Gum on the Sidewalk

Chapter One: The Bus Ride

I wrote this story when I was in the seventh or eighth grade, so it’s not as good as other things I may have written.  Also, it’s just a compilation of dreams I’ve had, so it’s weird, and it probably doesn’t make any sense.

It was on a school bus ride that it started.  A big, yellow bus packed full with children ages four to seventeen.  There were children screaming, children crying, children laughing and children talking in hushed voices all over the bus.  There were several children on that bus, as I already told you, but involved only one.  Me.  I guess it also had something to do with the bus driver and his reckless driving.  I think he was drunk at the time.

He was driving up a curved road at the base of a hill.  The road was so narrow; I’m not surprised we crashed the way we did.  The ditch on the outside of the curve was quite steep and lead right into a forest.  There was a large house up the road from the place we crashed.  I am surprised that the residents didn’t hear us when we hit the bottom.  See, the way that bus driver, Dale, drives; he thought that he could make the curve.  We all knew he couldn’t.  He turned so sharply that the wheel barely touched the road when I felt my stomach lurch and at once, I knew that we were falling.

The bus finally grazed the earth and turned onto its side before falling completely onto its underbelly.  I flew upward and hit my head sharply on the ceiling of the bus.  When I came back down, I felt both relief that we were settled, and of course, pain.  Just as I was readying to leave the bus, it decided to flip once more onto its roof.  ‘Finally,’ I thought to myself.

 After all of the yelling and chaos had stopped and the pain in me receded, I quickly got up out of my crumpled position and staggered, feeling very light-headed, toward the door.  As I stumbled down the three stairs that lead out of the bus, I saw a beaten up old Ford Thunderbird parked just one hundred and fifty feet from where I stood.  I ran as fast as I could, on a sprained ankle, to the car and away from the school bus; away from those children that needed my help, needed me to pull them out.  I felt terrible, but I could come back with help from the right people.  Besides, I really liked Thunderbirds.

As I opened the door, I noticed that I was not the only person interested in that car.  In the back, huddled up together, were a couple of teenage boys.  They didn't look much older than I.  I eased myself into the driver's seat as quickly and quietly as I could and immediately went searching for the key.  I found it just where I thought it would be: in the glove compartment.  I popped the door shut, stuck the key in, pushed it forward, and revved up the engine.  Man, but didn't that sound nice.  I smiled in satisfaction and put the car in drive.  I shoved a little too hard on the gas and felt the car surge.  The two boys in the back awoke with a jolt.

"Hello," I said.

"Hi," they replied in unison.

"Sorry about takin' your car, but I needed to get outta that bus," I apologized.  With that, they looked toward the overturned vehicle, which had kids pouring out now.

"'S all right, you just scared us, that's all.  Besides, it's not our car anyway," the older one said, turning back to me.

"I'm Daniel, this is my cousin, Chris," the other one said, gesturing to the boy next to him.  I nodded in the rearview mirror.

"You know, I'd shake your hand, but I'm kinda busy at the moment," I laughed.

"You never told us your name," Daniel said, wiping the hair out of his eyes.  By this time, we were almost level with the road, I had pushed the car hard up the steep incline, and was now readying myself to make the jump over the curb.

"Hold onto your hats, boys, there's gonna be a big bump ahead," I informed them.  Just as I said it, there was a big bump.  We tipped this way and that.  I think the boys, Daniel and Chris, were getting a bit sick to their stomachs, but were too proud to admit it.

When we were finally on the road, I told them, "My name's Elise, Elise Dabney," I corrected.

"Nice to meet you, Elise," they smiled.

Even though they said they were cousins, they couldn't have looked more different. Daniel was obviously tall, blonde, blue-eyed, and muscular.  Chris, on the other hand, was short, had black hair, brown eyes, and was practically a beanpole, he was so thin.

We drove for a while, not know really where to go, and soon it was dark.  After a while, I heard a sputter and realized we hadn't bought any gasoline.

"Boys! Wake up! We need some gas!" I said, patting them to make sure they heard me.

"Good, 'cause I'm hungry," Daniel said.

"Dan, you're always hungry!" Chris sneered.