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Chapter Four:
CHARLIE
It literally smelled like dirt and cigarettes. I scrunched my nose, fighting the urge to gag from the putrid smell of the city bus stop. And apparently, I'm the only one bothered. Standing to my right was a ginger-haired girl about the same age as I am, with eyes and hands glued to her IPhone.
Standing to my left, was a more middle-aged man, with a balding scalp and a dying, cheap cigarette held firmly in his right hand. Again, I had to strain myself from my weak gag reflexes. I held my mouth shut tight, in a closed-lip fashion. I was trying not to be so rude about the whole thing, but I mean it was he who was screwing with my so-called oxygen, right?
Well, whatever opinion I had, it obviously didn't matter to anyone else, besides myself. I mean, like I mentioned before, the ginger-haired girl didn't seem at all bothered by the cancer stick. Before I actually had the oppertunity to share any of my thoughts aloud, the loud city bus came in sight.
Since the ginger-haired girl and myself were the only ones sitting, we both stood up from the bench to join Mr. Stokes. I shoved my hands into my pockets, as the bus screeched obnoxiously loud, as it finally came to a full stop beside us. I motioned for the slender red head to step in first, and she gladly did, with an appreciative nod.
Now, I would've offered the man to go ahead and step in before me, but he seemed too busy, as he was snuffing out his cigarette with the heel of his shoe. I paid the bus driver and took a vacent seat towards the back. I then took the time to scope out my fellow bus mates.
There wasn't much, just a couple of teens that were either glued to their phones (typical), or earphones attatched to their ears. There was an elder lady with a young boy practically glued to her sides. Then there was that man who enjoys toxic air, who finally decided to join us.
Anywho, I decided to join my fellow peers in drowning out the rest of the world with my trusty earphones. I closed my eyes, stretched my arms behind my head as I blasted Lessons by Ha Ha Tonka through my earphones. The rest of the ride home from school seemed pretty peaceful. Boy, I couldn't wait to get home to my great big happy family! (Note sarcasm).
***
The bus finally screeched to a hault at a bus stop near the corner of a street that was a block from my house. I stretched down the narrow steps of the bus to meet the concrete, underneath my shoes. I politely bid my goodbye to the bus driver and parted my seperate way, towards my big blue house.
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The Demons of a Stolen Butterfly
JugendliteraturImagine having the most peculiar dream of your life, yet the most confusing. Imagine dreaming of something so horrific, and not sure how to feel about it. Now, imagine that dream being the first puzzle to a murder case. Imagine being the only lead t...