Geronimo

One

It was a miserable ride.

I was miserable, and so was everyone around me, despite their noise and cheer. Singing 'Jingle Bells' in such an uproar had not only caused a round of headaches but proved to be exhausting after the first dozen choruses. Those who were still in it had almost made a competition out of it to see who could go on the longest. The poor chaperones that sat in the front with the driver.. I pitied them almost as much as I pitied my own ears, whose fluffy earmuffs weren't doing a good enough job of muffling them out.

A senior trip was something to definitely look forward to, starting with the hype of the seniors around you while you're in your own Freshman year. Things usually happen. Magical things. You're still students and children and are still under the strict supervision of adults, but you're given more freedom, however slight. There is never supposed to be a dull moment.

But so far, I was dreading it. I had dreaded it from the beginning, mumbling about all the commotion that there would be from the time I was packing, trying to stretch the chore out as long as it could go; and yet, I dreaded it even more now that I was actually in the bus, surrounded by all these hooligans.

I couldn't stand to be around them on a day-to-day basis, even whilst skillfully avoiding them as I navigated the halls and attended my classes, keeping to myself as often as possibly possible. Now, however, I was stuck in such a small space with them with nowhere to escape and to make matters worse, I had a security guard on either side of me and they were practically squishing me. There was not near enough room for them to take their own seats behind and in front of me, which had been the usual plan; there was hardly enough room for any of us. There were, on average, four students crammed into each seat. Whoever organized the trip should have taken the student count more into account when they thought it was a good idea to shove us all into a regular sized school bus for a five-hour ride to the mountains.

I had sat there in that condition for four hours. I could go one more. That is if the idiot in front of me shattered his vocal chords anytime soon to cease his obnoxious singing.

"Hey! Hey, Zelda. Hey."

I felt a constant poke on my shoulder, each jab getting deeper and more forceful than the previous one. I had kept my cool and endured it for quite some time, but something in me was close to cracking, and it finally did as I turned around and faced the girl seated directly behind me.

Despite being a senior and roughly around seventeen or eighteen years old, the girl still had braces on her teeth, which wasn't that much of an issue -- it was the fact that she had bright pink brackets that made it look like she had bubblegum stuck to her teeth all the time, which was what turned me and everyone else off. She had her dull strawberry blonde hair in two braids and wore the same baggy sweatshirt every single day no matter the season. Still, she was nice, and seemingly oblivious to the teasing that was pointed towards her.

"Yes, Cindy?" I asked through clenched teeth, annoyed with the poking.

"What is it like having bodyguards follow you all the time, huh? Has it ever happened on a date? I mean, have they ever ruined a date for you? Is that why I never see you with a guy around school?"

I did my best to smile and my lips seemed to attempt to reply on their own, but I was saved by one of the teachers near the front of the bus who stood and clapped her hands, yelling to get everyone to quiet down. When it was quieted down enough, everyone turned their attention towards her as she rubbed her temples with her index fingers.

"There is a bit of ice on the road, and it could be dangerous if we hit an ice patch. You ruffians need to quiet down so that the bus driver can concentrate. Please. For the love of Din, enough of the Jingle Bells.."