(Please note that this is not to bash any religion. Not Catholic or Christian, it is merely a demostration and a desire to prove a point. I mean no ill will toward any religion, these were chosen to better hit home with my class. This was originally created for my Humanities class, where this was read aloud.)
Panama City, Florida. Our lovely destination. I huffed out a sigh of defeat, rolling my eyes at the sounds of the squealing teenage girls jumping up and leaning over the seats to talk to their friends. The chatter was completely and utterly distracting me when it came to the meditation I was doing; my frustration was affecting my breathing exercises as well. I glared at the blonde bimbo as she twirled her hair around her finger, chatting with one of the guys toward the back.
How the heck I got stuck on this stupid trip to Panama, I didn't even know. One moment I was telling my best friend that I wouldn’t go to some silly beach with the school so I could become a tomato. I sunburned so easily, it was ridiculous, really. However, the next thing I remember, I was begrudgingly putting my slip and check into the bin for the field trip. This couldn’t be as bad as that trip to Charleston was earlier in the year, right? If that wasn't a disaster, I don't know what would be I was lucky enough to get out of that one, thank the gods.
This time, I wasn’t so lucky and the worst part of it was? Elizabeth wasn’t even on this bus, she was on the other one because they ran out of room on her’s. I was alone on this damn bus- the entire back row of five seats all to myself since everyone refused to sit with the ‘freak.’ My mp3 player died a few hours ago, I finished reading all of my books, there was no internet, and my cell phone was broke. Go figure.
I glanced over as Mr. Reznor stood up to announce that the bus was stopping at an upcoming up gas station and that if we had to use the restroom, now would be the time. Sure enough, that’s exactly what we did. It was a small country town in the south, there was what looked to be a Mini-Mcdonalds attached to it so that promoted the others to stay away from the bus even longer. Good for me, that’s for dang sure.
Mr. Reznor paused just as he was about to climb off the bus, looking back to see me there. “Cassandra, aren't you coming in with us?” He called back, causing me to look up at him. I snorted softly and shook my head at the mere idea of it. He frowned at me, his eyebrows knitting together as he didn’t understand my actions. “You sure?”
“Positive. I’m vegan.” I stated bluntly, knowing it was a lie. I was a pescetarian, but he didn't need to know that.
“You know they have salads you can eat...” He trailed off, once again attempting to get me out of the bus to eat. I didn’t see why he cared. Grant it, I hadn't gotten off the bus to do anything but use the restroom since we set out, but I was eating. Grant it, stale peanuts and granola bars weren't too appealing, but I was eating. The others didn’t need to know that much though.
“Filled with calories. Besides, the smell of that grease is making me sick to my stomach all the way out here. I couldn’t imagine how bad it would smell inside.” I said, shuddering to give my words emphasis. He left without another word, knowing the fight was useless.
Time passed and I found myself having had a successful meditation despite the sounds of my obnoxious classmates outside for almost a hour. It was apparently a small bathroom and knowing how girls are, they can’t seem to just take a few moments in the bathroom but they have to fix their makeup and everything. Even with the gas station restroom and the Mcdonald’s one, it was chaos between the two buses. Then trying to eat on top of that, downright impossible.
Elizabeth came in at some point but I waved her off, thankfully she left me alone. Being alone seemed to be another impossible thing on this trip. Either teachers, parents, or other students were seemingly constantly around me. To make matters worse, issues occurred when we left and got about 10 miles down the street.
