Project Archangel Book One: The Conspiracy Project

Chapter 19

I was up bright and early Saturday morning and saying goodbye to my parents before boarding an activity bus, with Michael and several of the people from my church, that was headed to Camp Fellowship. 
I gave each of my parents a hug. “Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad.”
“Have fun on your retreat, Honey,” my mom said with a smile.
“Yup. See you tomorrow.”
We said our I love yous, and I looked at Michael. “Last chance to run away.”
He smirked. “Not gonna happen. If you're going to Camp Purity Ring or whatever, I'm going with you.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Michael.”
“What kind of boyfriend would let his girlfriend suffer through that alone?”
I blushed. “A pretty bad one, probably.”
“Yeah, not me. Now, come on. Let's get this weekend over with.”
I said my final goodbyes to my parents, and we got on the bus, taking a free seat near the back, across from a couple of girls.
The bus got louder and more rowdy as more people got on, but once Mr. Wes and Mrs. Rachel, another youth leader, got on and made their presence known at the front of the bus, everyone started to quiet down. Once the bus was silent, Mr. Wes spoke.
“Hello everyone and thank you for coming with us on another exciting Promise Ring Fling at Camp Fellowship! I see a few familiar faces, but it looks like most of the people on here are new, so we're going to go over some rules and details real quick before we get moving. The rules are simple. One, keep talking to a minimum, and use your inside voice. This trip is all about fun, and there's no fun in silence, but our driver needs to concentrate on the road and get us there safely. That's why we ask that you talk quietly amongst yourselves. No shouting or yelling or causing an uproar. Going along with that, no throwing things on the bus. No paper airplanes or spit balls or anything. If I see anything go flying through the air, you will be moved from your seat and have to come sit up front with me, and you don't want that, do you?”
No one responded, but he went on anyway. “I didn't think so. Rule number two: no standing or moving during the ride. I know we don't have any seat belts to hold you back, but standing and moving during the ride is not safe. We are driving at high speeds on the freeway, and if we have to stop suddenly and you are standing, you may end up going flying through a window. You may only stand or move in case of emergency. If I catch you moving or standing during the ride, you will have to come sit up here with me, and we already agreed that won't be a very fun ride.”
“Rule three is no purple,” Mrs. Rachel spoke up. “What that means is, boys are blue and girls are pink. Blue and pink make purple. Now, I'm not going to tell you guys and gals not to talk to your brothers and sisters just because one of you is male and one is female, but there is to be no physical contact for the duration of this ride. No kissing, hugging, touching, or hand holding. No physical contact, okay? You will be separated if we catch you.”
Several couples quickly let go of each other's hands.
“Also, on the topic of physical contact, no hitting, kicking, punching, or spitting either! I feel like we shouldn't even have to explain that one. This is a bus of love and happiness, not cruelty and hate. No violence should be taking place on this bus or at any time during the retreat! Another obvious one is do not open any of the emergency exits while on this bus, unless there is an actual emergency. It will make the alarm sound, and our trip will end up being a lot longer than it should be.”
“Are there any questions?” Mr. Wes asked.
A girl raised her hand. “How far is it?”
“About two hours. Anyone else?”
A boy raised his hand. “What if we need to go to the bathroom?”
Mrs. Rachel took this one. “We will be making one stop halfway through the trip for everyone to get out, stretch, and use the bathroom. If you need it before then, and it's an emergency, let one of your leaders know, and we will make an emergency stop.”
“Any more questions?” Mr. Wes repeated.
No one raised their hand.
“Alright then. We should be leaving shortly.” With that, he and Mrs. Rachel took a seat in the front seat, behind the driver, and we all sat in silence, short of a few whispers here and there and the crackling sound of the bus driver's walkie talkie as she awaited orders that everyone was ready, and we could leave.