Usually I ride alone on the guard bus, that’s why I was shocked to find someone CHOOSING to sit beside me. It’s not that I’m a loner, I just had an odd number of friends. It was close to midnight, so I lazily rested my head on the chair in front.
“Hi” a cherry voice exclaimed, “is anyone sitting here?” Looking back up, I found out that a handsome Asian boy was staring back at me in the moonlight. Examining his uniform, I could tell that he was part of the marching band. What was a guy like him sitting next to a guard girl like me? More importantly, what was he doing on the color guard bus?
“Hey” I replied, my voice sounding as enthusiastic as his.
“I’m not saving this spot, you can sit here if you want.” Something about him was different. Maybe it was the way he talked, or maybe it was just the plain fact that he was happy sitting next to some total stranger. Either way, there was a pleasant aroma in the air.
“Guard girls, please settle down,” our chaperone spoke into the microphone.
“There isn’t enough room in the band bus so some of them are coming over here.” Explains a lot. A few of his friends decided to sit behind us. Well, there goes my sleep, I thought to myself.
“My name’s Will. What’s your name?” the stranger politely asked me.
“Emily”
“Amy?”
“Emily!”
“Oh, Emily! Sorry. It’s hard to hear in here.”
The bus was noisy and I had a naturally small voice, so I wasn’t surprised at all that he couldn’t hear me.
“Hey Will…” a blonde boy started. I leaned forward again, closing my eyes once more. Will continued to talk to the person who he called ‘Dalton’. Soon, they were engaged in a loud conversation with the rest of the guard while I tried to block them out. Then, I felt a light tap on my shoulder.
“Hey Emily, is it okay if I call you Ember?” it was Will.
“Sure.”
“Cool. So how did you do on the performance?”
“Good. I was a little nervous but everything turned out okay. How about you?”
“Good. I didn’t mess up too much. Are you tired Ember? You’ve been leaning your head against the chair for awhile.”
“A little bit.” I admitted.
“Do you want me to scoot over? I could give you some more room to lie down,” he offered politely.
“No thanks.” I didn’t want to be rude or give people a chance to sneak of photo of me.
“Hey look, it’s late. We just had a long performance. I’m tired, you’re tired. Heck, I know I’m tired! We both need to catch up on some sleep. It would be beneficial for you to lie down. I’m offering you some room, so why don’t you get some rest? I don’t mind moving over a bit,” Will edged. As he scooted over, I started to lie down, somehow comforted by the fact that even though I barely knew him, he was very kind and caring. Instantly after I closed my eyes, my friends in front of us started to talk again.
“Seriously Will? I know she’s pretty, but really?!!!” ‘Wait, they think I’m pretty?’ my mind rambled.
“What?” Will replied innocently. In my mind, I knew that he wasn’t doing what they thought he was.
“You know.” his own friends nudged. ‘Did they really think he was flirting with me? I think of myself as a kid more than a High Schooler.’
“What are you talking about?!!! I’m just trying to be nice!” he claimed.
“Sure!” people around us replied, continuing to tease Will. ‘Wow, they really thought he was flirting with me. Compared to others, I feel like a 10 year old. Unless I’m mistaken, why would they think that? Besides, he was obviously older than me. At least a Sophomore.’
“I feel bad now! She’s curled up in a ball!” Will admitted. ‘Why would he feel bad? He gave me room to lie down. It may not be much, but it’s better than nothing.’
“It’s like a fetal position.” Another voice added. Others started to agree.
“How is that even comfortable?” I overheard Dalton ask. ‘Well, at least I know they aren’t taking pictures of me, and as matter of fact, it was quite cozy.’
“Is she a Freshman?” Will questioned my older friends who also knew him.
“Yeah, she was crying earlier because she got switched out of Ms.Richardson’s class.”
“Aw. I loved Ms.Richardson! She was my favorite teacher!” Ms.Richardson was a hilarious Freshman teacher who made learning English extremely interesting. Once I left, I vowed to get her back, which I did 4 days later.
“Is Ember nice?” Will continued to ask about me.
“She’s awesome. Remember Connie from last year? The sweet girl who always helped people? She reminds me of her.” ‘Seriously, why didn’t people tell me this before? Not when they thought I wasn’t listening.’
“I still feel bad, she’s curled up in a ball!” Before falling completely asleep on the bus (which I never did before) he said that at least 3 more times.
Someone started to shake my shoulder.
“Hey Ember, Ember wake up. Ember.” Will spoke in a soft, soothing voice. Slowly, I raised my head and went back to the sitting-position.
“How was your slumber Ember?”
“It was good.” I answered, deciding not to tell him what I overheard.
The thoughts expressed and compliments I received left an impression on me. Weeks, months, even years passed and to this day I still think of that night on the bus. The main question also stuck with me, why do people rarely compliment you to your face, but say all the great things behind your back? Lesson learned, if you want to know what people think about you, pretend to sleep on the bus.
