Friends By Fate
Chapter 1 – Highway To Hell
Note: I wanna thanks Bia for made the translate for me. I hope you guys like the story.
All the characters are real. Yes. Be scared now.
She was completely bored, but she wasn't the only one. In a bus with 12 teenagers judged as "troubled", going to an unknown museum while the radio played a bad cover of "Highway to hell", it was difficult to find someone excited. The only one was a blonde girl who insisted in playing the flute to cheer her friends. Obviously, it wasn't working.
-Hey! Could you give me a cookie? – She asked to her friend.
- No way.
- Ah, please, Bruna! – She asked again. – I'm hungry.
- You're always hungry, Amanda.
True. But eating a cookie would be better than just sit there idly, she though. So, when Bruna turned around to look at her other friends, Amanda took advantage of it to get the package and furtively get a cookie. She swallow it whole and got suddenly interested in the green landscape that was passing through the window the moment when Bruna looked at her again.
- What time is it? – Asked her.
- Noon, I think. – Amanda answered, but with her mouth full of cookie, it sounded something like "Hum, ahim".
- Hey! You stole my cookie! – She found out. – And I didn't even see it!
- C'mon guys! Cheer up! – Said the blondie.
- Shut up… - Grumbled a straight-haired rebel girl. Her bangs were thrown over her forehead, almost covering her eyes. – Enough with the boring music.
- But, but, but…! – She looked hurt. – Mariana…!
- No "buts"! – Mariana got the flute and threw it on the bus floor. The instrument rolled 'till the front of the bus, hitting the feet of the boy wearing a hoodie.
-Stop with this bullshit! – He yelled, with his typically loud voice.
- Chill out, dude. – Said the boy on his side. – They must have dropped it, just that Rodrigo.
- Whatever! Screw you! – He grumble, kicking the flute forward.
Rodrigo leaned against the window and Rhamon, the boy beside him, rolled his eyes. He adjusted his glasses, thinking: "Calm as always, of course…" and started to observe the others.
A girl with straight, short hair talked to a boy beside her, who wasn't listening a word of what she was saying.
- So, I got the medal of first place. – She told him. – Swimming is really cool!
- Aham… - He nodded absent minded, while he messed with some loose bolts near the window.
- Mateus! You're not even listening! – She complained.
- Aham… - He nodded again, still not listening.
She slapped the back of his head.
- Ouch! Natália! – He yelped.
- Alright. Now I'm done talking. – She smiled.
On the seat in front of them, a girl with super straight hair looked at herself in the mirror, while trying to ignore the bad jokes told by the boy sitting beside her.
- Got it? Got it? – He laughed.
- Yeah, Vinícius. Unfortunately yeah… - She said.
- You have no sense of humor, Rita. – He said.
- And you don't know what humor is. – She said back.
In the backseat, Flávia still complained with Mariana about her flute, who ignored her completely.
-Great! – She exclaimed. – So I'll play the piano!
- We're in this goddamn bus for 6 hours! Long enough for you to notice that we don't have a piano here!
- I don't need that to play the piano! – She protested like a little child.
She started whistling and playing invisible notes in the air, and Mariana covered her ears, curling herself in the bus seat.
More behind, in the seat in front of Amanda and Bruna, was the only quiet girl. She had long, curly, black hair that made a wall between her and her friend, stopping her friend to look at the book in her hands.
- Are you really reading? – Asked her friend, who had wavy, brown hair that went just below her shoulder.
- I'm trying, you know, Nina? – She threw the hint.
- You gotta be kidding me! – Nina exclaimed. – Ah, Bia… how can you read in this asylum?
- I can't with you talking! – Bia exclaimed, closing the book roughly.
- Am I annoying you? – Asked Nina, with a smile in her face
- What do you think? – Bia said.
Nina laughed and Bia got back to her reading, but seconds later she got interrupted again.
- Oh, c'mon! You can't be reading! – Exclaimed Amanda, leaned over her seat.
- No, I can't! – She complained.
Amanda looked at Nina without understanding anything.
- What did I do? – She asked.
Nina was about to answer when the bus suddenly stopped moving. Everybody looked around. Through the windows they could notice they were still in the road. The highway, that seemed to take them to some place in the end of the world, was surrounded by trees. Like it was the only cemented path in the middle of a forest.
The doors of the bus suddenly opened. They looked to the cabin where the driver and the teacher stayed. The cabin was separated from the rest of the bus by a clear door. Through it, all of them could see both of them standing up and leaving de vehicle. They walked towards the trees and simply disappeared.
- Ahm… They're going to come back… Right? – Asked Rhamon.
Silence. Nobody knew the answer to the question, but really hoped it was yes. After all, the 12 couldn't stay there alone, could they?
- Okay… That was weird… - mumbled Nina. – What are we going to do now?
- Wait, I guess… - Flávia hesitantly answered.
- Wait? – Mariana repeated, incredulous and shocked. – We've been waiting more than 6 hours! Wait for what?
- Calm down, Mariana! – Asked Amanda, a little tense.
- I won't calm down! – She exclaimed back.
The buses doors opened it. The silence came back again. All of them were observing the two unknowed people get in the cabin. The two went up the stairs of the bus and the doors closed again. Which was weird, because they neither did nor touched anything. The doors that divided the cabin to the rest of bus opened it, and everybody could see with clarity the two people.
- I didn't know that the doors were automatic – Natália whispered to Mateus.
- Uhm… I don't think they are. – He answered, squinting his eyebrows.
- Cough! Cough! – The first person coughed.
It was a small man. His hair was curly and his nose was lightly red. He was wearing a shirt with a tiger on it, and in his right hand was a Diet Coke can. He looked at everybody rapidly and let out a sigh of boredom, as if he was the one who was locked there for 6 hours.
- Cool… - He grumbled. – Drive a bus with 12 irritating brats was really at the top of my list of fun things to do.
- You don't have a "fun things to do" list. – Said the other person. It was a woman with long, black hair, tied in a ponytail. – Either way, try to be nicer.
The man rolled his eyes.
- Nicer… Whatever. – He said. – Anyway, I'm Mr. D and I'm going to drive your bus, and blah, blah, blah.
With that, he turned around, the doors opened for him to pass, and then closed again. He turned the motor on and started driving.
- Psiu! – Bruna said. – Sit down!
She pushed Amanda down into her seat, because she was still leaned on the front seat.
Amanda sat down and the woman smiled. She was wearing jeans and a white shirt that said: "Guide".
- Right. – She said. – I think you must be a little worried, but try to get relaxed. Mr. D and I are going to take you to the camp safely.
Camp? Not one of them had any idea of what was happening. Flávia squinted and raised her hand. The guide looked at her with her gray eyes.
- Yes? – She said.
- Ahm... Mrs. Cliff said she was going to take us to a museum, not to a camp.
- Change of plans. Now you're in good hands.
- But…! Where is she? – Asked Rita.
- It doesn't matter. – She answered. – What matters is that you're safe.
Amanda looked at the window and then to Bruna.
- Did you notice another car passing through this highway?
- Uhm… - Said Bruna, trying to remember. – I-I… don't … think so.
Amanda looked at the guide.
- I'm sorry, but who are you?
Bruna nudged her.
- Don't talk to her like that, Amanda! – Reprimanded her, like she knew who that guide was.
- I just wanted to…!
- It's okay. – The guide smiled, sending Bruna a signal. – No harm done. She is right. I should've introduced myself to you. My name is Athena, and I'll be your guide.
- But why are you…? – Rhamon was going to make a question, when Flávia's flute passed rolling by the hallway.
- Oh! My flute! – Flávia exclaimed, interrupting him and standing up. – I'll get it!
Everybody stopped to watch, while Flávia ran towards the instrument. The flute stopped rolling when it got to back of the bus.
- Got it! – Hummed her from the end of the bus, with the flute in the hand.
"POW!"
The bus trembled.
The roof right above Flávia's head sank a lot. Something had jumped or fell on the top of the vehicle. Flávia looked at the roof and then to her friends who watched the scene with wide eyes.
- What was that? – Asked Nina.
- We're in trouble. – Mumble Athena.