Broken World

Chapter 1

       I groan as I climb tiredly onto the bus. I have to prepare myself both mentally and physically for the three hour, if there's no traffic, bus ride to camp. I've been to camp before, and I've discovered that even at seven in the morning teenagers are insane. I look back to Zoe, my friend, for advice.

       "Go to the back. It should be quieter there than in the middle of them," she says. I push my way to the back and claim my own seat, and she grabs her own seat. We have claimed these seats as ours, and if anyone tries to sit with us we'll just lie down on the seat.

       "Hey, Delilah," I hear the voice, and I shoot upward.

       "Max!" I exclaim jumping out of my seat and hugging him. He hugs me back.

       "I'm glad I was able to sneak past the age limit this year to see you again. I've been waiting for this day since we last saw each other. I was wondering how you'd react when you saw me, and now I have my answer," he says with a chuckle. Zoe just looks at us and rolls her eyes.

       "Why don't you just kiss him again?" she asks. I blush and shy away from him.

       "Shut it," I mumble to her.

       "Never," she says and turns around moving her hands behind her back like she's making out with someone.

       "Oh my gosh!" I exclaim flopping onto the seat. I bury my face in my pillow and curl into the fetal position. All of a sudden I feel a soft, warm hand on my shoulder. It sends a shiver down my back, but I make sure it doesn't seem like I shivered.

       "Don't worry about her. She's just being her normal self," he says. "Well at least that's how I know her."

       "No she's being a jerk," I growl through a face full of pillow.

       "No I'm not. I'm stating the truth," she says as I sit up. The bus has started moving, and I begin staring out the window.

       "Well, I've decided to sleep for this ride or stare out the window," I grumble already in a foul mood. I was happy, and then Zoe had to go and ruin it.

       "Aw, come on, cheer up. I want to see that bright smile some more," Max says. He pokes me, and I slap his hand away. He pokes me in my side, and I yelp and spasm to the side. It makes me smile, but the smile quickly creeps off my face. He then starts tickling me, and I start laughing and try to get him off.

       "Stop, stop I can't breathe!" I exclaim shaking with laughter.

       "Okay, I'll stop for now," he says pulling his hands away.

       "You two need some help," Zoe says with a hint of annoyance and sarcasm in her voice.

       "Put your headphones on and tune us out if you're going to be rude," I say, and incredibly, she listens. I yawn and stretch, running my hand through my long brown hair, before slumping back down.

       "Are you tired?" Max asks. "If you are I'll move so you can sleep."

       "I am, and if you wouldn't mind I need my seat to use as a bed," I say.

       "I'll probably sleep too, but if you wake up and get bored wake me, okay?" he says.

       "Okay, I will," I say, while curling into the seat and laying my head on the pillow. I doze off pretty quickly, but I wake up only a few minutes later to the other people screaming. I scream into my pillow out of frustration and sit up. I glare at the other people, and Zoe starts laughing at me.

       "Shut up!" I scream at the top of my lungs. The bus falls into complete silence. Max looks at me, and I can tell he's shocked. I am too in all honesty. I'm not even bothered by the stares I'm getting.

       "Thank God you got them to shut up. I don't think I would've survived otherwise," he says.

       "I honestly don't know how that worked, but whatever. I can now sleep," I say, laying back down. As soon as my head hits my pillow I fall asleep.