Chapter Five
Family
I was the last one on the bus, and it was still raining outside. Water splashed against the windows. I watched it slowly run down. By the time the bus reached my stop, it was pouring rain. I could hardly see ten feet outside. My home was another three blocks down the road. I'd be completely soaked by the time I got there.
"Want me to drive you a little farther?" The bus driver asked.
I glanced back at him. He was at the edge of his middle years, and developing a gut, balding; you know, the typical loser you'd expect to be a geezer bus driver.
"I'm not supposed to take rides from strangers," I said.
He laughed. "I've been dropping you off at this spot every day for the past year. Trust me, honey, I'm not going to do anything."
Honey?
I cringed a little inside.
"That's okay," I said, taking a step down the stairs. "I like the rain," I lied.
"Suit yourself," the bus driver said, and shut the doors behind me.
Hardly two steps out and I was already drenched head to toe. Hopefully my backpack was thick enough to protect my books from the downpour. I'd gone almost a block when a car pulled up beside me. It took me a moment to realize it was my mom.
I opened the door and plopped down in the passenger's seat, wedging my backpack between my legs.
"Sorry. I tried to get here sooner. Traffic was a mess," Mom said. She worked as a waitress for a Mexican food restaurant. I can't remember the name of it. I'd probably butcher it if I did.
"Don't worry about it," I said, buckling up.
She hesitated, as if trying to say more, but smiled instead and put the car into drive.
I looked out the window.
"Do you want to get a coffee at Starbucks?" Mom asked.
"No. Not really," I said.
"I can go get one after I drop you off at home. You wouldn't have to go inside."
"It's alright, mom." She was trying to make it up to me for being late on a rainy day. It wasn't her fault I was wet. I'd forgotten to bring an umbrella to school. Well, no, I didn't forget. I didn't think to. I never listen to the news and my mom leaves to drop my sister off at School before I do. It's my own fault for not paying attention.
"Anything cool happen at school today?" Mom asked awkwardly. I might have been embarrassed had anyone been around.
I opened my mouth to tell her nothing out of the ordinary, but then I remembered the weird man and the warp in the air. It'd sound crazy if I told her about that. I myself wasn't sure I believed what I saw.
"No. Nothing happened," I lied.
We pulled into the drive way. I made to open the door, but my mom held up her hand.
"I'll get it," Mom said. She then pulled and umbrella from the back seat. We shared it as we walked to the front door.
I live in a suburb. Not a super fancy one, like a gated community, but we do have to keep our lawn a certain length and our yard moderately clean. Our backyard wasn't too big, hardly a tree and an old sandbox. There were the remains at a garden my mom kept on attempting to keep. She never managed to grow anything. It'd die within weeks of planting.
I dropped my stuff in my room. We live in a one story house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a kitchen leading into our den, and that's pretty much it. I grabbed some clean clothes and headed for the bathroom. I met my sister in the hall.
"Why are you all wet?" Lilith asked.
"I saw you and I cried so hard I soaked my clothes in tears," I replied dryly as I passed.
She glared after me opening her mouth, but I shut the door to the bathroom before she could come up with a retort.
Nothing happened that evening. My family gathered and ate dinner. I did my homework, watched T.V. till I got bored and went to bed. I guess I should mention my dad. He's a pretty quiet guy. I'm a lot like him in that way. He works as a security guard. He has a natural grouch face. That might have been why they picked him for the job. No one want's to mess with an angry security guard.
So that's it. This is my life. School, parents, friends, sister, and a minor hallucination.