All Aboard

Part Seven

Kimberly

The bus door whooshed open and Kimberly jumped in her seat. Curiosity had overwhelmed her and, like the others, she'd moved to the other side of the bus to try and see what was happening at Dan's stop, but she couldn't see anything. It was like the bus had stopped in the middle of a cloud of fog. She'd eventually given up and gone back to her seat on the other side of the bus.

Dan and Mikaela walked back to where they'd been sitting, Dan glaring at the floor from the moment he got on the bus to the moment he slouched down in the seat behind Kimberly.

'So? What happened?' asked Barney.

For once in her life Kimberly was glad to hear Barney's voice as she was dying to know the answer herself. Everyone was watching Dan, waiting for him to do or say something, and when he didn't look up, all eyes shifted to Mikaela who just shook her head and looked out the window.

Barney turned to Lazlo who was scrawling across his notebook with his feather. 'He has to tell us what happened? Right?' Barney said.

'He can tell you whatever he wants, but he's certainly under no obligation to tell you anything at all,' Lazlo said.

Kimberly heaved an internal sigh, relieved that whatever happened at her stop would just be between her, and her alone.

Mikaela

Poor Dan, thought Mikaela.

She kept looking at him, trying to catch his eye, but he just stared at the floor. She hoped he didn't regret asking her to go with him, and that she'd handled it all okay. She hadn't expected anything like that for him (she didn't know what she expected to be honest; were they really on a magic bus?) so he probably wasn't prepared for what happened either. Apparently he'd been keeping this major artistic talent secret from everyone as well.

Apart from the penises, of course.

Barney

He looks like he's going to burst into tears, thought Barney as he watched Dan. Pussy.

Chloe

Chloe hadn't been entirely convinced about the whole universe and energy thing. She'd honestly thought that Lazlo was insane and was on some kind of suicide mission, but then she couldn't explain what'd happened as they'd crashed over that bridge. Maybe she was dreaming, but why on earth would her subconscious slot the other five of them on the bus with her? Well, apart from Nav. He would be an obvious choice to make a cameo in her dreams. Nonetheless, she'd pinched herself and tried blinking herself out of the dream, but she seemed to be well and truly in the land of the living.

'Is everyone okay?' Lazlo asked. None of them said anything, but they all nodded their heads. 'I trust that you're happy to continue?'

'So what did he see?' asked Barney.

Chloe rolled her eyes. Barney had already been told that, basically, it was none of his business, but he couldn't help sticking his nose into something that had nothing to do with him.

But Chloe was curious. Dan looked like he'd been smacked with an emotional gut punch; more evidence that the bus journey was real.

'Well? Mate? What did you see?' Barney was leaning over the seat in front of Dan, oblivious to everyone's glares. Dan mumbled something and Chloe peered at him, trying to make out his words.

'Leave it, Barney,' Mikaela said, a warning tone in her voice.

'Come on, tell us, mate,' Barney tried again, ignoring Mikaela.