Rage of Vendetta (The Vendetta Series #2)

Chapter 12

Author's Note: Finally! An update! I know! I've just been so busy with school I'm going insane. It's been ages, yes, but yay, here it is now! I'd love it if you could vote or comment to show your love, I'll hopefully have another update coming soon because it's already written (but poorly edited at this stage!)

Chapter 12

The low afternoon sun, blaring strong for a chilly day, attacks my vision.

"I'm going blind!" I exclaim, holding up my hand. In my haste to turn away, I stumble into at least three of the others.

"It's not going to kill you," Jesse sighs, breath coming out in a cold puff.

"My eyelids sting!" I continue complaining as I speed up my pace. "Are we at the bus shelter yet?"

"Air, you're going right past," Sasha says. Her voice is muffled; faraway.

I turn around, blinking. With my back to the sun--bless the heavens--I can see. And I really did walk too far.

"Nice of you guys to tell me when to stop," I grumble, dragging my feet back grudgingly. "It's not like I could have walked onto the road and gotten squashed by a car."

"Quit whining, you'd survive," Courtney says. She is running a finger along the numbers behind the plastic. "Now help me figure this out. I don't know how to read these bloody American bus schedules."

Eric moves closer to the numbers. "Why are there so many numbers and routes? Isn't this one of those one-stop airport shuttles to take you into a city?"

"No, this is a bus stop," Sasha says dully. "We passed the airport shuttle a few roads back."

"Well, why didn't we take it?" Vee asks.

Sasha frowns. "I was just following Ariel."

"The shuttle takes you the opposite direction to where we're going," I assure. "I know what I'm doing."

Jesse makes a noise that sounds like a smothered laugh. "When do you not know what you're doing."

"I always do!" I argue, leaning closer to the times printed on the board, trying to locate a name I recognize. "Stab me when I don't: it won't happen. I'm perfect."

Vee raises and eyebrow but says nothing. The others aren't as nice.

"La-la-la-la, not listening," I say, plugging my fingers into my ears. "I'm perfect, let's face it."

I toss my hair, continuing to tune them out. "Your Perfectness has found the exact bus we need to take." I turn to face the bus schedule again. "Violet Hill: Bus 530. I live in Daisy Meadows. Violet Hill is only a five-minute walk away."

"Do you live in the area of stupid names?" Courtney asks.

Lips thinned with the desire of verbal malice, I say, "I happen to think Daisy Meadows is a very tasteful name. In fact-"

"When's 530 getting here?" Eric interrupts.

I bite back the rest of my words. "There's one every half hour," I answer after a moment.

"So in ten minutes," Jesse finishes, looking at the cracked, digital clock above us.

Sasha peers out the bus shelter. "Actually, I think it's here now."

"What?"

Sure enough, Bus 530 is pulling up, with only two other passengers inside.

"Must be an off-day today," Sasha mutters.

The bus slowly draws to a stop. As the door to the bus stutters open, I bend down to grab a flyer someone had dropped on the seat, and tear it into six even pieces. I hand them out.