Sigmund Deaves: Timepiece

Chapter 9: Evidence

Jess didn't expect much sentimentality from her parents when she informed them about the events which transpired on her way home from fencing practice. In fact she was worried that they might actually be worried about the guy who tried to attack her. So, like any enterprising teenager, Jess decided simply not to tell them. After finishing her homework in silence, so as not to tempt the ire of her father, she went to bed in the bunk she shared with her sister.

Her bus stop was the farthest from the school possible, she checked. Despite this, Jess still had to walk about half a mile in the cold early morning air with only her uniform and a scarf. Her parents thought she was crazy for going so far out of her way for something as trivial as education, but they stayed apathetic much like they did for everything else. Usually their apathy would annoy her, but she was glad for it because she'd be able to take her mind off of home when she was at school.

Coming from a family like her's, going to a private school would usually be impossible. However, through financial aid and clever scholarship applications, Jess managed to wriggle her way out of the local public school system. If it were possible, she'd have liked to have thanked the random chance gods for allowing for her to attend such a prestigious (at least in comparison) high school. Seriously, how lucky did I have to get a private school that not only has public bussing, but also financial aid? So many random scenarios had to occur in collusion in order to keep me away from completely wasting my potential. Thoughts like this caused Jess to become just slightly superstitious; it would be even more so if not for her generally logical nature.

When Jess finally reached the bus stop there still was no sign of a sunrise. The only lighting she had during her transit were the quickly dimming street lamps which ominously blinked above. In most cases she would be very cautious when walking these streets, but she was almost entirely certain that all the criminals were sleeping this early in the morning. However, the events of yesterday made Jess kind of jumpy. Everything from the flickering street lights above, to the road littered with cheap fast food containers, to the cramped houses provided for an incredibly ominous atmosphere. It was almost as if the setting was trying to warn her of some kind of imminent danger stemming from the school, but she knew the school was probably the safest place for her right now.

Once she reached the bus stop, she could finally sit at a bench, safe relative to the surrounding area. Jess knew she and one other delinquent were the only people the bus would pick up at her stop, and the other person rarely showed up. That day proved to be no exception because no one interrupted her while she sat at the bus stop for about three minutes. She always just assumed that whatever family the delinquent hailed from had more money than brains. It was very easy for her to imagine a family with no financial troubles, oh that'd be the life. About ninety seconds into the wait, Jess dared to cautiously peer at her hand-me-down smart phone (sPhone) where it sat in her poorly stocked backpack. 6:32 it reported. If she were less certain of her good luck, Jessica would be prone to complain about how early her school started.

Without interruption, the bus pulled up unceremoniously at her stop. The bus was, at first glance, an exact replica of any public school bus. The only difference was that this one had exactly two less rows of seats and it had the words "Bellona Prep. School" written on the side of it. Any other time of day, and those words would have been grounds for a mugging she thought to herself.

As she got in, she was greeted by the usual quiet anger of the bus driver. The driver, Ms. Maven or something, was an altogether nasty piece of work who had wasted much of her life carrying preppy students to and from the type of school she had been taught to hate as a kid. Ms. Maven was always in the process of waiting for "something better to come along" so, naturally nothing ever came along. It was only when Maven got into her mid-thirties that she realized nothing better was coming along; she was going to remain a bus driver for the next ten years before retiring to a luxurious life of welfare and a baby daddy. When Ms. Maven looked at her with contempt, Jess could sort of tell where she was coming from. I'd probably be really angry in general too if I was thirty-five and a bus driver, but maybe that's just me.