With only the neon lights that displayed"OPEN"to give any light, Melissa watched the bus driver exit the diner and return to the bus. It was strange; the silent man ensured the group had their bathroom needs taken care of first before needing to relieve himself. As if he was making sure every single person got inside safely. But would it be so terrible if someone got stranded here late? It was just a restaurant, after all. There wasn't anything scary to her.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped when something tapped her shoulder. "You've got your leftovers, Meli?"
She nodded with a small smile. "Yeah. I bet this chicken and waffles will last us for weeks. I'm so full, Andrew!"
Her brother chuckled at her light enthusiasm. "I don't know; your stomach could explode with all that grease. I can lighten your burden."
"Andrew Roberts," Melissa exclaimed before shielding her plastic container of food from her brother's poking fingers. "Don't you dare!" She finished with a giggle.
Andrew ceased, but not before lightly ruffling her chopped black hair. As the bus began to pull out of the diner's driveway, the siblings began to overhear a man and a woman loudly conversing about not doing something for three months. Melissa looked at them anxiously. "I should thank Professor John for paying for our meals."
He looked as well, sighing. "We both should." He looked at her with an awkward smile. "Too bad both of us don't know how to talk to people."
"But he already lets me come to your classes sometimes. He could get in trouble for that, and that could affect you and your-"
"Hey, hey." He immediately touched her shoulder and looked into her green eyes. "I'm a college student, attending a college class with other college people. It's adults helping fellow adults. Plenty of people bring kids to classes because of scheduling issues. The professor won't get in trouble. I won't get in trouble." He gave her a squeeze and smile. "YOU won't get in trouble. Besides, it wouldn't be the end of the world."
"You say that now." She sighed, noticing that the loud conversation was done, and the bus driver stopped to talk to a man in a uniform on the road. "I guess you're right, though. Your class is actually kind of cool. Especially Taylor."
"Yeah? You think she's cool?"
Melissa turned to look at Taylor in the back seat, sitting beside her boyfriend. "Well, look at her! She's gorgeous, has a boyfriend, and said she's been basically all over America! Can you imagine the places she's seen? The people she's met?!" To go wherever, whenever, just as you please? She was envious of the older girl. She and her brother would be living life if they had that chance.
"Yeah, that last part is pretty cool," Andrew admitted as she turned back around. "I bet she could tell you all about her trips if you ask."
She scrunched her face. "I will when you talk to everyone. And the professor doesn't count!"
He looked like he was about to retort, but Angela's voice suddenly filled the air, claiming they were going the wrong way. John was trying to reassure her that it was a detour, but it did nothing to calm the older woman's nerves. "Do you think there's something wrong?" She asked Andrew, her heart rate going up as the bus driver demanded they keep it down.
Her brother looked calm, but she could tell he was just as confused as she was. "I don't know-"
Something was approaching, just standing there as the vehicle's lights showed on it. Something that was her own height, her own shape, her own…but for a second, Melissa swore that the little girl was wearing old, vintage clothes. Why was that little girl not moving?
But that second was up. The bus driver slammed his brakes, turned the steering wheel, and the bus crashed onto its side. The only thing she could remember before going unconscious was her brother screaming her name and protecting her with his body.