Save Us From Their Long Run

Bus Antics & Fun Fairs

"Yea—uuuuhhhhhhh," a pause, then, "No, I can't do it, one of us is gonna have to change."

Tyler huffs. He's been trying to adjust their clothes for a few minutes now, but it's useless, and Toby has just cemented the group's sneaking suspicion that they've been avoiding for the long minutes they have spent in the cramped family bathroom. Half of them look like they've just come out of a fiery train wreck—if the soot was hard to scrub from their cheeks, it was definitely staying put on their once crisp white uniforms, and that's aside from the char—and the clothes in the packs aren't doing jack shit to ease the predicament. They've bought four packs of travel-sized sewing kits so far and it's still not enough.

"If the velcro stayed stuck, I think I could make this a look," Rose says as she twists in her cargoes. Neck twitch aside, Tyler is doing a remarkable job at upcycling their clothes with astounding patience.

"A look?" Bree snorts at her reflection, the jean material sagging over the poorly fit harnesses twice too large for any of them, but she'd drawn the short straw. "Only if what you're going for is a terrible cross between mafia assassins and part-time BDSM enthusiasts."

Another twitch, and even though Avery puts a hand on Ty's shoulder for consolation, she can't help herself from adding, "Maybe she's going for ninja dabbling in steampunk. Hear it's pretty popular these days."

Tyler gives up, throwing his hands in the air and exiting the small bathroom they've taken over while they fail to curtail their laughter. In the mirror stand the five of them now, all using a single bathroom to take shelter in while they wait for the bus. Eventually, Bree realizes she keeps sneezing because they reek of sweat and smoke, and they can't draw attention, so they're all half changed and trying to clean their smoky school clothes, but mostly to no avail.

Like much of the day, things don't go as smoothly as would've been ideal. Avery drops her leggings in the toilet, Bree trips over the garbage can she had to throw her burnt shirt into, and Rose has to double back for concealer and elbow her way to the mirror to hide the mess on her jaw. The boys aren't in dire need of changing their clothing, most of it intact save for much of Alex's sleeves. As for the other two dimwits, they get the luxury of their own cotton clothing, but they won't be able to last many more hours like that. Avery feels stiff in her new t-shirt, a little short for her liking, but at least the leggings have pockets, and are beginning to dry a little. One by one they leave the cramped space and wander about the convenience store behind the bus stop, waiting.

"So, was that our actual last day of high school, or am I going to be disappointed again?" Toby asks. Breanna's head lolls to face him, blankly staring in response. He waits three beats in silence before he sheepishly slinks toward someone more responsive, but Alex is scrolling his pager lazily, Rose reads a magazine over Tyler's shoulder, and Avery has long since given up responding to conversation. He pouts.

"So is no one going to give me the rundown of the plan?"

Everyone pauses to react in their own tired way to that. "Didn't you get too old for that thirty-four missions ago?" Rose asks snidely, and Tyler snorts.

Toby smiles with his impish charm and they're so over it. "Thirty-fifth time's the charm?"

Alex gives in after two minutes of because Toby tries to suffocate them with sulking silence. The soft heavy sighs always get him.

"I wish I could say no one was going to give it to you, but how about we wait until we're not about to board?" he says without looking up. A dingy blue and white bus rolls in as he says it, and they all pause to admire him before scrambling for their things.

Tyler groans as he digs around his pockets for the crumbled receipt of his ticket. "Please, tell me we're going to have a nap before we get there."