It seemed as though Darry and I called the boys' home every day. Every time we'd call, though, we'd get the same answer: "Ponyboy is busy right now." Either that, or, "I'm sorry, Ponyboy is not allowed to take any calls at this time."

It was starting to get on my nerves, and I needed to see Pony. It was really upsetting Darry and me. I could tell by the way Darry acted. He tried to be normal, but I knew him too well to believe his act. He ate normal, and worked a lot still, but he was quieter and he always had this look of fear in his eyes. I knew he wasn't sleeping much, and I wasn't either. It was taking a lot out of us. But then, Pony doesn't have anyone, so he's the worst off.

Some days I'd call during my lunch break, but I still got the same after. I got suspicious of the social workers. I suspected that they were keeping us away on purpose, but I didn't know why.

I knew Darry blamed himself for what happened. I tried to reassure him that it wasn't his fault, but I don't think he believed me.

Steve had the responsibility of keeping me from breaking down n front of customers. Sometimes, one of the kids from Pony's class would drop by, and they'd ask where he was now. It would kill me to try to explain what had happened, and once the kid left, I'd usually start crying. I was getting better now. It's been four weeks since Pony's been gone, but it seems like years.

Most days I could be found crying in the bathroom of the DX. I felt bad for Steve, because he came in and calmed me down. I knew he didn't like Pony that much, but since he was my friend, he felt my pain too. I'm sure Darry even could be found wiping away a few tears while at work.

The thought that was killing me was the fact that Pony was having the nightmares again and no one was there to hold him. I could hear in his voice the pain and sorrow of being away from home. We all felt it, and I wished it would stop. The thought that I feared the most, was that it would never happen.

For Darry's sake, I tried to be optimistic. But with each day, I doubted it more and more. Would we ever see Pony again? I didn't know.

I was sitting on the couch, watching a Mickey Mouse episode, when Darry came charging inside the house.

"What''s going on?" I asked, noticing the determined look on Darry's face.

"Come on. We're going to see Ponyboy." Darry said.

"What? I thought we weren't allowed."

"Look, do you want to see him or not?"

"Of course I do! It's just. . . "

"Well, than let's go."

"Okay."

So we hopped into the car and drove through Tulsa to the boys' home. I felt my heart beat quicken when I saw it come into view.

Darry looked over at me and grinned for the first time in four weeks.

"Let's go see our little brother, Pepsi-Cola."

"Yeah!" I said, excited now.

We ran up the steps and into the lobby of the boys' home. The lady at the receptionists' desk looked at us funny.

"May I help you?" She asked pleasantly.

"Yes, we're here to see Ponyboy Curtis." Darry said.

"Oh, well, I was told that no one was allowed to go see him, unless it was Mrs. McCool."

"Well, we're his brothers. We're more important than Mrs. McCool. So tell us where he is, and we'll go see him."

"I'm sorry I can't let you do that."

"You wanna bet?" Darry said coldly. His eyes were blazing with anger.

"Sir, am I going to have to call the police on you?"

"No, I'm just going to see my little brother."

And then, much to my surprise, Darry ran down the hallway. I followed, wondering where he was going.

"Pony!" He screamed, and he continued as he ran down the halls. Soon, I joined in.

"Ponyboy!" We screamed together. We were turning a corner when someone caught us by our shoulders.

"What the-" Darry said, then noticed who had caught us. It was the police.

"What seems to be the trouble you two have been causing?" The officer holding Darry asked.

"Well, sir, we're here to see our brother."

"I see. But Mrs. McCool said no one was to go see him. Correct?"

"Yes, sir, but you see, he's our brother, and we have a right to see him."

"Not here you don't." The officer holding onto my shoulder said.

"Come on, boys." The officer said, turning us to the door.

"No! Wait! We have to see Pony!" Darry screamed, but it was too late. The officers pushed us to the doors, and we were outside in no time.

"Now, don't let us catch you causing trouble here again, or it's jail for you."

When the cops left, Darry and I stood outside the boys' home and stared at it. Tears formed in my eyes. I was so close to see him, and yet I was so far away. Less than a mile separated us, but we couldn't go see him. It was the hardest day of my life.

We turned and left, both of us were silent on the ride home, and when we got inside, I ran into my room, and cried for a long time.