Wirt sat in his trigonometry class, unable to pay attention to the teacher. Math was not his strongest subject. He stared out the window, looking at the yellow busses lining up to bring the students home. He was glad that he finally had his own car and didn't have to ride on the noisy and stinky busses any more. Riding on the bus was always loud, and people would always invade his personal space. Pulled back into reality for a split second, he saw a bluebird fly by, and his thoughts went immediately to Beatrice. Wirt smiled as he remembered the beautiful, spunky girl whom he and Greg had met last year. He missed Beatrice terribly.
I am forever lost without ye,
My heart yearns to see you again.
Your smile that warmed my heart,
The poetry he had written in his head was interrupted by the silent vibrating of his phone. Wirt carefully pulled the phone out from his pocket, keeping it out of view beneath his desk. Glancing down, he saw the text was from his mom, reminding him to pick up Greg after school.
Wirt smiled. He liked having time with Greg. Since he was a senior in high school this year, Wirt had a little more time to spare, and was determined to spend more of that time with his younger brother. Last year, he had almost lost is brother completely. A shrill bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Wirt gathered up his books and papers and walked out of the school building, smiling to the people he knew as he passed by.
Wirt walked out to the student parking lot and got into his grey four-door Sedan. Starting the car, he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the icy roads. It had been snowing all day, and it was very cold out. He drove very cautiously, being careful not to take any turns too fast. Wirt was now wishing he had skipped Trig so he could have got to Greg's school sooner. After driving on the horrible roads for almost a half hour, he pulled into the elementary school's parking lot. Wirt smiled when he saw Greg playing in the snow with some of his friends. Greg looked up and saw Wirt's car, and his face lit up completely. He threw hasty goodbyes over his shoulder to his friends as he ran as fast as he could to the car.
"Wirt! I'm glad you came to pick me up today! Let's get home fast so I can feed Jason Funderberker on time," Greg said as he sat down in the seat next Wirt.
"Well, I'll do the best I can. The roads are really gross today. It might take a while," Wirt began to steer the car back onto the treacherous roads.
"That's ok, too. I can tell you about school! Today our class got a pet. It's a turtle. Ms. Grey won't name it for us, and we can't think of any good turtle names. Do you have any ideas, Wirt? You helped name Jason Funderberker, after all"
"Well, since this it's a class pet, you should all probably work together to come up with a name." Wirt replied, slowing down to avoid hitting the pickup truck that had just cut him off.
"Great idea, Wirt! Terrence Anderson has the turtle for this weekend. Oh! I forgot! This weekend, we have to write an essay about our hero. I could write about Mom, Dad, Jason Funderburker, Nelson Mandela, The Hulk, Superman—"
While Greg had been talking, the pickup truck in front of them slammed on its brakes to keep from running a red light. Wirt hit his brakes as fast as he could, but the ice made them slide without control. Greg was clutching the handle on the door like it was a life preserver, knowing something bad was about to happen. Wirt turned the steering wheel madly to the right and slid the car around the pickup. In doing so, he had slid into the wrong lane. Still sliding, Wirt turned his head to see a black minivan barreling towards them. Wirt's mouth opened in a silent scream, his eyes wide and terrified. He could hear Greg's scream and knew that, in that moment, they were equally panicked. At the exact moment the minivan hit, everything went black.