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The screeching of tires on asphalt as well as the flickering of bright fluorescent lights seemed to be a good reality check.
The teens on the bus began to stir, many groaning awake. Cordelia rubbed at her eyes, deciding to look through the window to see if they had arrived. Except she could tell that the scene past the rain covered windows, was definitely not the Great Smokey Mountains. It was dark, and everything still looked wet from the rainstorms, but even with the meager lighting, she could tell that they were in West Ham.
"Change of plans. Rock slides, the road is closed. You're back home," the driver shouted.
Everyone began sharing questioning looks, grumbling disappointment. They paid no mind to it, beginning to clamber off the bus. She had to admit she felt a bit happy. Watching movies with her sister sounded a lot better than hiking through a bunch of mountains.
Yet as she got off behind Cassandra and Allie Pressman, her brows drew together in confusion. She looked at the two sisters, "there's no one here," she voiced in disbelief. She took another glance across the field.
A glance at the place that they had said goodbye to their parents merely hours ago, where no one stood. Not even a sign of life aside from the group of kids stumbling off the buses. Few streetlights were on, there were no cars to be seen anywhere and no other signs of people.
Despite her dislike for the girl, Cassandra sent her a wary look. "Guess they weren't expecting us," she pursed her lips. Cordelia shrugged her shoulders, already beginning to dig through her pocket for her phone.
She pressed the device to her ear after making sure she had dialed her mom. The line rang. She got nothing.
The girl then frowned, pulling it away as she dialed Vera's number. The line rang again before she was sent straight to Vera's voicemail.
"Pick up the phone my ass," she murmured to herself as she contemplated what to do. While normally, she'd walk home with Harry, she noted how he was taking Kelly home in the opposite direction and she didn't want to intrude.
Cordelia sighed, pulling the jacket tighter around her. Walking home couldn't kill her.
⎯⎯⎯⎯
To the naked eye, her house was still the same.
Except for Cordelia, her house was definitely not the same. While all the family photos had been aligned perfectly along the walls, per usual, the people within the photos did not seem to be anywhere around.
