Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
TULSA
There was a moment of silence as Buck stood alone on the sidewalk leading up to the Curtis' place. He hardly ever came around here, so to say he felt out of place was an understatement.
"That kid better fuckin' be here," the cowboy grumbled before tossing away his cigarette butt. It was early-- far too early-- as Buck's cowboy boots thundered up the front steps. His fist pounded on the storm door and, a minute or two later, an exhausted-looking Ponyboy Curtis-- his hair flopping everywhere from not having yet greased it back-- swung the front door open.
"Buck?" he asked. "What're you doin'?"
"You seen Winston around?"
"Dally?"
"Naw, the other Winston. Of course I mean Dally."
Ponyboy's eyebrows knitted together, a perplexed look forming on his face.
"Ponyboy, who is it?" a voice said from behind the kid. A second later, that big-headed Steve Randle appeared, his DX shirt unbuttoned, showing off what little he had to show off.
"It's Buck," Ponyboy said. "Lookin' for Dally. You seen him?"
Steve pushed Ponyboy aside. "None of us seen him. We figured he was with you somewhere. Glory, guy hasn't been 'round here in over a week."
"Well, he said something about taking off with his girlfriend. Saw him hop into some nice Corvette and I haven't seen him since. We had a show last night. He was supposed to compete at the rodeo and he never showed up."
"Girlfriend? Sylvia?" asked Ponyboy.
"Sylvia ain't got no Corvette," said Randle, sounding as though someone had just suggested the dumbest thing in the world. "'Sides, she's been runnin' around with a guy from one of them rougher gangs. She and Dally haven't been together in a long time. I never heard about Dally having a girl."
Buck's eyes rolled upward, silently cursing the sky. "Glory," he groaned. "Well, if you see him, let him know he's in trouble. He still owes me money."
Steve shrugged. "I don't know what to tell ya. Good luck, I guess." Steve walked off and Ponyboy just waved awkwardly at Buck before closing the door. Buck grumbled another string of cuss words before he stormed off down the steps and to his T-Bird.
'''
"Joy, I'm telling you, once those missing person flyers go out, once they see the reward money for returning her home, we'll be seeing Tana's face before you know it," Mr. Thompson said, rubbing the back of his weeping wife as reassuringly as he could. "Tana'll be showing up on our doorstep with not even a scratch on her."
"Oh, it's all our fault, David!" Joy wailed. "We leave her home alone all the time with no one but that mutt to protect her."
