Chapter Five

Morning Preparations

Being a bus driver may not have been a glamorous job but it was a job Jeffrey Howarth loved with all of his heart. He had got his license in his late twenties and had driven buses ever since. He had started with coaches on long-haul trips but his body protested to the often more than eight hour drives. He moved on to being a privately contracted driver but that didn't prove nearly as well-paying as Jeffrey had expected. Finally he had settled on a school bus driver, which did provide a surprising income. He had been hired by the Sussex Downs College eventually and for the last thirty-odd years he had picked up students for the school run on a day-to-day basis.

Jeffrey had never once regretted his decision in life. He had never been the smartest cookie in the box nor had he had particular talents in the arts. He enjoyed driving buses and interacting with people, so what more was there? Especially nearing retirement, he had no regrets. Jeffrey did do his best to keep his body healthy, since sitting down in a chair for an extended period every day had its own problem. Even nearing seventy years old, he had a full head of hair – albeit grey – with a clean-shaven face. His eyes were full of kindness and wisdom and his body was thin but still strong.

The birds were still twittering their morning song as Jeffrey leaned back into his chair, a cup of hot coffee in his left hand. He had the phone call this morning that he was needed for an emergency. The college had its annual visit to Thorpe Park up near London – an event that had become famed for a great day out. The students were able to let their hair down and just have a great time. However there was a problem with the paperwork and there were more students than the coaches could hold. It may have only been five extra students but they had paid a fair amount of money to go on this trip and the school really didn't want to have to deal with that kind of fallout. So they had called Jeffrey in on his day off to drive a minibus up there. He wasn't that impressed with being called at six in the morning but he was glad to help out.

They had given him a list of the students and he looked at it as he drunk his coffee. He knew all five names on the list and was glad that there weren't any trouble-makers. Even if some of them didn't take the bus, Jeffrey made it a point to be friendly on college grounds and even knew the students or walked, drove, or used other means to get to college.

A movement in the corner of his eye caught Jeffrey's attention and he spotted the first of the five students. It was Paige Calloway, who always walked with confidence. Jeffrey knew she had a lot of drama at school about how she seemed to talk to herself but in all the conversations he had with her she seemed like a great person. Certainly more mature than her age told.

Putting the coffee down, Jeffrey got out of the minibus and circled the dark blue vehicle, greeting Paige as she approached. "Good morning."

"Hi," Paige greeted, smiling. "Glad we got you, Jeff."

"Thanks. Glad that I've got you as well. I can think of a whole lot worse students to drive nearly two hours. All five of you, at that."

"Nothing like a group of perceived losers," Paige said with a faint bitterness in her voice. Jeffrey frowned slightly as he pulled open the minibus door.

"Being unique doesn't make you losers. Far as I reckon, it's better to be one in a million that a clone of everyone else. But what do I know?" Jeffrey winked as Paige climbed into the minibus. "I'm only fifty years older than you."

"You always were good at knowing what to say, Jeff." Paige sat down at the back of the minibus, getting comfortable. Jeffrey watched her settle and was glad to see her smile return. It was a tough time in Sussex Downs, Jeffrey knew. The last year had introduced a worrying amount of illicit activities among the students and he knew that it put a lot of pressure on the students that didn't want to get involved in that kind of thing.

After a few more minutes, the second of the five students arrived. This one was the Spanish beauty Naomi Collado. Jeffrey knew Naomi would go on to do great things. She was intelligent, beautiful, and driven. Three things that would get her to the top of the world, if she so wished it. Jeffrey found there was something amazing about someone with as much money as her family had and not boast about it. In fact, Naomi disliked talking about money. She had once told Jeffrey that if she had the option, she would move into Eastbourne proper and leave her parents' money behind, but they still insisted she live with them in their country-side manor.

"Good morning, Jeffrey."

Jeffrey echoed the greeting. "Looking forward to today?"

"I will do my best. I… tend to struggle around crowds but I think it is important for students to have a good time and let their hair down. Even I can have fun."

"Good to hear," Jeffrey held the door open as Naomi carefully stepped up into the minibus, her heavy boots clanging on the metal step. She looked to Paige and greeted her with a nod. Paige smiled back but otherwise the two of them remained quiet. Perhaps this drive would also incite new friendships, Jeffrey wondered. Being on a coach was different. It was noisy and often chaotic, making it more comfortable to keep to yourself. But being on a minibus was a more personal affair and tended to make it a bit awkward if everyone was quiet.

"Jeffrey! Am I glad to see you!" The next student to walk on up was Jade Skysong, full of confidence as usual. She raised her hand and Jeffrey gave her a quick high-five.

"How'd the concert go, Jade?"

"Brilliantly. We performed 'Soar Like An Eagle'. Everyone seemed to love it." Jade hopped up onto the minibus before sticking her head back out. "I'll get you tickets for the next one, Jeffrey. Maybe you can bring a partner with you, eh?" She winked with a sneaky smile.

Jeffrey could only laugh. "My time for love is long gone, Jade. I may still take you up on that offer, however."

"Good, good," Jade pulled herself back into the minibus and greeted Paige and Naomi with a friendly hello, sitting in front of them.

Next was the always quiet Lacey Filih, softly greeting Jeffrey and climbing onto the minibus with little fanfare. Jeffrey was glad to see that some of the new generation could be polite. It seemed like so many children were noisy and didn't give people like him the time of the day. They would take cashiers, bus drivers, hell, even teachers for granted.

Lacey sat down at the front of the bus, right behind the driver's seat, barely even glancing at the back of the bus where Paige, Jade, and Naomi were sitting staring out the window.

After these four arrived in relatively close succession, the last student was nowhere to be seen. Jeffrey started glancing at his watch nervously. He had to leave by the hour and there were only three minutes left. It quickly ticked down to two minutes, one minute…

"Sorry! Sorry I'm late!" Jeffrey glanced up from his watch to see Zach Dryer jogging over, out of breath. He paused in front of Jeffrey. "I got distracted, sorry."

"It's okay. Just don't make it a habit, okay?" Jeffrey held the door open. "C'mon, Zach, in you get. We gotta get going."

Zach nodded and climbed into the minibus. He looked at the four girls and grinned. "I feel like a VIP. Only five of us and the other four all girls…"

"Don't get any ideas, Dryer!" Jade Skysong called out with a great big smile on her face. "You couldn't handle any of the four of us."

Zach walked further into the bus and sat down next to Jade. The two of them weren't close friends but they hung out together every now and again. "How would I know if I didn't try?"

Jade punched him on the shoulder – hard. "I dare you to. What do you reckon, you guys? Would Zach be the perfect guy for us?"

Paige smiled with her arms crossed. "Not at all."

Naomi looked to Zach as if seriously considering the question. "I doubt it."

Even Lacey shook her head nervously.

"…Ow." Zach put a hand to his chest. "Four bullets – right to my heart. I think I'm gonna go and jump off a bridge right now if that's how my love life is gonna turn out. Not even a chance with one of you?"

"Not even one," Jade confirmed. She looked over the seats to Jeffrey, who had climbed into the driver's seat. "Let's get going, Jeff! Times a-wasting and we got rides to get to. You ain't lived life 'till you are upside down on a roller-coaster thinking the things gonna derail!"

"Okay, okay." Jeffrey turned the engine on and the radio kicked in. "Put your seatbelt's on and get comfortable. It's gonna be a long drive. Maybe if you're lucky I'll stop by for refreshments on the way."

"Found the keys?" Ruby called out from her position from the front door. She had pulled on a coat and was enjoying watching Tanzi rushing about trying to look for the keys. A moment before she had let out a successful shout and turned to Ruby.

"Under the bowl…"

"What's that?" Ruby grinned. "I didn't hear you."

"No need to milk it, Ruby. You were right. I was sure I didn't leave them there…" Tanzi shook her head. "Well, no matter. We ought to get going or we'll be late."

The two of them worked at the Purple Pike and when their shifts aligned with each-other, Tanzi would take Ruby up in her small car, a well-driven Suzuki Celerio. Ruby didn't drive and would often walk to work – unless the weather decided to chuck it down or Tanzi was feeling particularly friendly. The two of them wore their purple shirts already, with their name badges stuck through with a pin. Tanzi's hair still hung straight down to her shoulders but Ruby had pulled her bright red hair up into a ponytail, showing off her face and strong jawline.

Outside, Tanzi got into the driver's seat and Ruby followed suit, climbing into the passenger's seat. The engine started with a smooth rumble and Ruby let the window down with a whir, breathing in the fresh salty air that came hand-in-hand with a seaside town. It was nothing like the slightly stale air of London that Ruby had breathed in all her life prior.

Tanzi switched on the radio and immediately a conversation starting speaking over the speakers.

"…Four years since the so-called 'Rift in the Sky'. The officials claim it was a movie stunt, others claim it was a hologram, and others even say it was aliens. Well, who are we to say what it is and what it isn't? All we know is that for nearly eight weeks it was a talking point for the nation. Well, on the anniversary of that day, we're going to talk to a number of people who saw it happen. Keep in mind that that reason it was such a big talking point was that every single person who saw the rift in the sky claimed to have a seen a different thing. We'll get right to it and call in one Fred Point, who saw it while reading in his room…"

Tanzi had listened for a moment before realising that Ruby was looking strange. She seemed to be slightly pale and was clutching her shoulder. Tanzi noticed that she was shivering slightly. She had never seen Ruby like this. She immediately turned down the volume to look at her friend. "Are you okay?"

"…I didn't realise it had been that long already…" Ruby said as if Tanzi wasn't even in the car with her.

"Since when?" Tanzi asked, confused. Ruby blinked and looked to Tanzi. Immediately she smiled but Tanzi didn't fail to see that this was a smile that didn't reach her eyes – which was unusual.

"Nothing. It's alright." Ruby leaned over Tanzi and opened the glove-box, pulling a CD out. "What say we listen to some Queen today, eh? Nothing like a bit of classic rock for a car drive."

"Sure." Tanzi didn't fail to notice that Ruby was changing the subject but didn't push. Ruby was a girl who was honest to a fault. If she was holding something in it was very likely that she would bring it up after work – not wanting Tanzi to worry during work.

As the guitar strummed its way through the car, Tanzi pulled out of the driveway and continued to glance at Ruby, who seemed distracted and distant.