[adult Sheldon] Previously on Young Sheldon…
I waited at school for an hour and had to walk home.
No one even called.
Mandy went into labor. I had to go to the hospital.
She had the baby and no one told me?
And what exactly is it that's wrong with your bed?
My husband's in it.
So you're just going to keep sleeping here instead of dealing with it?
I'm helping with the baby.
She'll still be crying tomorrow. Go home.
[sighs softly]
Uh-oh.
[gas pump clicking]
-[man] $10 on pump two. -[attendant] You got it.
Hi, $10 on pump, whichever that one is.
Aren't you young to be driving?
I'm just pumping gas for my dad.
He's in the bathroom. Might be a while.
[scoffs] Been there.
I'm on pump number three. You?
-Two. -Nice.
[phone ringing]
-Hello? -[Missy] Hey, it's Missy.
I stole my dad's truck. I'm running away. Wanna come?
You're running away? Sounds dangerous.
Oh, um, well, my dad taught me how to drive--
I'm messing with you. Come and get me.
[theme song playing]
[engine revving]
-Why didn't we do this years ago? -My feet wouldn't reach the pedals.
[engine accelerating]
[snoring]
-Dad, wake up. There's a problem. -What? What's wrong?
It's Saturday and no one's cooking bacon.
[grunting] So go cook bacon.
-But Mom cooks bacon. -Yeah, she's at your Meemaw's.
Which is why I'm waking you up.
You're a very talented boy. I'm sure you can handle bacon.
-I'll wake up Missy. -No, wait.
She's mad at the world right now. Just leave her alone.
Then I'll call Mom.
[grunting] Okay, I'll make your stupid bacon. Happy?
I've been better.
This is the best day of my life.
-First time running away? -Pretty much.
-Think your parents know you're gone? -They barely know when I'm there.
Missy?
There's breakfast. We saved you a little.
What about somewhere with a beach, like California?
We've driven five hours east, so we keep heading that way.
East. You really are smart.
I get there was a lot of yelling last night.
I just want you to know I'm here when you're ready to talk.
If you want a beach, then Florida's in the right direction.
And it's almost spring break.
-Like MTV Spring Break? -Mmm-hmm.
If you expect me to apologize, you can sit in there forever.
Great. We're going to Florida.
Let's pay and get out.
Or, let's not pay and get out of here.
Fine, ignore me. I'm eating your bacon.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
[clattering]
There's a more spatially efficient way to do that.
It's good enough.
Is that what you tell your football players?
I make them run laps. Is that what you want?
You're funny. I like our weekends together.
[plates clattering]
Oh, hi.
I didn't see your truck. I just came to grab a few things.
-It's fine. -Hi, Shelly. How you doing, baby?
I'm all right. Although, the dishwasher looks like
it was loaded by Gustaf Dalen.
He won a Nobel Prize in physics, and was blind.
What do you mean you didn't see my truck?
-It's not out front. -Yes, it is.
I was just out there.
Where the hell's my truck?
-[police radio crackles] -It's an '86 Ford F-250.
-And you didn't hear anything? -No.
What about you, ma'am?
Well, um…
-Actually-- -She hasn't slept here.
She's getting her things.
I was taking care of the baby.
We have a new grandbaby. [chuckles]
You mentioned you had a daughter. Any chance she saw something?
I doubt it. She didn't come out of her room.
-You haven't seen her at all? -No, she's mad at me.
Mind if we ask her?
Missy?
Open up.
[gasps] Missy!
Son of a bitch.
Huh, your truck's gone and she's gone. What are the odds?
She took my truck, Sheldon.
Oh, more chaos, got it.
We are breaking so many laws right now.
-I feel like Thelma and Louise. -Me too.
-Have you seen that movie? -No.
-Me neither. -[both chuckle]
How could you not know she was missing?
I thought she was giving me the silent treatment.
-[sighs] -You know, teenage girls.
I don't.
-Moody, moody, moody. -Sheldon.
-When was the last time you saw her? -Uh, Well, it's hard to say.
There was a lot going on.
At 6:15, she made a plate of food and took it to her room,
which I said is how you attract ants. She said to mind my own business.
I said it is my business 'cause her bedroom shares…
6:15, got it. No one saw her after that.
At 7:22, she had to use the restroom, but she had to wait
'cause my dad was there, due to the beers.
-Thank you. -Happy to help.
And then at 7:45, she tried the bathroom again,
luckily by then, my father had--
Sheldon, when was the last time you saw her?
At 9:15, I brought her a can of Raid for the ants,
and she told me to go to hell, rude.
Then at 11:06, I tried to communicate with her via walkie-talkie to no response.
I can't believe she would do this.
How does she even know how to drive?
All right. Now, take your foot off the brake,
-and gently put it on-- -[engine accelerating]
[laughing]
I bet your mother taught her.
She could be lost. She could be in an accident.
She could be in a ditch by the side of the road somewhere.
[both singing] ♪ So I wake In the morning and I step outside ♪
♪ And I take a deep breath… ♪
-There's a cop. Be cool. -[music stops]
-[music resumes] -♪ And I say, hey-ey… ♪
Okay. Well, if you hear anything, please give me a call.
Thank you. Nothing.
Any word?
No, none of her friends have heard from her.
Police are looking for my truck, still no sign.
I can't believe that girl.
Did she even think about how worried we'd all be?
-Well, you became a dad fast. -Yeah, it just kicks in.
I don't know who else to call.
-What about Paige? -Are they still in touch?
They met a few weeks ago, although Paige was quite inebriated.
-What? -It means drunk.
We know what it means.
Paige has run away from home before.
If I was going on the lam, that's who I'd contact.
"Lam." What a fun word.
I'm glad I got the chance to use it.
-Lam. -Hi, Linda. This is Mary Cooper.
I'm sorry to call out of the blue, but is Missy there with Paige?
No. Why? What's going on?
[sighs] Well, Missy has run away, and we thought--
That my daughter would have something to do with it?
Oh, no, I'm not accusing her.
No, that's exactly something she would do. Hold on.
Paige!
-I think she might be with Paige. -[Linda] Paige?
-[door opens] -Damn it.
Hey, can I drive?
Better not. My dad will be pretty mad if something happens to his truck.
Like, what, if somebody stole it?
-Oh, my God, I'm a criminal. -Yeah, it's pretty cool, right?
-I'm gonna be in so much trouble. -Only if you go back.
-I guess you're right. -I mean, don't worry.
When we get to Daytona, everything's gonna be great.
-Think so? -Yeah.
Maybe we should change our names.
-Really? -I mean, I hate my name.
Paige. What am I, a congressional aide?
Yeah, totally.
-So what name are you gonna pick? -I'm thinking Ginger.
That is so good.
Ginger's not a boring scientist.
Ginger's fun. She's alive.
I'm gonna pick Susan.
No, Suzie. Much cuter.
-Ginger and Suzie. -Ginger and Suzie.
Wait, is it late to change my name to Brandi?
-Too late. -Come on, Ginger.
[sighs] I can't believe the last thing we did was yell at her.
-Don't go blaming yourself. -I was blaming both of us.
So we weren't supposed to punish her?
Kids do stupid stuff, parents yell at them.
Yeah, y'all did it to me, I'm gonna do it to my kid.
Calm down, Daddy.
I know y'all are worried, but this ain't helping.
She snuck out and stole my truck. I mean, how is this our fault?
Maybe she was right. She does get ignored around here.
I liked being ignored, let me get away with all kinds of stuff.
Please stop helping.
We need to get the police back on the phone, I know how to find them.
Really? How?
Based on the time and the average speed limit,
I've calculated that this is the distance they could've traveled.
And what are the pins?
I'm glad you asked. To help narrow down the search,
I've identified points of interest to teenage girls.
The big four: malls, beauty salons, horse stables and roller rinks.
And what are the blue pins?
Those are places that I'm interested in that we can go by after we find them.
-For example, Peaster, Texas… -No one cares.
Peaster, Texas, the birthplace of Robert E. Howard,
regarded to be the father of the sword and sorcery sub-genre.
-Sheldon, this isn't about you. -[Meemaw] It's a good start.
Why don't you go narrow that down even more?
I'll check in Missy's room for clues.
If she took her roller skates, this case is closed.
-Think your parents are freaking out? -Probably having a party.
Sheldon will complain about them having a party
and they'll stop because he gets everything he wants.
I know. Try being the golden child.
Everybody's expecting big things from you 'cause you're a genius.
-What do you wanna do? -I don't know.
Something simple, easy.
There's a place in Florida where you can get a job as a mermaid.
-Really? -Really.
Don't get mad at me, but you are a genius.
Just don't tell the other mermaids.
-[police siren chirps] -Oh, crap.
How fast are you going?
I'm not going fast, maybe too slow. Should I speed up?
-Don't! What are you doing? -I don't know!
Maybe it's not for us. Pull over and let him pass.
[exhales deeply]
[siren wails]
-What do we do? -We need to get our stories straight.
We're cousins. You're 16, you forgot your license at home,
and we're going to the hospital to visit our grandma.
-Okay. -[indistinct police radio chatter]
I'm only 13, I stole my dad's truck
and we didn't pay at the diner, we just left.
-Okay, and who's this? -My cousin, Ginger.
Is anyone hungry? I could make sandwiches.
-No, thanks. -Not hungry.
-I could eat. -Make yourself a sandwich.
Maybe you should eat, cranky.
Okay, I figured it out.
Based off of pictures she's ripped out of magazines,
she's a big fan of actor Luke Perry.
-Who's that? -He plays Dylan on Beverly Hills, 90210.
Your classic bad boy.
-Your classic bad boy? -Yeah, like me.
The show not only takes place,
but is also filmed in Los Angeles, California,
-that's obviously where she's heading. -[phone ringing]
Cooper residence.
-Now, given the amount of time since… -They're okay!
-[Mary gasps] -They found 'em.
-Oh, thank God. -Where are they?
About an hour east of Baton Rouge,
they were on their way to Florida.
That's not where Luke Perry is, let me speak to them.
-[officer] Copy that. -[radio buzzes]
All right, your parents are on the way.
Are they mad?
If my daughter stole my car and ran away, I'd be mad.
What if she had a good reason?
Do you have a good reason?
Well, my brother's really smart,
and my older brother had a baby and they were ignoring me?
You might need a better reason.
-Are you taking us to jail? -No.
-Great, so we can go? -No.
-But I'm not taking you in either. -Why not?
I got a kid your age, I get it.
God, I'd rather sit in jail
than have another adult tell me how much they get it.
Not me. Happy right here.
I'm real sorry for whatever Paige got Missy into.
-Thanks, but I think this one's on Missy. -I doubt it.
Last month she swiped my credit card and bought a plane ticket to Hawaii.
Non-refundable.
-What did you do? -What could I do?
I dropped her off at her dad's and I went to Hawaii.
[chuckles] Trust me, Missy's never gonna do this again.
-Oh, bless your heart. -I'm serious.
School and home, that's it. No TV, no friends, no shoes.
Let's see her run away barefoot.
That's your plan? Make her hate us even more?
I'm not trying to be her friend, I'm trying to be her parent.
-What do you think I'm trying to be? -I don't know. Her neighbor?
[sighs in exasperation]
-Is everything okay? -Yes.
I've just been staying across the street taking care of our granddaughter.
How long you gonna keep using that excuse?
I am so sorry, it's been a stressful week.
You don't need to apologize, I've been there.
Right.
I know it's not my place,
but Barry and I used to keep a bunch of stuff bottled up, and…
we know how that turned out.
We're not getting divorced.
-Yeah, over my dead body. -Yeah, that's exactly how it's gonna end.
Oh, boy.
-[indistinct chatter on TV] -[Sheldon sighs]
-What was Missy thinking? Why Florida? -Why does it matter?
I made a hypothesis backed by data. Where did I go wrong?
You tried to predict a teenage girl.
Perhaps when she's back, we can take her for a brain scan.
Maybe what Missy needs is for us all to be a little understanding.
I'm trying to understand, that's why I need the brain scan.
Look, your sister's going through a lot these days.
She's feeling overlooked, confused, angry, sad.
-She's feeling all those things at once? -Yeah.
And I can't scan her brain? That is so unfair.
So, what exactly was your plan?
We were gonna go to Daytona Beach.
-Like on MTV. -And what were you gonna do for money?
I don't know. We would've figured something out.
Yeah, she's an actual genius.
Sorry.
Don't get a lot of geniuses back there.
Mostly stupid folk.
I'm just saying, I have a good relationship with Missy.
Yeah, I taught her how to throw a ball, taught her how to drive…
You taught her how to drive?
No… You know, just the basics, in a parking lot.
Hey.
She made it to Louisiana without getting into an accident,
-I think I did a pretty good job. -Unbelievable.
If y'all want, I can recommend the marriage counselor me and Barry used.
[scoffs]
What's… [imitates George scoffing]
Y'all got divorced. [chuckles] How good could he be?
-Well, she… -[scoffs]
Stop with the… [imitates George scoffing]
Oh, like, she's not gonna be on your side?
It's not about sides.
She helped us realize we were in our marriage for the wrong reasons,
and it would be better for everyone if we split.
I'm not sure it was better for Paige.
Paige's issues have nothing to do with our divorce.
Sure. [chuckling]
How much she have to pay the counselor to tell her that?
At least my daughter didn't steal my truck and none of my kids are having babies.
Okay, we all have our stuff.
[scoffs]
Here comes another one.
-[radar beeps] -[sighs] 58.
How does it know?
Calculates the speed based on the Doppler shift of the reflected radio waves.
See? Genuis.
My brother's like that, too, but she's way more fun.
[car accelerating]
-[radar beeps] -91!
-All right, buckle up. -Yes!
[siren wailing]
[Missy] Show me how to use your gun and I'll cover you.
If you need a break, I can drive for a bit.
I'm okay. Thanks.
-I could take a turn. -Not a time for jokes.
You may never drive again.
And you are not hanging out with Paige anymore.
That's not fair. It was my idea, not Paige's.
You really think that's helping your case?
[sighs] I liked it better when you two weren't talking.
Well, too bad 'cause we are.
If you're feeling ignored, don't worry.
We're gonna be laser-focused on you from now on.
[sighs]
[adult Sheldon] This marked the beginning of what our family would come to call
Missy's "difficult period."
Despite my repeated assurances that I could solve the problem
with a brain scan and some low voltage electric shocks,
I was never given the opportunity.
Such a shame.
[theme music playing] opportunity.