Bucky awoke the next morning to his phone making a strange noise. What the hell… Confused, he stumbled out of his sleeping bag and grabbed it, pushing all the buttons and flipping all the switches, trying to get the noise to stop. It took him a few minutes to realize that the sound was going off because he had received a text message. Bewildered, Bucky cautiously tapped the screen with his finger, half-expecting it to blow up in his face. The screen lit up, scalding his still-groggy eyes. After making sure his retinas hadn't been burned off, Bucky tapped on the text icon and saw that the text was from Steve.
Hi Buck. How are you doing?
Trying to remember what Steve had shown him, Bucky finally found the keyboard and managed to type back, Okay. I had really good Chinese food last night. A few seconds after he sent it, Bucky was amazed to see that Steve had responded. Wow. Magic!
Nice. Where? Steve asked.
I don't know. My neighbor brought me some.
Ooh, nice neighbor. You're welcome.
Yeah. She's nice. Bucky regretted sending this the moment he sent it.
SHE?! I think you just hit the jackpot! Bucky could sense Steve's excitement.
No, I don't think I should get involved.
Come on man, she bought you Chinese!
She said that she did it for all her neighbors.
Oh my gosh, Buck. You're so old. That was obviously a cover. You have to ask her out.
No.
Come on!
NO.
After typing this extremely assertive "no", Bucky turned off his phone and stumbled to the bathroom. Oh, god. Another day.
Since he had finished the book about dogs that Steve gave him, Bucky decided to go to the library. The book was really good, but it made him sad because the dogs both died in the end. Bucky was determined to find a happy book to read. He didn't need anymore sadness in his life. He put on a sweatshirt and a black baseball cap and headed out into the dangerous world.
At the library, a nice lady working there showed him how to use the computer to search the library catalogue. Bucky was so nervous about manipulating this piece of technology that he didn't realize he was squeezing the mouse too hard. It crushed in his hand. Embarrassed, Bucky quickly left that section of the library and asked another librarian for recommendations.
"You just finished Where the Red Fern Grows?" She asked him. Bucky nodded, now afraid that he would destroy something with his voice alone. "Did you like it?" Bucky nodded again. "Let's find another book about dogs then."
The librarian searched the catalog and found him a book called Old Yeller. Surely it would be happier than Where the Red Fern Grows! Bucky checked it out and started walking back to his apartment. This time, he easily found his keys. When Bucky opened the door, he was shocked at who was standing in his apartment.