00:00I take the bus home every day.
00:01It's always too loud because everyone is constantly screaming for some reason.
00:05The bus driver gives me the creeps too, though I can never tell why.
00:09It was just the way he looked at us, I guess.
00:11Thankfully, I at least sit next to someone who makes it bearable.
00:15Her name is Sarah.
00:16I think she's the only girl I can call my friend.
00:18She's quiet, unlike every other kid on the bus.
00:21Though I always have a good time talking to her when she feels like speaking over all the noise.
00:26She's not in my class because she's in the special needs group.
00:28So the bus is the only place I get to see her.
00:31Sadly, for the past week, something seems to have been messing with Sarah.
00:36She's quieter than usual, with a worried look on her face.
00:39I asked if she had gotten in trouble or if something happened to her parents, but that wasn't it.
00:43She said she couldn't explain it, and even if she tried, I probably wouldn't understand.
00:48Still, I kept asking her about it, thinking she would spill the beans eventually.
00:53That didn't work, though.
00:54All I managed to do was make her cry, so I quickly changed the subject.
00:58It was still bothering her when I got off.
01:01The bus was always empty or quiet by then, but I still felt bad for her.
01:05Having to sit with whatever was wrong and not being able to talk about it.
01:09Every day I kept hoping it would be the day she told me.
01:12Each time I saw her, she just looked more upset, even less able to talk.
01:16On Friday, the last time I saw Sarah, she could barely look up from her lap.
01:21She would cry if I said anything to her.
01:23I knew that.
01:24I could just tell I needed to stay quiet.
01:26I sat next to her and looked down the aisle as she watched out the window the whole ride,
01:30right up until my stop was coming up.
01:33Suddenly, Sarah was hit with a wave of courage.
01:35With maybe 30 seconds left until the bus stopped and I had to go,
01:39she grabbed my sleeve and pulled me in to whisper,
01:41Sarah, what's wrong?
01:43The bus driver.
01:44The bus driver?
01:45What's he doing?
01:46He keeps getting lost.
01:48Wait, really?
01:49But he has GPS.
01:51I don't get him.
01:52He doesn't listen to it.
01:53And he makes the last three kids help him.
01:55He makes you guys be his navigators?
01:58I know how to get home, but sometimes he misses my stop.
02:03Then we just go in circles forever.
02:05Sarah, do you want to get off at my stop?
02:07But how will I get home?
02:09Don't worry.
02:10My mom can drive you home after dinner.
02:12Do you know your mom's phone number?
02:13Never mind.
02:14I'll just do it the regular way, okay?
02:17Come on, come with me.
02:18It'll be fine.
02:19But people will think I'm lost.
02:21We'll get in trouble.
02:22We're not going to get in trouble, Sarah.
02:24Don't worry about that.
02:25Okay.
02:25Sarah, sit down.
02:26Mike, you better leave that poor girl alone and get off this bus by yourself.
02:30Any funny business and I'll have you both expelled.
02:32Do you understand me?
02:33I understand.
02:35Okay.
02:35I guess I'll see you Monday, Sarah.
02:38I nearly had it.
02:39We could have made it off the bus together, but the bus driver simply wouldn't allow it.
02:43I had no choice but to leave her alone on the bus with him and just a few other kids,
02:47knowing he would torment them with his stupid games.
02:50Granted, I didn't exactly understand what Sarah was trying to tell me about him.
02:54He was clearly pretending to be lost.
02:56But why he got a kick out of stressing them out like that, I had no clue.
03:00With every part of me wanting to turn around, I forced myself off the bus.
03:04I turned around on the curb, trying to catch a last glimpse of Sarah, but the windows were
03:09basically black mirrors of the sky.
03:11Looks like thing one and thing two didn't show up today.
03:14They left you all alone with me.
03:16I don't want to play Navigators today.
03:18Just take me home.
03:19Did you learn a new word today?
03:21Wow.
03:22I guess that means you're ready for a new game.
03:24Whoa.
03:25Hey, be careful.
03:26What are you doing?
03:27Stop messing with that.
03:28Shut up.
03:29I'm the adult.
03:29I know what I'm doing.
03:30Where are we?
03:31Where are you taking me?
03:33This is not the way home.
03:35Relax.
03:36I just gotta take a leak.
03:38What?
03:38A leak?
03:40You know.
03:41We leave some pressure.
03:42Let off some steam.
03:44What are you talking about?
03:46I'll show you.
03:53On Saturday, what happened to Sarah was all over the news.
03:57The bus driver had been turning off the GPS and cameras so he could go off course.
04:01He was scaring the last kids on the bus so he could do things and make them promise not
04:05to tell anyone.
04:06By Friday, Sarah was the last one still brave enough to get on the bus.
04:10She was entirely alone with her.
04:12There was no longer anything or anyone stopping him from hurting my friend in the worst way
04:17imaginable.
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