I contemplated trying to communicate in American Sign Language, but discarded the idea given that the only phrase I know is "I want your cookie" which isn't really similar to "Stop this bus and let me out before I get desperate enough to murder you and seize control of the steering wheel". As I was standing at the front of the bus looking disgruntled, it slowly ground to a halt. My mind was immediately filled with horrible images of a grisly pile of bodies by the road and a newspaper report about a serial killer who killed a bus driver and then used the bus to lure new victims into his clutches, parking the bus in the middle of nowhere to perform the murders. And then someone behind me said "He's out of gas". That seemed a slightly more reasonable explanation, but given everything I still felt like I was in the Zone Where Normal Things Don't Happen Very Often. As I tried to take cover from a possible hail of bullets, the driver stepped on what I assume was the gas pedal, which made a clanky noise, but didn't do much else. And then the doors slid open silently save...well, a noise like bus doors opening. And all this time the driver said nothing.
I noticed not everyone on the bus was getting off, but some people were, and I was going to be one of them, because I didn't like the idea of staying in a bus with a serial killer any longer than was necessary. So I got off and walked to the nearest point of semi-civilization, namely a bowling alley with a sign in faded paint. I noticed I had my cell phone. It struck me that calling someone and asking them to give me a ride would be a better option than walking 20 miles back to my school. Given that nobody else responded, I resorted to asking my friend's mother, who said she'd pick me up soon. So I waited around for a while. Someone came out of the bowling alley and glared at me, which I took to mean "Get out of here or the serial killer bus driver will be the least of your problems". So I moved to a bench where he couldn't see me from the cash register. Problem solved. I spent my extra time wondering why on earth they would hire a bus driver who was deaf and didn't know how much gas he needed.
Eventually, my friend's mother got to the bowling alley. She was on the point of asking me about my grades when her cell phone rang. Her husband had been in a car accident, and he wanted to know if she could pick him up. After hastily dropping me off at school (with a real excuse for being late for the first time in my life) presumably she went to get him. Oh, and my teacher said that if I didn't fail this test it would be practically a miracle.
Random paragraphs for your convenience!
Complaint# 2: I had to walk to the bus stop in a lightning storm and walk home from another bus stop through a forest in the same lightning storm, which decided to follow me. It was slightly nerve wracking. But I was comforted by the knowledge that more than half of people struck by lightning survive. I was less comforted by frequent crashes of branches breaking off nearby. By the time I got to my friend's house (closer than mine) there was absolutely no way I could have been any wetter. And now my textbook's all soggy.
Complaint #3: I had a test yesterday. I have a test tomorrow on the unit we covered for a grand total of two days. I don't know why my teacher thinks I can handle this. After all, I was dumb enough to sign up for a full year's Honors Chemistry course except in only six weeks.
This post has been edited by Mirithorn: 12 July 2006 - 08:20 AM