The Black Bird

Bus Rides

She examined herself in the mirror. She was wearing a black crop top with black leather skinny jeans on her slender body. Raven didn't work out but she liked to keep up the persona that she did. On top that she had on her signature black leather jacket and instead of straightening her hair today, she went with leaving it wavy.

She finished wiping a thick line of eyeliner to her over-sensitive eye. That must've been the fifth time Raven almost poked her own eye out. She sighed. The things you have to do in this society. She moved on to mascara. Raven couldn't wait to move on with her life, out of this 'mean girls' high school.

It was so cliche. The cliques, the outfits, the teachers. In her school she was the goth. But that's the way she liked it. No one made fun of her or cat-called her.

Although, Raven didn't consider herself goth. She picked up her purple eye shadow. Raven was just a quiet person who had taken a strange liking to the color black. That's all there is and all there ever will be.

She was the type of girl who had a pack of friends solely for the purpose of not looking like a loser at lunch. Raven would much rather be alone writing in her spiral notebook.

She must have drawers and drawers all filled with these same spiral notebooks. The black and silver walls of her room were plastered with pages and pages of quotes and excerpts from books. If she wasn't writing she was reading.

Raven repeated her mantra, "Soft on the inside. Tough on the outside. Get through high school. Soft on the inside. Tough on the outside. Get through high school. Soft on the inside. Tough on the outside. . . ."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Raven got up from the curb, black leather fringe school bag swinging onto her bare shoulder. Finally the bus was coming around the corner.

There was only one other person at her bus stop, considering that she lived in the middle of nowhere. He was a shy kid who she was pretty sure was in the grade below.

This kid had short red hair with
white-rimmed glasses and always had his head down. His earphone clad ears turning red once when she tried to get rid of the awkward silence. Guess he heard about the school goth too.

The bus pulled to a stop its wheels screeching and doors opening. She stepped on the first trashed step carefully, not wanting to trip again like she did the first day of school. Soft on the inside. Tough on the outside.

Bus Stop Guy and her had this unspoken agreement that if she kept to herself and he kept to himself she got on the bus first.

Therefore there was no confusion or blushing because no matter how much she didn't like it she had pale skin and pale skin turns red. Blushing was a sign of weakness that she avoided at all costs. She was pretty damn good at it if she did say so herself.

Raven nodded at the friendly bus driver who was way too good for this job. He didn't deserve chauffeuring these ungrateful brats to school every morning and afternoon. Although she could say the same about herself, all she did was nod.

His blue Chicago Cubs hat falling over his chocolate brown eyes as he nodded back. The corners of his lips turning up in a friendly smile.

Bus 23 was pretty opposite than your standard high school ride. You have the popular kids in the first 3 rows, your middle-ground kids in the middle who mostly just sit with kids they don't know so they won't have to sit in the back. The back was designated as Loserville and was where all the Loners hid.

Our school was so creative.

Raven was one of the middle-ground kids. She usually sat with Veronica -a quiet girl with straight black hair down to her waist and a make up free face.