Lewis still carried around tons of homework the next day, but this time, he didn't mind. His head (and heart) were focused on one thing and one thing only: how the heck he could get himself to Ravenswood.

Lewis wasn't exactly the best at planning, preferring to instead jump straight into things and seeing how it would go. This, however, was something big. And something far away. And Lewis figured that Mom probably wouldn't come with him.

His search history the next day in reading class included various things. "How old do you have to be to ride the bus alone?" "Does the public bus cost money?" "Do all states have public transportation?" "How long does it take to get from New York to Ravenswood?" "Does West Virginia have subways?" "Does West Virginia have subways, no not the restaurant, the trains."

Even though he looked them up, none of the answers really clicked in Lewis's head. In his mind, he was going to Ravenswood even if he had to walk there himself.

"I'm gonna go on vacation," Lewis lied to Skye that day at lunch. "But it's a bit of a secret, okay?"

"I am too!" Skye chirped happily, "Well, hopefully. We might wait until summer. My grandma wants to go to Israel."

Lewis nodded along, but he wasn't fully listening. He was too excited.

It was the final day of school before spring break, and Lewis realized he didn't exactly know what he was going to do. After all, Nonna picked him up everyday. And he walked out with Wilbur and Skye.

Finally, Lewis had a thought.

It was the last ten minutes of class, and his math teacher was very nice. When he raised his hand and asked to go to the restroom, she accepted. Lewis had always taken his backpack off in all his classes, but some of his classmates left them on their shoulders in the final class. Least to say, it wasn't that strange when Lewis exited with his backpack still on.

He was so nervous and so excited as he hid in the bathroom stall. He could hear every second tick by as he silently waited for the final bell to ring. Slowly, he unzipped his backpack.

Lewis was impulsive, but he wasn't very stupid. He knew that if he encountered a stranger who wouldn't leave him alone, then a weapon might be a good thing to have. Lewis pulled out his pencil bag and grabbed his scissors.

As he shoved the scissors into his hoodie pocket, the final bell rang. Lewis bolted out of the stall and down the hallway as quick as he could. He didn't care that he shouldn't run in the halls. It was spring break, dang it!

When Lewis busted out of the school's backdoors, he didn't run to front to meet Nonna. Meeting Nonna would ruin the whole plan. He ran around to the back. He clutched the chain link fence separating himself from the homes in his palms. He wasn't allowed to jump the fence. The kids who lived there weren't.

Yet…

Lewis padded a bit more steadily through the homes and other buildings, knowing no one who was looking for him was coming this way. The mutt had to admit he felt a bit bad leaving everyone without saying where he was going, but he knew no one would support him.

Besides, bringing Underdog back to Manhattan would be good for everyone. It would make him happy, and mom, and Grandpa Cauli, and Nonna, and probably Wilbur too! After walking down the streets, Lewis saw a bus stop sign and a person who looked like a teenager standing beside it. Lewis had finally popped out into New York's bustling streets. He clutched his scissor handles as he walked up to the person.

"Is- um, this a real bus stop or a school bus stop?" he asked a bit meekly.

The teen looked down at Lewis incredulously. "A real one," they answered, turning away and blowing a pink bubble up.

Pinky Knees was surprised to not see Lewis come out of the school with his friends, and both Wilbur and Skye were rather confused about where he went. Pinky said nothing, not even patting her thigh and calling her kennel along. The puppies were silent, too. On the walk back to Pinky's apartment, she pulled out her phone.

"Hi, Mom," Polly answered chipperly. "You pulled me off-set, you know."

"Yes," Pinky replied. Very suddenly, she looped her hand around the back of Wilbur's neck and held Skye close to her other side. "You know I wouldn't call if it wasn't important. I'm just wondering, is Lewis there with you?"

Polly took a moment to reply. Her voice was not nearly as happy when she answered. "No. Why?"

Pinky took in a deep breath, in and out. "I have bad news."

"Oh god. Oh no. What?" Polly spoke quickly now. Pinky could hear her breathing hitch.

"Lewis," Pinky answered, "He didn't come out of school. Now, I know that kid and I know he'd call me if he had a study group or something."

"Y-you checked your voicemails, didn't you?"

"Dear," Pinky replied, "I am never far away from my phone. I have not received any calls."

Polly's breathing became quicker and heavier. "Th-this isn't good," she stated. "This isn't good! I'm coming home right away. Y-you, you call someone. You know more about this than I do."

Pinky nodded. She thought about stating a quip about the "adventures" Polly and her brother used to go on, but she figured now was really not the time. "Yes, on it. Love you, dear."

"Yeah," Polly sighed, calming down only a small bit, "Love you too."

Polly turned off her phone and immediately faced OJ Skweeze. He sat alone behind the desk, his his topic was nearly finished. He met Polly's eyes quickly. Within a moment he stated, "And now to Bruce Bumpers with the afternoon traffic!"

As the camera angle changed, Mr. Skweeze leaped up and rushed to Polly's distressed side.

"What's wrong?" asked the man.

"M-my son," Polly answered, gripping her ears. She explained quickly. "He's missing, he didn't come out of school and no one got a call that he was staying after!"

Polly felt like both crying and dying right then and there. Her face was tight and red and her heart beat so loudly she could've sworn it would burst. OJ patted the poodle's shoulder and smiled kindly at her.

"I need to-" Polly gasped.

"Yes," her boss interrupted, "Go."

Polly rubbed one eye with her palm before smiling back. She rushed away and started home.

Traffic was awful, though. She only arrived back at her apartment at four. Luckily, that was sort of a good thing. Pinky wasn't baby-sitting, so she could comfort her daughter instead. Currently, the pekingese held her sobbing daughter's shoulders on the couch.

"We'll find him, I swear," Polly's mother kept whispering. "I called Cauli and Shifty. They're going to take care of things."

"Oh-" Polly sniffed. She removed her head from her hands and looked up at her mother. "I know they will. But still! My son is gone! Anything could've happened to him!" Her head fell once more. "Oh, what if he's dead?! What if Cauli and Shifty can only find his bodyyy?!"

"Polly. Don't think like that," her mother scolded. She placed a hand under Polly's chin and forced her to look up. "If you think like that you'll believe it. And we don't need beliefs like that. Okay?"

Polly nodded somberly. "Okay…" she whispered, but that didn't make her feel any better. Pink pulled Polly into her chest and stroked her hair gently until her tears ran out. Two hours later, Pinky gave Polly a small kiss on her head, promised Lewis would be found once more, and left telling Polly that she was there for whatever she may need.

Polly, however, was thinking of calling somebody else.

It was a longshot, and she knew it. But Polly didn't know what else to do. She typed Tympani's Jewelry into the search bar of her phone and up popped a number. She entered it in and hoped that the man she wished to speak to was on shift.

Sure enough, the exact voice she was looking for picked up.

"Tympani's Jewelry!" chirped Taptap happily.

"Taptap Clark?"

Taptap paused a moment. "Sweet Polly Purebred. Love, how are you?"

"That's the thing," Polly replied. "I feel bad using your work phone. Please, let me tell you my number and we can talk after your shift."

Taptap again didn't reply for a few seconds. "Okay," he answered, his voice more serious.

Polly recited her number and hung up. She kept her phone against her leg and bounced it nervously.

Just a few minutes later, Taptap called. "What's wrong, love? You sounded upset," he started.

"I…" Polly's mind was such a whirlwind of emotions, she didn't know if she could find the right words. "I am upset:"

Taptap's voice heightened as he attempted to comfort her. "What's wrong?"

"It's about our son," Polly replied.

"I don't know if I can afford any more support, heh," Taptap laughed lightly. Polly didn't.

"Taptap," she scolded, "That's not it. Lewis, he's- he's gone."

Taptap didn't reply right away. "He's what? What do you mean, gone?"

"Exactly that," Polly gasped. She could sob again if she let herself. "My mom picks him up from school everyday. Today, he didn't come out."

"Does he have extra circulars?" Taptap asked hurriedly. He sounded worried as well. "Study hall?"

Polly sighed and gritted her teeth, trying to hold her emotions back. "We didn't get any calls about that."

Taptap remained silent in shock. Polly went on.

"I tried calling him. His phone isn't on. I didn't even know you could turn off a flip phone. Lewis is either very smart or in the hands of someone very bad, and I don't know which to believe!" Polly spoke quickly. The words all tumbled out of her mouth and a tear fell down her face before she could stop any of it. She didn't know if Taptap understood her.

Finally, the man on the other end replied. "Lewis is smart. I'm sure he is. My husband knows a few people," he suddenly informed, "Do you live in the same apartment? I'd love to be over there and help you."

Polly sighed and slowed her thoughts. "Yes. I'd love for you to be over here, too. ...see you soon, Taps."

"Yes. You too, love."