Disclaimer: I do not own the Magic School Bus or any of the associated characters.
Chapter 1
Dorothy Ann woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. The shrill, high pitched buzzing annoyed her as she struggled to find the snooze button. Her vision still blurry from sleep, she slowly rose out of bed to get dressed for another day at Walkerville High School.
She looked in her closet and pulled out a purple sweater and a turquoise skirt, much like the outfit she wore in third grade. She pulled her long blonde hair into a braid, slipped on her ballet flats, and went downstairs to wake up her mother.
Though Dorothy Ann was a senior in high school, her mother still insisted on taking her to school. Dorothy Ann found it embarrassing that when the rest of her friends could go wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted, she had to wait for her mother or find a ride.
Getting out of the car in the carpool lane was the worst, and every morning she crossed her fingers that no-one would see her get out of her mom's minivan. This particular morning was no exception.
As Dorothy Ann kissed her mom goodbye and got out of the car, a certain dark-haired boy was watching her. Little did D.A. know that the dark-haired boy watched for her every morning, just so he could catch a glimpse of her.
See, Carlos was no longer friends with D.A. For some reason, in sixth grade, they had stopped talking. While he still hung out with Ralphie, the other boys from the gang had gone in different directions.
Tim had been shot walking home on his street a few days shy of eighth grade graduation, Arnold moved to England to live with relatives after his parents died in a car crash in tenth grade. Even Wanda, who used to hang out with the boys all the time, had succumbed to academic pressure from her mother and was now at some sort of elite prep school in Massachusetts.
Dorothy Ann got out of the minivan and began to walk along the sidewalk towards the main entrance. Carlos decided to take a chance and speak to her.
"Hey, D.A." he said cautiously, in a hushed tone.
"Carlos? Is that you? We haven't spoken in ages." D.A. almost whispered, matching his hushed tone.
"Yeah, its me. And yes, its been forever. But I'm afraid I have bad news." He took a deep breath.
"Keesha was in a car crash last night. It was pretty bad. She's in a coma at the hospital."