I'll Be Back

Thirteen

I slipped on clothes. Today was going to be alright, I guess. I did make up with John, and I'm still friends with George, Ivan, and Paul, right?

Shrugging I opened the door.

"See you in the afternoon." I called to Mary and closed the door. I slung my bag over my shoulder and hurried over to Quarry Bank.

"Wait up, Roxanne!" I heard a voice call behind me. John caught up to me and grinned.

"You didn't care to wait for your ol' mate Johnny?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, sure."

The rest of the walk was silent until we passed by the bus stop.

"Don't you take a bus?" John asked.

"I'm afraid of all motorized vehicles."

"That's pretty stupid."

"Call me stupid, then. I ain't getting on one."

"You're going to be late." John grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back to the stop.

"We can get to the school much faster this way."

"I don't care." I began to walk away and John tugged on my sleeve again.

"No! I'm never going on one of those!"

"They aren't half bad."

"Think of the chances of a crash!"

"Stop being such a worry."

"I won't go on a bus, ever!"

A two storey metal death machine rolled up to the stop and a few people climbed on, leaving me and John standing there.

"Hurry up, we're on a schedule here!" Yelled the driver. John shoved me up onto the steps.

"No! Nononono! Never!" I clenched the sides of the railings.

"You're going to get us arrested or fined or something. John grabbed my arm and dragged me up the stairs and into the second deck.

"Get me off of this death machine!" I cried and shut my eyes tightly and clenched onto the first thing beside me.

"No, no. It's fine, see? We're moving."

"I don't care if we're moving! Get me off of her!"

John put his hand on my shoulder and that was when I noticed he had been what I was clutching onto. I let go immediately and felt around for something else, my eyes still closed.

"It's okay, Roxanne. Just open your eyes."

I heard somebody whispering behind me.

"Almost as if the girl's never been on a bus before."

Opening my eyes angrily I turned around.

"My parents died in a car crash when I was three, thank you."

I looked back. Looked? I stared around the upper deck of the bus.

John still sat beside me, his coat crinkled from where I had been grabbing onto it.

"That's the spirit?" He half asked.

I wanted to let out a huge shriek. But I couldn't. John and I would be kicked off, and on top of that, we'd be late. Hyperventilation is my only answer.

My breathing quickening, I sunk back in the seat, eyes darting around.

"Mate, calm down." John lifted my shoulders back up so I was sitting upright then stared me in the eye.