A Piece of Gum

Chapter 1

The wind whipped through my hair, making it catch in my glossy lipstick. I bit down on my lip. Hard. It was the middle of winter and the only part of me that was warm were my feet thanks to my cozy UGGs.

Several buses whizzed by, but none of them were mine. The bus was taking really long to get here. I glanced over at my friend Lila, who was bent over her phone, earbuds in each ear.

Although she was a year younger than me, her height made its seem like she was in my grade.

I looked away and tried to focus on the fact that soon, I would be nice and warm in a bus on my way to school. But that fantasy was slipping away as more minutes ticked away and the bus had not yet arrived.

I pushed my hair out of my face, wishing that I had brought a ponytail holder with me. And I couldn't count on Lila to have an extra one.

Suddenly, my phone pinged with a text.

Are you on the bus yet?

No, mom, I typed. It's taking a while to get here, but it should be here soon.

Ok.

I sighed.

"Lila, can you check to see where the bus is?" I asked. She either ignored me or didn't hear me, but the latter was as good an option as any other because she listens to her music loudly.

I shivered as an especially cold gust of wind blew my way, pulling my coat tighter around me. I hadn't listened when my mother told me to wear something thick.

Finally, I saw the hood of the newest bus peek out from around the corner. It was stopped at a red light. I tugged one of my gloves off and reached into my wallet for my MetroCard. But with my clumsiness, everything slipped out of my hand.

"Lila! Help!" I said impatiently. No response.

I sighed and bent down to gather my stuff. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I made sure that everything went back in its place. Library card in the back, MetroCard in the middle, ID in the front of the middle, and my money in the very front. I snapped my wallet shut and was about to get up when I noticed that a few crisp dollar notes had fallen behind me. 

I turned around to pick them up, but was disgusted to find them wet. What even? It hadn't rained. I sighed dramatically and stuffed them into my pocket, making a mental note to straighten them out later.

Oh, right, my MetroCard, I thought as I pulled it back out. When I looked up to step on and swipe in, the bus was gone and Lila was nowhere to be seen.

No one else was at the stop, and I didn't feel too good, being alone and all.

I tried to fight back tears, which I wasn't sure if they were from the cold or from the fact that she just abandoned me. I just stood there with cold and tears running down my face. Oh yeah, did I mention I also had a cold?

I dropped my gloves, since hey, they were already dirty. Then I put my book bag down on the ground, mentally cursing myself for the dirt that would be stuck on it later, because unlike my gloves, it was sparkling white with purple and lilac flowers. I reached in and found my purse, from which I grabbed a few tissues and stuffed them in my jacket pocket.

I know, I know. I have too many pockets.

I zipped my bag up and slung it over my shoulders. This thing felt like it had bricks in it, and my parents often complained about the weight. I tried to explain to them that we needed everything in school, but they wouldn't believe it. So eventually I told them I would talk to the teacher about taking some stuff out, and now I have to figure out how to put that off without them noticing.