Note: This fic was inspired by National School Bus Safety Week (Oct 18-22). It is my personal belief that the best way to keep American school buses safe is to read Sam Temple out of the Gone books ( a lá Inkheart), clone him, and place him on every single school bus so that he can save everyone in the event of an emergency. So anyway, this fic is about how I personally visualize the fateful day in which Sam Temple's life was forever changed.
Disclaimer: If I were Michael Grant and not myself, I would be spending my time working on the latest Gone book and reveling in my own genius. However, I am not MG so I can content myself only with writing this bit of prose that I personally found amusing but I know can hold no candle to Michael Grant's work.
Worth Saving
The warm California sun beat down on Sam Temple's head as he stepped onto the first step of the school bus. He walked up the remainder of the steps and noticed his best friend Quinn Gaither was waving at him. Quinn was already slumped in a seat near the front of the bus, and he indicated that Sam should take the place beside him. Sam went over to his friend and sat down next to him, lightly punching Quinn on the arm as he did so.
"How come you always get the window seat?" Sam asked teasingly, snatching Quinn's ever-present fedora off of his friend's head and holding it just out of Quinn's reach.
Quinn rose to his feet and grabbed the hat out of Sam's grasp. He placed it back on his head and resumed his seat. "Sorry, brah. That's the way of the world."
The rest of the class continued to file onto the bus as Quinn gazed out of the window.
"Look at that sky, man. We've just got to hit the waves when we get back home."
Sam looked at the sky as well. It really was a gorgeous shade of blue.
"Totally. The sky's perfect, just the color of…" Sam broke off. He had been planning to say "Astrid Ellison's eyes," but he wasn't sure of how Quinn would react. Although Quinn and Sam had exchanged their share of secrets before, Sam hadn't yet told his friend of his recently discovered attraction to Astrid. He'd thoughtabout telling Quinn several times, but whenever Astrid's name was brought up, Quinn would just roll his eyes and make some snide little comment about the "Genius."
"Just the color of what, brah?"
Sam racked his brain for an innocent analogy. "Uh… your surfboard."
"You're comparing this beautiful sky to a surfboard? Is surfing really all that the two of you think about?" said Astrid Ellison as she sat down next to Mary Terrafino in the seat directly behind the two boys.
Sam and Quinn responded at the same time.
"No," said Sam.
"Yes," said Quinn.
Astrid didn't say anything in response, but she did give Quinn a pitying look before taking an enormous book out of her bag and diverting her attention wholly to it.
"Hey, Astrid, have you ever been surfing before?" Quinn asked.
Astrid lifted her head from her book.
"No."
"Then, stop dissing the one thing that you know absolutely nothing about!" Quinn said angrily, crossing his arms and slouching back in his seat.
Sam smiled weakly at Astrid.
"Sorry about that; he takes surfing very seriously."
Astrid smiled back at him, and Sam found himself distracted by the extraordinary whiteness of her teeth.
"I can see that."
"Surfing is really fun though. You should really consider trying it."
Astrid's astonishingly blue eyes twinkled at him as she responded. "Maybe, I will. Thanks for the advice, Sam."
"You're welcome," Sam said, and he turned around to face the front again, mentally congratulating himself on having successfully made conversation with Astrid Ellison that didn't end in him making a complete idiot of himself.
After the teacher took attendance, the bus driver started the bus and began driving.
The bus soon broke out into a series of conversations. As Astrid explained the educational significance of the field trip to Mary (and Quinn, upon hearing this, rolled his eyes), Sam asked Quinn his opinion of the trailer of a new surfing movie that the two had made plans to see the next weekend.
All of a sudden, Sam heard an ear-splitting scream coming from somewhere near the front of the bus. He looked up to see the driver of the bus, lying collapsed over the wheel. Without stopping to plan his next move, Sam jumped out of his seat and sprinted to the front of the bus. He gently pushed the driver out of the way and placed his hands on the wheel. Sam had never driven a car or bus before, but it couldn't really be that different from a golf cart—couldit? He had driven a golf cart once when Tom had taken him golfing as part of the "Father-Son Golf Outing" that Tom's office had organized.
Calling to mind all of his memories of the golf cart, Sam firmly took hold of the bus steering wheel and carefully turned it so that the bus moved over to the shoulder. He pulled what he sincerely hoped was the brake, and the bus gradually came to a stop. Sam let out a sigh of relief. He stood up gingerly and turned around to see the entire bus gaping at him. After a brief silence, everyone aboard the bus simultaneously burst into applause. Sam noticed several people watching him closely. He tried to ignore the excited fluttering in his heart as he briefly locked eyes with Astrid, who was staring at him almost reverentially.
The thought occurred to Sam that though he and the others were out of immediate danger, the problem was far from solved. He knelt down beside the still unconscious bus driver and began fumbling in the man's pockets. He finally found what he was looking for and carefully withdrew a mobile phone. Sam put the phone up to his ear, dialed 9-1-1 and waited anxiously until he heard a voice in his ear.
"State your name and emergency."
"I'm Sam Temple. My class was on a field trip and our bus driver just collapsed while driving down the highway."
"Is this a joke?"
Sam took a deep breath and tried to stop his voice from wavering. "No, Sir. It's not a joke. Everyone's really scared. I managed to pull the bus over onto the shoulder, but none of us really know what to do."
"Where are you?"
Sam gave a general approximation of their location and added another plea for help.
"We'll send someone right away."
"Thank you, Sir."
He hung up the phone and turned his attention back to the other people on the bus.
"Now, listen. Help is on the way, so there is no need for anyone to panic. I think, in the interest of safety, it would be wise for everyone to evacuate the bus. Anna, Emma, you two are close to the back. Could you open the emergency doors in the back and climb down, and then go ahead and help everyone else jump off the bus? Is this all right with everyone?"
There were nods all around, and Anna and Emma immediately got up from their seats and walked to the back of the bus.
Astrid was astonished at how smoothly Sam was able to handle the entire matter. Although the tension must have been weighing down on him, he managed not to show it, successfully manifesting an aura of calm and determination that Astrid herself wasn't able to obtain despite her best efforts.
Sam was the last to exit the bus. Astrid was sure that he did this to ensure that everyone else had been evacuated safely. He stood apart from the large group that had gathered on the lawn, waiting patiently for help to arrive.
Astrid walked over to him.
"Hi, Sam," she muttered.
"Hi."
"So, help is on the way, is it?" she said, forcing a smile in the hopes of combating her anxious mood.
"Yeah," he said. "I think so."
They stood there uncomfortably for a moment. Then Astrid spoke tentatively.
"You were... you were... incredible back there. I don't know how you managed to do all that."
Sam smiled shyly. "Neither do I."
"You're a hero, Sam."
"No, I'm not," Sam said, fidgeting slightly. "I'm just an ordinary guy. Anyone else would have done the same."
She studied him curiously. "Don't be so sure and don't be so quick to brush off praise. You saved my life, Sam. I won't forget it."
She held out her hand and Sam took it for a moment and shook it.
"It was a life worth saving," he said, his eyes locking with hers for a tantalizing moment.
Astrid could feel her cheeks flushing, so she decided to return to the larger group. As she walked, she wondered to herself why Sam was so blind to the remarkable person that he was and hoped that someday she'd have the courage to tell him just how remarkable he was.