The Pretzel Rod Club

Part 7

it was time to head back to school. The kids lined up and the headcount was taken again. The bus Timothy was on was making good time until it suddenly lurched to a stop, as did all the vehicles around it. After a few minutes, it started inching forward. Kids strained to see what was happening up ahead. Then a siren was heard and an ambulance came into view riding the shoulder of the road. It passed them by. 

Traffic was diverted onto other roads. The roads were curvy and the going slow until they reached the suburbs. Detoured from its original route, Timothy's bus started to pass things that were vaguely familiar to him. The sightings increased until he was positive that they were headed directly through his old neighborhood.

He got more and more excited. Daniel wanted to know why and Timothy started pointing out landmarks. There were the mall and the theatre and even the elementary school he had attended. Finally, the bus turned down a street he knew by heart. He was showing Daniel where his friends lived. 

"Here's where I live," he said excitedly as his neighbor's house came into view. "right...here..."

His jaw dropped and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. Daniel snorted, somewhat involuntarily. "Dude," he said, "that house is vacant. It's even for sale!"

Timothy was dumbstruck. He didn't know what to do. His mind was racing. Was he mistaken? He raced to the back of the bus as it continued down the street. He nearly knocked Mr. Rocket to the ground as he pushed him out of the way so he could look out the back window. Tears formed in his eyes and he started bawling.

Daniel followed him and almost caught up but Timothy escaped his clutches. Mr. Rocket finally put two and two together. He gathered the boy in his arms. Timothy was sobbing uncontrollably.  Daniel tried to console him but it was no use and Mr. Rocket sent him back to his seat.

For being such a large man, Mr. Rocket was surprisingly gentle. He merely cradled the boy in his arms until he had regained a bit of composure. Timothy spent the last minutes of the trip with his face buried in the man's chest. 

Mr. Grinns knew as soon as the bus had pulled up that something was wrong. The rest of the kids were sent on their way as he made his way to the back of the bus. Daniel followed close behind. Mr. Rocket explained the situation as he knew it and Mr. Grinns sat down on the seat next to the boy. Daniel stood nearby, unsure of what he could do.

After a moment of silence, Mr. Grinns asked Daniel to run and get Timothy's teddy bear. Not that he thought it would do much good. More than anything else, it served as an excuse to remove Daniel from the scene while the two men dealt with the aftermath of Timothy's discovery.

Daniel, of course, took Mr. Grinn's order literally. He was racing down the hall with Timothy's teddy bear when he was brought to heel by Ms. Majors. She caught the boy's arm and stopped him. Daniel was out of breath but he tried to explain the situation. The lady threw up her hands in exasperation. 

"Ach! Men!" She took the teddy bear and told Daniel to wait in his room. The situation wasn't much better when Ms. Majors boarded the bus than when Daniel had left on his errand. Mr. Rocket and Mr. Grinns looked up from the boy and shrugged. She told them to leave. Then she had Timothy stand up and come to her. 

Although it took some coaxing, the boy eventually complied. He was still distraught but as soon as he was under her "wings" he felt better. She dried his eyes and put the teddy bear in his arms. Timothy sniffled and hugged the bear tightly. Ms.Majors walked him off the bus and to his room. Daniel was waiting there but Ms. Majors decided that Timothy would feel better after a nap. She led Daniel to the door. He looked over his shoulder at the boy, shook his head, and left.

She turned her attention back to Timothy. The boy was sitting on his bed hugging the stuffing out of his black teddy bear. She sat down next to him and took his shoes off. "Timothy, dear, " she began as she helped him out of his shirt. "unfortunately this sort of thing happens way too often."