You mutter to yourself as you climb onto the yellow school bus. It's too darn early in the morning to be awake.
It could be worse, you suppose. You didn't want to go off to college right away, so you grabbed a job at the school bus company in town -- doing light maintenance, tune-ups, that sort of thing. Today you're going to tighten a loose seat on a bus. But that takes almost none of your time. Most of your day you get to hang out and surf the internet, and hope that nothing goes wrong with any of the busses. And most days, nothing does go wrong.
Still, you have to be to work at five in the morning, and that's annoying -- especially when you were partying with friends the night before.
You groan as you aim your flashlight at the seat in question, about halfway to the back. Nothing that tricky -- just lost a couple bolts. You figured as much, and you quickly set to work ratcheting new ones into place. It takes about ten minutes, nothing that tough. Sliding the wrench into your pocket, you flick off the flashlight and prepare to head back in.
But something catches your eye as you return the bus to darkness. It's nothing you'd usually notice, but there's a faint glow coming from a bench seat. You get back onto your hands and knees, and see a small, glowing green disc, about the size of a quarter.
"That's weird," you mutter, reaching for it. Must be something like a glowstick, you think, as you....
Suddenly, you aren't thinking. You'd be screaming in agony, but you can't do that, either. You can't do anything, but watch in horror as the green light suddenly spreads rapidly over your arm, covering it in what looks like green glowing skin. The skin moves over your body, and then suddenly, you feel it work its way up your face.
You do not have time to process anything beyond the glow that fills your world. You pass out.
* * *
There is a distant rumbling, like thunder.
You groan. You rub your head, and look down at your watch. Seven in the morning! You stagger to your feet and notice your clothes are gone and you have been out for an hour and a half! There was the green light, and then....
You stop. This isn't right at all.
You were on the bus. But this can't be a bus. You're standing in a wide green corridor; giant buildings line the sides. And yet, you realize to your horror, they are instantly familiar.
The buidlings are the bench seats of the school bus.
Suddenly, the world lurches. You slide some distance before you're able to brace yourself against one of the bench legs. The school bus is rolling out!
This isn't good. You search your mind to remember which bus you're on. Some buses pick up elementary school kids first, some pick up middle schoolers first. The high schoolers start later. You realize that your bus is on its way to pick up....
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author