The 10

1

One week later

"Okay, everyone," Ms. Peters begins, blowing a whistle. "We're leaving in a few minutes. Please double check that you have everything you need and double-check that there's nothing in your purses or book bags that would be controversial in prison." she jokes, but judging by her student's faces, they didn't get the joke. "Okay.." she pauses. "Leaving in five, be on the buses or fail!"
Precisely five minutes later, the buses were packed with thirty-four students and almost ready to be on the move. Ms. Peters did a head-count and marked the students present, handed it to the attendance lady waiting on the curb, and the bus wheels began to roll.
The teens spent the trip laughing, some reading, some sleeping, and others just looking out the window or scrolling through social media. The buses were halfway through the trip when Ms. Peters noticed a Rest Stop coming up ahead.
"Let's stop there, give the kids a break." Ms. Peters said, resting her hand on the bus driver's shoulder while pointing to the sign that read, "Rest Stop Next Exit."
The bus driver nodded his head and radioed into the bus behind them.
"Next exit, we're taking," he spoke with little interest.
"Copy." a female voice chimed in.
Ms. Peters stood and used her fingers as a whistle. "Next exit is a rest stop, and we're stopping for ten minutes. Feel free to buy yourself some food, use the bathroom, or even just to stretch your legs." most of the students cheered and even said, 'Finally.' Ms. Peters laughed and sat back down.
The buses came to a slow stop at the Rest Area. Once the bus doors opened, Ms. Peters and her students emerged.
"Oh, thank God," Kate said. "They have fast-food chains here. I'm craving chicken nuggets."
Ms. Peters watched all thirty-four of her students go in at least six different directions. Sighing, she clutched her clipboard tight to her chest and headed to the restrooms.
Ten minutes later, Ms. Peters used her fingers as her whistle once more and shouted, "All of Ms. Peters students; it's time to go!"
She received dirty looks from some parents but shrugged it off and watched her students come running. They immediately went for the buses, but Ms. Peters stopped them for headcount. ". . . Thirty-two, thirty-three, and thirty-four." she marked it on her clipboard and smiled. "Okay, back on the buses!"
The remaining hour of the road trip was silent. Growing suspicious of the silence, Ms. Peters stood and watched every student aisle by aisle, seat by seat, and was surprised to find them all asleep. Some even fell asleep with their headphones on. Ms. Peters wondered how that was even possible. Returning to her seat, the bus driver looked at her through the rearview mirror. Ms. Peters didn't notice, making notes on her clipboard, and the bus driver smirked, realizing he had gotten away with staring at her.
Half an hour later, Ms. Peters noticed the sign that read 'Bushmount Prison Next Exit.' Rising, she walked down the bus, gently nudging her students. "Wake up, guys. We're nearly five minutes away," she said that more times than she could count. She heard several kids groan and watched them all stretch their arms above their heads.

                                                                                              ❥

Day 1

The bus slowed down and then came to a halt that nearly knocked Ms. Peters and her students out of their seats. Huffing, she stood and fixed her shirt, then leaned over to grab her purse and clipboard.
"Okay, guys, let's go." Ms. Peters stood and waited for the bus driver to open the doors.
Turning to face him, she cleared her throat. "Excuse me?"
The bus driver eyed her from head to toe and then opened the doors. "My bad," he smirked.
Ms. Peters led her students out of the first bus and met with her remaining students from the second bus.
"Okay, guys, line up." Ms. Peters waited for the teens to line up and stop their chatter. "Before we go in, make sure you have out your pen and papers. Once we're in, you have to surrender your backpack and phones. You will not have access to them until we leave, okay?"
Ms. Peters watched thirty-two of her thirty-four students dig through their backpacks. Some shrugged and apologized that they must've forgotten it and couldn't find a pen. Sighing, Ms. Peters spoke, "It's okay guys if you need a paper and a pen, please come get one." Two students came for both, and one went for a pen. "Okay, everyone has everything now?" a unison of mumbled 'yes's' was heard. "Okay, follow me and remember what I said last week and today," she warned.