Marigolds Prosper in the Cold

Could you move-!?

(A/N: now we get into Eva's pov)

I doubted it. No way we could fit.

Anyways, since I arrived first, I did the honors of snagging the seat by the window.

Just as I sat down, the other people from my bus arrived.

Everyone from my bus was in my grade, save for a chubby kid from eighth grade. 

Two girls were arguing for the front seat.

 
"No girl. If you sit there you'll look like the driver's wife"

But her friend ignored her advice and sat there anyways. The other girl sighed.

The van was tiny-I'll repeat it again-minuscule.

At the front was a front seat and the driver's seat. At the back, there were two horizontal seats facing each other.

On my opposite, there was a boy from my grade, next to him a popular boy from my grade, and next to him a classmate of mine.
sitting beside, me was a quiet and shy girl, and next to her was the girl who was concerned her friend would be mistaken as the driver's wife.

My classmate, Vivian, the nearest one to the door on the seat opposite to me sighed in relief.

"I think that chubby kid is absent today- I don't think we could've managed if--"

"Ohhhh- you seniors beat me to the bu- I mean van today. It's going to be a tight squeeze isn't it?"

It was the chubby kid Vivian was talking about.

"I swear to god Vivian, if you jinx us again we're throwing you out of here"

So, the chubby kid, Anu, was quite enthusiastically cheered on by everyone (except Vivian) to sit on Vivian's lap.

 .

.

.

It was awkward. On the bus, we rarely talked to each other because we didn't have to. But now that we were forced to sit in such a claustrophobic place, we summoned up all the social skills.

"Hey, how was the science test?"

"yea....."

....

A few feeble attempts at conversation and we gave up.

My classmate Vivian. I mean he was my classmate but we rarely spoke to each other. I wasn't even sure he knew my name.

The popular guy from my grade. Arrogant. I overheard a few eighth-grade girls even having a crush on him.

The guy next to him. He was the president of the public speaking club and had quite impressive grades.

The girl next to me, Riha. Quiet and shy. 

The girl worried her friend might be mistakened for the driver's wife: Prana.

"Hey,  don't you wear deodorant?" It was Vivian.

"Is deodorant even allowed?" came Anu's reply.

"Dude, if you go near the principal, she would have offered to put some deodorant on you herself, even if deodorant wasn't allowed"

And that's how the ice was broken.

"Hey, Ryan. Isn't your father on the board of directors?"

It was Prana. She was addressing the president of the public speaking club.

"I mean- he was. But now he is a shareholder of the school."

"Can't you complain to him about this stuff? like how they boast about transportation facilities on the school website but cram us in this white van that probably distributes candy to kids in its spare time?"

"Listen. If I could, I would've done it a long time ago. But he says it himself that 'he lives off of the bills we students pay, school is a business kid. Gotta have some profit'"

...

Time passed like that without even knowing. We joked around a lot. Heck, even Riha, the shy girl joined in. My social and mental health changed more in that thirty minutes than in the entire school year.

The cramped ride home almost sucked all the air out of my lungs and left my bones deformed. But I wouldn't mind if we had to use that van again.

To be Continued-

A/N:Once again Ty for reading! If you liked reading it please like, comment or vote! Stay hydrated! :)