23Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders
"Yeah, dad, I'll look to see if I have anything of yours. Bye," Simon Michael Curtis hung up the phone, rolling his eyes. He was twenty years old- a grown adult in college- and his father, Darrel Curtis, calls him to tell him to clean his room. Well, he didn't actually say "Go clean your room", but he might as well have.
Instead, Simon's father came up with the story of how he had been looking in the attic for a very important notebook, which was supposedly a family heirloom, and he feared that Simon may have accidentally taken it one of the numerous times he had explored the attic when he was young.
Simon thought that it was impossible for him to have this "precious family heirloom" as Simon had hardly been home since he was thirteen years old. He hadn't been home for so long because he had been sent to boarding school at the age of thirteen due to his "unruly" behavior. He had never really liked being at home, so he never returned except for the occasional visit requested by one or both of his parents. Simon now lived in a small apartment close to his school, hours away from home.
Simon knew his father would call again soon, expecting an answer as to the location of this notebook. For some strange reason, Simon always found himself incapable of lying to his father, even over the phone. So he reluctantly began the search.
About two hours later, the tiny apartment was a wreck. Chairs were overturned, laundry dumped all over the floor, and trash was lying everywhere. Simon was about to call it quits and break the news to his father before he thought of one last place it could possibly be. He walked over to his closet and opened the door. It wasn't exactly the neatest or most organized place in the world and almost immediately upon opening the door, several things came toppling out, including an old box.
Within the brown box lied several documents, and an old composition notebook with yellowing pages labeled:
"The Outsiders" An essay by Ponyboy Curtis.
Curious as to why this was so important to his father, Simon carefully opened the notebook, trying not to do any damage to the fragile pages. But before he could lay his eyes on the first page, the telephone rang.
Simon grabbed the phone, "Hello," he answered.
"Simon? It's Josh." His voice sounded panicked. Joshua Tyler Curtis was Simon's younger, twelve-year-old brother.
"What happened?" Simon asked. Something had to be wrong for Josh to call him. The two had barely spoken since the last time they had talked to each other, a few years ago, and they had gotten into an argument on why Simon left home.
"I'm at the hospital. There was a car crash. Mom and Dad were really hurt and I don't how they are now. I need you to come here as soon as you can. The hospital people say they need an adult to do all the boring paperwork and junk," Josh hurriedly told him.
"Okay, give me the address and I'll be there in a few hours," Simon said.
As soon as Josh gave the hospital address, Simon practically ran out the door and into the car, the notebook forgotten on the coffee table.
The drive to the hospital was slow due to traffic. Simon allowed his mind to wander and remembered the last time he had visited home.
It was about two months ago. He had come home because his mother insisted that she had to tell him something important. It was either very late at night, or very early in the morning (depending on how you looked at it) when he had arrived home. The house was silent that night (or morning). Everybody was asleep except for the two of them. Simon's mother, Jennifer Morgan Curtis, had a very serious expression that let Simon know that there was a good reason he had been asked there.
"Simon," he could remember his mother's voice so clearly, "I know you're used to being able to… afford things easily, but that's going to change. I lost my job. Income is low. Your father and I have been very stressed and everything has been extremely difficult lately. On top of all of that… I went to the doctors last week and found out that I have a weak heart. I haven't told your dad yet. I need surgery, but it is very costly and we no longer have the money to be able to afford something so pricey. Not unless you give up college and I could use your tuition money to pay for it." She looked at him hopefully.
Simon had looked at her like she was out of her mind. "Mom, I can't do that. I can't just give up college. It's my life. Besides, you said we're low on money, so I'll need college to get a better paying job. I'm sorry, but I just can't give that up. Besides, doctors don't know everything. You're going to be fine."
Simon pulled himself out of his memory. He couldn't believe that those cruel words might be the last he would ever say to his mother. No, no. Don't think like that, he told himself, Everything will turn out okay. Mom and dad will be fine.
But Simon didn't believe himself. He turned up the radio in an attempt to drown out his confused thoughts.
A few hours later, Simon arrived at the hospital. After briefly speaking to a nurse, he entered the waiting room and spotted his younger brother sitting in a chair with a little girl asleep in his lap.
"Who is that?" Simon quietly asked his brother, gesturing to the small girl.
Josh gave him a funny look before responding, "Andrea. Our sister."
Simon mentally kicked himself. He had forgotten he even had a little sister. He looked down at the small child. She had long, dirty blonde, almost brown hair. "How old is she?" Simon asked. "Seven" Josh whispered.
"Seven? Are you sure? She's too small to be seven; she looks like she's four!" Simon exclaimed. "Yeah, I know. Mom told me she has some kind of growing disorder she was born with." Josh explained.
Then Simon remembered the reason he was there. "Have you heard anything about mom and dad?" he asked. Josh shook his head.
"Wait here." Simon ordered. He went to the nurses station and asked for the doctor of Darrel and Jennifer Curtis and was told to wait. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long.
He had just gone back to where his two younger siblings were when a doctor approached them. Eyeing the two children, the doctor asked to speak with Simon in privet.
"You're the son of Mr. and Mrs. Darrel Curtis?" the doctor questioned. "Yeah. What's wrong? Are they okay? What happened?" Simon responded anxiously.
"I'm Doctor Harold Mallek. I'm sorry to tell this to you, but you're parents are not okay. Your parents were in an accident. Their car was faulty and broke down on train tracks. The train came and, well… Your parent's have passed away." he said.
Simon was shocked to find that he wasn't at all surprised by this tragic news. It was almost like he knew his parents were gone the moment Josh had called him.
Simon went back into the waiting room as it suddenly dawned on him that he would have to be the one to tell his siblings. He panicked for a moment, before forcing himself to take a deep breath and calm down.
Simon went over to his brother and sister. Josh looked up at him, his greenish-blue eyes pleading for information. Andrea was now awake, her blue eyes darting between her two brothers, seeming unsure of the situation.
Simon knelt in front of them, so his eyes were level with Josh's as he quietly said, "They died."
Josh's eyes began to fill with tears as he rested his chin on the top of Andrea's head, holding her as though she were a teddy bear. Andrea didn't cry, but she had a very serious expression that did not belong to the face of a seven-year-old.
Simon had no clue how to comfort the children so he didn't even try. He was almost thankful when some sort of case worker tapped him on the shoulder and insisted on speaking away from the kids. The caseworker was a middle-aged woman with the name Linda Thompson. She gave Simon a very boring speech about the death of a family member effecting children. She then told Simon that either he could become his brother and sister's legal guardian, or they would go to a state home and be split up. Thinking about how selfish he was towards his mother the last time they spoke, Simon knew that this was his chance to make up for it. He accepted the role as legal guardian.
After signing a bunch of paperwork, Simon went over to his siblings. "Time to go home," he announced. The three Curtis siblings left the hospital, all of them knowing that their lives have now been changed forever.
Author's Note: Reviews would be appreciated.