Golden Greaser

- 19 -

    "Diana." Sodapop's voice was hinted with worry. "Diana, wake up."

    I was jostled from my light, but restful slumber and instantly I could tell something was up. My mind went simultaneously to the events of last night and I realized I'd fallen back asleep waiting for Ponyboy.

   "What's wrong." I asked, suddenly becoming aware of how quiet it was in the house.

    "Ponyboy didn't come back last night." Soda licked his lips nervously. "I woke up and he wasn't there..."

   I opened my mouth to respond but Sodapop continued.

  "Did you see em' come in? Did you hear him?"

  I shook my head, taking an absent look around the room.

  "Oh man," Sodapop shook his head and ran his long fingers through his hair. "Darry's gonna flip out..."

   "No, he's not." I reassured him.

    "You don't know Darry as well as you think, do ya'?" He scoffed. "Did you even see what went down last night?"

    "I'll talk to him..." I said, resting my hand on his shoulder. "Ponyboy couldn't have gotten too far..."

   Soda nodded, but still his voice was shaking with panic and worry. All I could think about was the worst case scenarios, everything that could've possibly happened to Pony.

   "Do they fight like that all the time?" I asked quietly, standing up and walking to the kitchen.

   Soda leaned against the counter. "Just after mom and dad passed. Before then they were like best buddies..."

    I opened the fridge to look for something to cook for breakfast. It would save Darry and Soda some time and I needed to get my mind off the current predicament anyways.

    "Do you have any idea where he might have gone?"

     Soda shrugged. "The only place I know of is the lot...but besides that, the only other place he could've gone was Two-Bit's."

     He paused, watching me crack eggs in the skillet. "Johnny's house is a wreck and so is Steve's. And Dallas..."

    "Okay, well..." I looked at him. "That's where we'll start."

    "You've got school, don't you?" He asked. "And Jay's?"

    "That can wait..." I flipped the eggs around with my spatula. "You got school too, right?"

    "Nah," he sighed. "Dropped out."

     Before I could answer the front door opened to Two-Bit Matthews, holding his trademark beer bottle. 

    By the look on his face, he was oblivious.

    "Hey, Soda." He greeted. "How's it going?"

    Sodapop had a somewhat stricken look painted on his face. And I quickly realized why.

    Two-Bit came alone, and with no mention of Ponyboy.

  "Did Pony stay with you last night?" Soda asked, walking up to him in almost three steps.

   Two-Bit altered confused eye-contact with the both of us. 

   "No...?"

   Darry emerged from his bedroom dressed in his roofing company uniform. He looked at me as he read the room, and I knew at that moment what he was about to ask next.

    "Where's Ponyboy."

    "Well..." I sighed. "That's what we're trying to figu--"

    "He didn't come back last night." Soda interrupted, looking to his older brother with panic in his voice. "I don't know where he is..."