"Students! On the bus, and away we go!" Sikowitz twirled on the spot, flamboyantly jumping into the driver's seat. Jade sighed deeply, stomping up the steps, followed by Beck who carried coffee for both of them. Cat giggled as she skipped up the steps, babbling about a field trip her brother once went on. Tori and Trina waved goodbye to both of their parents; Trina whining that it was too hot for a three-day-long field trip. They chose their seats (Jade glaring at all the parents waving off their children), while Robbie tried to convince Rex that the trip wasn't a waste of time. Five minutes later, André arrived, out of breath from running and apologising for his lateness.
"Fasten your belts of safety and onward we go!"
They were off. Final goodbyes were yelled, cheers went around and music sounded from the radio. Trina was the first person to sing along to the peppy Nicki Minaj song that filled the bus. Jade clamped her jaw together, and shoved her headphones on. Beck heard faint rock music from them and smiled, appreciating how hard it was for her to tolerate the Vega sisters for 72 hours straight. He glanced around the bus, taking in the scene before him. Three different conversations took place: Tori and André discussing the radio station that was on; Robbie, Trina and Rex bickering about Trina's signing and Sikowitz talking to his map.
"Beck. Beck! Answer me!" Jade nudged his arm, sliding her headphones off. "Beck, pass me the pillow from my bag." She was tired. Tired beyond belief. She had barely slept for three days, because her parents were arguing about Hollywood Arts when they thought she couldn't hear them. She accepted the pillow, and wedged it between her seat and the window. She drew the curtains and threw her legs over Beck's lap. She gave him a small, sweet smile and intertwined her fingers with his. He ran his fingertips up her calves, marvelling at how their skin tones clashed. Jade rested her head on the pillow, changed her music to a soft piano piece – only Beck knew that she quite enjoyed the classical genre when she needed to relax – and closed her eyes, her breathing deepening.
"TOOORIIIIIIII!" Trina's scream echoed around the small bus, causing Sikowitz to stamp on the brakes. Everyone lurched forward violently, their heads snapping around to the sisters wrestling over a phone.
"GIVE IT TO ME!"
"Trina! It's my phone!"
"I wanna see what you're hiding!"
"I'm not hiding anyth-"
"SHUT. UP." Jade was awake. Normally she was a deep sleeper, but she hadn't even drifted off when Trina decided to ruin the peace. She glowered at her, her piercing blue eyes shining with anger. "Shut up and let me sleep. If you're going to argue about a stupid phone, do it over text or something." She shot a final glare at them, before resuming her position and trying to sleep.
There was a pause, before André spoke. "Soo… anyone wanna do Alphabet Improve? Sikowitz? You up for it?"
"I will try my utmost to not crash, but yes! André, you start with the letter T! The subject is that André has dyed his pet hamster an obnoxious shade of purple and insists on taking it out for walks. Let's go!"
"Totally beautiful, isn't he Tori?"
"Unbelievable. Why would you do that to your poor hamster?"
"Vulgar is what it is" Robbie replied quickly.
"What happens when the purple dye wears off?" Cat asked as she twirled her hair around her finger.
"Xylophone! I like xylophones..." Trina desperately tried to keep the exercise going.
"Yo-yos are better." Beck added in a casual voice, browsing his Slap page on his phone.
"Zilch is the amount of skill I have when it comes to using yo-yos." André replied after a few seconds.
"And wasn't this conversation about your hamster?" Tori reminded everyone.
"Cute! I love hamsters!"
"Ah! Cat you're out!" Sikowitz called.
"Phooey!" Cat pouted, sinking back into her seat.
"Robbie! Start where Tori left of, with the letter 'B'."
"BE CAREFUL!"
The bus lurched to the side. Sikowitz, not paying attention to the road, had let the bus drift to the side of the country road. The tires skidded as it dropped down the side. The bus tilted to the left, threatening to topple over.
"EVERYONE GET TO THE RIGHT!" Sikowitz yelled, trying to evenly distribute the weight in the bus. Everyone did so. In the process of the bus tipping, Jade woke up. She looked around with bleary eyes, not understanding why everyone was running. She sat up, and pressed her back against the window. She and Beck were the only ones already on the right side of the bus.
The bus leaned to the right again, teetering on the edge. Everyone froze, unable to help. Robbie looked round.
"REX!" He sprinted to the other side of the bus, grabbing his beloved puppet. The bus lurched again, falling on its side. Everyone fell backwards, their bodies slamming against chairs and windows. Robbie curled into the foetal position, trying to protect his head. Groans sounded as pain ran through them. Beck was the first to get to his feet, slowly stretching his limbs and checking himself for injuries. There was a cut on his forearm and a bruise on his abdomen, but apart from that he was fine. Jade stood up after him, rubbing her bruised forehead. As she had fallen on top of Beck, she was barely injured. André rose, helping Tori and Trina up. Andre had a cut on his forehead. Blood was beginning to run down his face. Jade, being the least squeamish one there, smiled and walked over to him. He flinched, but she held him still. She got a tissue out of her pocket and pressed it tightly to his head, lessening the blood flow. Their heads snapped round when they heard Trina cry out. Her jaw looked wonky, and like it wasn't connected to her head any more. She felt around gently, her eyes filling up with tears. She tried to talk, but no one could make sense of her. Tori glanced at her, her eyes wide.
"It looks like its broken. Ohmygosh her jaw is broken! What do we do? Sikowitz! Sikowitz...?" She looked around, trying to see where their crazy acting teacher was. Her eyes found him, crumpled over the driver's seat. His body was positioned unnaturally, and there was a splatter of blood on the windscreen. There was a silence. Cat poked her head above the seat in front of her, wondering what everyone was looking at. Her mouth opened in shock, her eyes welling up. She squeaked, starting to cry. Her hand found Robbie's, who was still curled into a ball. She looked into his eyes, and he pulled himself up. Putting Rex on the floor, his arms encircled Cat's shoulders, holding her as she cried.
Beck walked over to Sikowitz hesitantly. He gulped, preparing himself for the worst. Sikowitz's back was pointy, with something poking through his shirt. Jade was suddenly behind Beck. She stepped in front of him, checking Sikowitz's body for injuries. She discovered that his spine was snapped, and his head was cracked open. She blinked, not fully accepting the truth. She turned, and walked over to the teenagers.
"He- He's dead." She sat down next to Rex, holding her head in her hands.
"Wow. The Wicked Witch of the West has feelings?" Rex's voice broke the atmosphere. Jade looked up and glared at him before throwing him to the back of the bus.
"Hey! Robbie, tell her not to do that." No one acknowledged him, all beginning to grieve over their acting teacher. Beck sat next to Jade, pulling her into his chest and stroking her hair. Tori's hands wrapped around André's arm, and she sobbed quietly into his shoulder. He rubbed her back, beginning to cry himself. Trina, feeling a little out of place, cried slowly to herself.
Five minutes passed, and Robbie stood up, still holding Cat's hand.
"We have to get out of here. Come on." He walked to the back of the bus, picking Rex up by his leg. He kicked open the door and jumped out. He called to the others.
"André, Beck, you might wanna come out first. It's kind of a long jump, and we'll need to help the girls out and stuff." They followed him, lowering themselves to the ground. André reached up to his forehead, removing the tissue and throwing it to the ground. He was slightly dizzy from bleeding, but held on. He called for the girls, warning them about the fall. First was Cat, who he easily lowered to the floor. She walked over to Robbie, the usual spark in her eye gone. Next was Tori, who held the boys' hands and jumped to the ground. Trina, with her broken jaw, was less nimble, and fell onto Robbie. She mumbled what was supposed to be an apology and stood up. Jade was last. She sat on the side of the bus, waiting for Beck to lift her to the ground. Deaths of people she cared about always affected her. She had a sensitive side that surprised the group, but no one mentioned anything.
They walked to the back of the bus and opened the luggage compartment. Pulling out their bags, they walked into the woods to the side of the road. Jade led the way, not wanting anyone to see her like this. She breathed in, calming herself. She led the group to a clearing not too far away from the road. She turned to her friends.
"I guess we'll just have to sleep in here tonight."