It was my first day at school and I got on the school bus. Little did I know what to expect next. The driver looked me over and said “SIT THE FUCK DOWN YOU LITTLE SHIT” and put his foot down on the gas pedal. It must have been really hard because he had to slam it a few times before the engine finally started rumbling.
So there I was just sitting down staring out of this huge window watching this little town go by when at the next stop this kid gets on, this monster of a kid. He had really short black hair and was standing around six feet tall, but way too skinny. He also was wearing suspenders. Oh man that suspender buckle was stretching out as far as you could see.
Then this kid turns toward the back of the bus where I am sitting and as soon as he sees me he pulls the emergency brake handle and all these kids scream and yell out as the bus starts skidding backward toward this cliff like drop off that goes straight down for almost 50 yards until we reach a stop sign at the bottom. Then there is this long screeching sound and we are tumbling down this steep slope through some trees making a horrendous clatter with giant trunks whacking our sides. Then as fast as it happened, everything stops.
A couple seconds later the kid pushes the door open with his boot and leaps onto the road.
“Later losers!” he says as he wanders into the woods.
There is dead silence as everyone stares out of the windows in shock.
Finally one kid (this guy happens to be a senior) takes it upon himself to stand up as if nothing ever happened. His hands are still shaking as he walks over to sit behind me so that he can look past me and get another view of the woods from his seat. As he sits down, something drops onto his head. He picks it up, saying “Oh shit…” and opens it up. In his hand lays a dollar bill. His whole demeanor changed after reading the note inside. He looks out again through the window.
He sees the strangest man, wearing these big straw cowboy boots which point forward. He has this hat on, a purple western outfit which goes down to his knees, a silver belt buckle, no shirt, bare arms, skin white as a ghost, long, wavy dark hair… he has wings, both wings wide spread forming an X going diagonally across his chest. What? Is that weird or what? We notice that the man is floating right in front of the bus toward us slowly closing in.
The kid who left the bus comes running out of the woods terrified. Out of breath he pleads
“That guy! That dude! Right now! It-it… It might attack you.”
The other kids on the bus laugh, this must be some sort of prank. When they turn their heads we notice that the witch like man who seemed to be invisible, somehow entered the bus. It could have passed straight through the frame or walls in the bus without anyone noticing. Then he sits next to me… so close that his face is touching my shoulder. Our faces were very close together. I turned to him with confusion etched into my face while he stared out at nothing.
He gets up and sits next to the senior and together they giggle into their hands while looking down at me. After awhile the kids around them find it funny. So do I. Now not only does he keep staring at me I’m actually being giggled at. And it’s freaking me out.
The kid who left the bus is outside crying, begging to be let back into the bus, but the bus driver is on his phone trying to figure out how to get the bus moving again.
“How long will it take?” asks the strange man in a voice but his mouth never moved.
All the kids start whispering to each other under their breath, frightened that if the stranger hears, thorns will grow between their ribs or their bodies will rot apart. Suddenly bugs shoot from the stranger’s mouth where words leave. They zip through the air in a line and pelt me in the side of my leg and a girl screams bloody murder because she steps on one while trying to run away and falls down flat on her face screaming. The others crowd against me even more, afraid of the flying insects coming at me.
The kid who is outside the bus is now freaked out. The stranger is now standing before him, laughing silently while everyone else shakes and trembles at the sight of something unseen within the bus. “We should get off at your stop”, says the man with one wing folded over his chest in frustration.
Suddenly the stranger pulls out a knife, a long knife, and stabs him in the stomach then spins around doing it again until it leaves a deep blood groove running down his torso, which is slowly trailing down his legs toward his shoes. Then the stranger throws his body into the ditch and pisses on it. The people in the bus huddle tightly with one eye watching the action and unable to move, but not willing to admit defeat and get out yet.
The bugs are buzzing around the bus and the bus driver is still on his phone waiting for the bus depot. All the kids look at the terror gripping their chests tightly together, praying to someone who won’t come. Many fold themselves in a ball as close to the floor as possible hoping the fear will protect them from whatever is hunting them, wondering why.
“Now! NOW! NOW!” yells the stranger piercing the nerves of every single soul inside the bus.
They jump out of their seats scurrying up the aisle all in different directions shouting “HOLY SHIT HE’S REALLY AFTER US!”, “HE IS GOING TO ATTACK US IN 2 SECONDS. GET UP AND RUN!”
Suddenly the bus driver gets the bus going again.
“SIT DOWN YOU LITTLE SHITS WE’RE GOING TO SCHOOL!” yells the driver who is pleased with his key turning skills.
“GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY THAT WAS SCARY, SO SHUT UP!!” says driver to a student who wants to call her parents.
After that day on the bus during which we felt scared to death we learned a great lesson in life; you must adapt to change. It isn’t easy being the new kid at a new school, especially when one of your peers is eviscerated by the cowboy angel of death.
But he wasn’t finished with us yet. This is what he told us:
“Today you will all feel pain. Each of you will go home thinking about things they haven’t thought about since yesterday morning. You will all tell jokes , act immature and eventually grow beyond this once painful experience. Most importantly, you WILL adapt.” And then he told us to use spoons instead of forks, not napkins.
We knew then that school would not kill us. However, over the years our PE teacher tried to molest us but that’s another story!
God bless.
