school and home has never felt so damn long.
“What’s really grinding your gears?” Soda asks in the lull, looking across knowingly at his big brother.
Darry thinks about denying that anything deeper is bothering him. But for all Sodapop thinks he isn’t very smart, the little brat is certainly perceptive, so Darry simply sighs. “You didn’t tell me you were having problems with anyone at school.”
“I didn’t want to bug you about it,” Soda admits, throwing in a casual shrug, though he can’t quite bring himself to meet his brother’s gaze. “I thought I could ignore it, or deal with it myself. You got bigger fish to fry.”
“No. We’re not going down this road, Sodapop.” Darry begins bluntly, and has to remind himself to be patient, that it isn’t really Soda he’s most frustrated with. It’s mostly himself. He’s been a guardian to his brothers for six months, and he’s already let Soda drop out of school? Mom and Dad would never. “You listen to me: I have exactly two fish. You want to take a guess at their names?” Darry keeps one eye on the road, and the other on his brother, so he sees the small smile threatening to tug on Soda’s cheeks. “Nothing else matters as much as my two guppy brothers. If there’s something, or someone, bothering you, you tell me.”
“Now that you mention it, there is something bothering me.” Soda begins, though the grin he’s finally allowing tells Darry he’s done with the heavy conversation. Darry can’t say he’s mad about it. One thing he will admit is how much lighter Sodapop already seems. He wonders just how long Soda has been hiding how miserable school has been making him. For the sake of his own sanity, Darry pushes that thought away. That will have to be a conversation for another day. For now, he plays along with whatever Soda is about to start.
“Oh yeah?”
“What are we going to tell Pony?”
“You’re a working man now, little brother.” Darry reminds him with a matching grin “that one’s on you.”