Field Trip... Of the Dead?! IC; [M]

[ｒａｂｂｉｔ]

Lincoln City awoke that May morning, the sun peeking over the mountain range to the east, warm rays finding the pristine lawns of the suburbs, assorted roofs of the homes, and sparkling glass of the towering buildings downtown. The streets were mostly quiet, save for a few early commuters, men and women leaving for the office early, and a select few who were returning home from a night shift. The early risers – the people who didn’t have to get up, but rather wanted to – were climbing out of bed and amidst getting ready for the day ahead.

Tyler lay in her bed, fidgeting like a seven year old on Christmas Eve. Her deep brown eyes were open, studying her ceiling, scanning the assorted posters and pictures on her creamy yellow walls without really seeing them; her focus drifted anxiously out the window, past her sheer lavender curtains, while her ears were trained on noises inside the house, listening to the muffled sounds of her mother and father get ready for work just down the hall. The young woman’s head still lay on her pillow, chestnut tresses strew across the pale fabric, as her knees were drawn up, creating a mountain in the almost-center of the bed.

The sun crept between the edge of Tyler’s window and her neighbor’s house, throwing its light across her room, blinding her and making her shut her eyes quickly, outstretching a hand to block the intrusive light. That, however, was her cue. The soon-to-be graduate tossed the covers off her legs as she hopped out of bed, pulling her hair up into a ponytail before she made her bed (which she’d hardly disturbed) and trotted into the bathroom next door to her room. Tyler emerged showered and towel-clad, moving into her room and shutting her door behind her, where she cranked up her music – her parents had left during her shower and waking up to Tyler’s music was something her brother had become accustomed to.

There was a thud, louder than her music, against the wall opposite her bathroom and Tyler froze, her body tense – that was unusual. She stepped into the second-floor hallway (still only wearing her towel) and turned toward her brother’s room, voice carefully composed as she called out, “Jacob? Are you all right?”

Her brother’s door swung open suddenly, making her jump, and his young, grinning face appeared in the doorway, telling her in a voice still in between that of child’s and young man’s, “Yeah, I’m good.”

Tyler pursed her lips and jammed her bare foot into the way of the door as he tried to close it. Jacob turned back curiously and in the light coming into his room, she could see the circles under his eyes, the abnormal pallor to his skin; her eyes narrowed and she moved closer, touching the skin of his cheek – clammy. “Are you getting sick?”

“No,” he lied and she rolled her eyes, walking back to her room. “I’ll take a DayQuil right now, ok?!”

“Mhmm,” she closed her door, finished getting dressed, did her hair – lightly curled and tousled with a golden leaf barrette (http://i49.tinypic.com/2qx0nsx.jpg) securing a few select locks of hair on the left side of her head away from her face, mod-cut bangs brushed out and gracing her low brow bone.

The brunette sat on her bed and tugged on knee-high socks, followed by black suede riding boots (http://i50.tinypic.com/2z4bspv.jpg) which were only a little lower than the socks, and she shoved the extra fabric down, letting only a little of the lace-trimmed sock peek out when she walked. Tyler smoothed the loose fabric of her ruby top (http://i48.tinypic.com/35lc7c2.jpg) in the mirror in a habitual way and then pressed her hand to her window – it was still chilly outside, so she snagged a black cardigan (http://i46.tinypic.com/2m29zxs.jpg) off the end of her bed and pulled it on, leaving it unbuttoned. She jumped a little when she felt its hem brush her thigh, surprised to find the cardigan was actually longer than her distressed denim shorts (http://i47.tinypic.com/zxs8it.jpg). She pushed her sleeves up to her elbows, checked her slender three-ring folder for the roster of seniors attending the trip to Lincoln City State University and frowned at the sixteen names that were stricken through with red pen, unable to attend as of yesterday evening due to illness.

She thought of her brother and wondered if he’d come down with the same thing – whatever it was that had been going around lately. Tyler had boned up on her vitamins and orange juice since the start of winter and hadn’t stopped when she’d caught word of the bug, unwilling to risk getting sick for the spring production of Little Shop of Horrors. She knocked on Jacob’s door on her way to the staircase – a signal it was five minutes till they’d be leaving – her keys in hand, purse (http://i45.tinypic.com/opcpsi.jpg) slung over her shoulder on its longer strap, folder, wallet and other assorted girlish and school-related goodies inside, as it was a weekday.

Tyler’s brother came down a few minutes after she had and she handed him a piece of buttered cinnamon-swirl and raisin toast wrapped in a paper towel and a small bottle of milk, holding a similar meal for herself as she headed to the garage. “Ready?”

“Yup,” he replied, a mouthful of toast muffling his speech. He slapped the button on the inside of the garage wall and the garage door started to groan open as she slid into the driver’s seat of her violet-black Jeep Wrangler, it’s canvas top removed to welcome the May weather, which would hopefully warm up later in the day. Her brother climbed in beside her and Tyler backed out of the garage, swiftly pulling onto the street and headed toward the high school.

Eight and a half minutes later, they arrived at school and Tyler was shifting into park while her brother climbed out of the jeep and grabbed up his backpack from the backseat. She slipped her bag onto her shoulder again, retrieving it from the floor of the passenger side where it usually rested when driving (as with most women) and slipped out of her vehicle, pulling her cell phone from her pocket. She pressed the center button of the three on the device named “Mythic,” waking it up; it showed her that she had three text messages and she drew a heart on the touch screen with her thumbnail and it lit up in response, bringing the display to her home screen. She read through the text messages – two from Twitter, the other from her mother wishing her a good day. Gee, she mused, I’m sure popular.

“Fifteen minutes to spare,” she said to herself, hitting the small lock button on the side of her phone before tucking it into the pocket of her shorts. Tyler made her way to the ASB room and was greeted by the sight of her drama teacher, Mrs. Ruberg, chatting animatedly with the ASB teacher, Mr. Stockton.

“A good conversation I assume?” Tyler said, smiling at both teachers as she paused in the doorway, “Should I come back after the bell?”

“Oh, no, child!” Mrs. Ruberg exclaimed, turning to the brunette with a grin and flip of long, silver-white hair. Mrs. Ruberg insisted she’d gone white-haired early in her life and that she had no intention of coloring it because of how wonderful it looked, and she was actually far younger than she looked. It was a very believable argument, especially after seeing the woman on stage, the feeling and being around the intense, intoxicating energy she had.

“No, no,” Mr. Stockton didn’t come out from behind his desk or stand, but he smiled and nodded a good morning. “Just discussing the trip.”

“Right, of course,” Tyler nodded, “Are the updated lists I emailed you last night ready?”

“Yup, and the buses will be here in ten,” Mr. Stockton replied, handing Tyler the updated lists from the printer.

She took them and set her bag down on one of the long tables, withdrawing her folder, taking out the old list and replacing it with the new ones just in front of the lists of parent and guardian contacts of students attending. “Looks like we’re good then, as long as Mr. Fuller is here?” Mr. Stockton nodded. “Ok then! I’m going to go be a student now. See you at the buses.”

Tyler left the ASB room and went down to the commons – the massive grouping of picnic tables and cement benches under an even larger set of four canvas roofs constructed close to the front of the middle of the school where most of the school’s population (save for the teachers) congregated. She greeted a few people as she wove her way through the masses of students, faces she recognized well from the past year, seniors and underclassmen alike; she drew out her cell phone as she walked, unlocking it and turning it on its side to compose a text message.

TO: Twitter

Senior trip to LCSU today! Buses arrive in ten! Be there or be… Well, pretty lame, if you ask me.
♥ - Tyler A. M.

[Stryker]

As he got out of his car in the student parking lot, he noticed that the car next to him had a rather long scratch along the side of it. After admiring it for a few seconds he shook his head and shut his door before moving to the trunk to get his backpack.

Being in high school, everybody knew what a long scratch like that came from and that you were glad it wasn't your car. The problem for Josh was that at one time, it WAS his car. The circumstances were strange though, it was a case of wrong car since he and a fellow classmate had similar cars. After settling the whole ordeal and getting the scratch fixed, he actually became friends with the girl that had done it until she decided she wanted more even though he was taken at the time. That... started a whole new pile of crap that he'd rather not remember...

Soon enough he made it out of the parking lot while saying his hello's to friends and people he honestly didn't recognize and found his way to his locker with about 10 minutes to spare before the buses were supposed to show up to pick the senior class up to head out to the local university.

As he leaned against his locker, still trying to wake himself up. Josh began to think about trip that was happening today and the fact that he could be going to the very college they were headed to. The thought both intrigued and scared him knowing he'd be leaving the place he had spent the majority of his waking hours at for the past four years.

His baseball scholarship was all but locked up, all he needed to do was decide if he wanted to stay local or go to a different college to play. He had roughly seven schools lined up that would pay his way as long as he continued with baseball, which is exactly what he intended to do unless something else popped up and prevented it...

His fingers ran through his short, black hair while he continued his futile attempts at getting rid of a tired feeling that he couldn't shake. Then again he never was a morning person anyways. After yawning for what seemed to be the 20th time he noticed Tyler walking by with her phone in hand, more than likely checking something while on her way to the loading area for the buses.

"Well..." he began before yawning and pushing himself off his locker and smoothing out his plain white, fitted t-shirt. "Might as well go too, may get a few more Z's before the buses show up..."

Before he got too far, he bumped into a student. They exchanged apologies, but Josh noticed that the kid looked very sick. Kinda pale with rings around his eyes. It reminded him that a few of his teammates hadn't been feeling well lately either and had caused a few practices to be cancelled for lack of players to take the field.

"Geez, what's going on?" he thought while following Tyler to the meeting area, his hands behind his head. His fingers locked together while he yawned once more.

[Familiar]

Walking down the street, early in the morning, was one of the few pleasures Gavin could find in living in the city. The morning sun perfectly complimented the chilled spring air, and Gavin could feel the cool wind dancing over the half of his body that still had nerves to feel it. It was the times like this, walking down the dark, deserted streets looking at the lights of the city stretching off into the distance that Gavin could truly feel alive. This little ritual of his, taking to the city streets in the time just before the dawn, was not a new one. He couldn't even remember when he starting his morning wandering, but he did know that it was only after he started that he was able to really learn about who he truly was. In solitude he was pure; in silence he could hear himself think; in the dark, there was no need to wear a mask.

It was like this, lost in the maze of his own thoughts, that Gavin whiled away the hours between the time his tenuous sleep broke in the morning and the long slow drag of school began. He usually stopped in somewhere for breakfast, never anywhere in particular, even he wasn't sure where he would be at the end of his walks. Gavin smiled his typical half smile, thinking of just how irritated his parents had been when he had simply wandered away from school during one lunch hour, they found him six hours later in the heart of downtown standing in line for a food kitchen. He had gotten a lot of grief over that one, but on the other hand he had learned to restrict the range of his activities somewhat.

For today though, Gavin was well within familiar territory. He arrived at the school just before the bell rang, sitting on one of the common benches along the walls without even bothering to enter the building proper. He smiled as the two girls sitting on the bench to his left silent dissipated. It wasn't as though there was an animosity between him and the majority of students, they simply didn't understand each other. They searched for their purpose in their friends, in their teams, in the personas they built up around themselves like suits of armour. Gavin found his meaning within himself. A mutual lack of understanding, based around this one simple fact became a wall far more effective than any social class. Smiling once again with the good half of his mouth, he stopped himself from thinking any further. He had gone down this path before, and it never seemed to lead anywhere but circles.

Leaning fully against the wall now, Gavin just smiled as he felt the sun hit his face.

[Lake]

The green eyes reflecting in the bathroom mirror seemed to peer in their observer's soul. Asking, probing, testing the viewer about what he saw and what he aspired to be. The viewer, a young man, stared back into the mirror, gripping the edges of the sink beneath it. Rays of light pierced their way throw the small crevices of the blinds and refracted against the steaming pool of water swirling within the basin. Ian Czarnecki had arrived at his biggest decision since waking up: to shave or not to shave.

Finally putting the razor down, Ian finished his morning routine of showering, eating a bowl of generic store-brand cereal, dressing in a purple Lincoln City High School soccer t-shirt, jeans, and his worn pair of black chuck taylors. He looked for his book-bag, wondering if he was going to need it today, with the field trip and all. Deciding that he might as well bring it due to the after-school soccer practice, he packed it with an assortment of soccer goodies; cleats, shin guards, shorts, and his own soccer ball, throwing in energy bars and a bottle of Gatorade to top it off. Zipping the bag into place, Ian slung it over his shoulder, kissing his mother and grandmother on the cheek, and giving his father a customary nod to signal his departure. After closing the door, his grandmother and father embarked into a conversation-argument, with both Polish and English terminology used. Ian could pick out bits and pieces of the verbal battle, but decided better to ignore it. It was probably something ridiculous anyway.

Lacking a car, and according to his own preference, Ian hopped onto his bike. He had been riding it since his freshman to school, and while not the fastest means of transportation, it definitely had its advantages. It forced him to stay in shape, and what would have been gas money went straight to his college savings. He loved the ride itself too. The feeling of the wind through his hair, the lesser amount of regulations and rules cyclists must follow compared to motorists. The trip to the school was in itself relatively short, and Ian ended up in the school's parking lot with time to spare. Spotting out his teammates truck, I lifted his bike into its bed and placed an adjacent tarp over it. While not a boy scout, Ian believed firmly in their motto: Be prepared.

Heading towards the communal student hang out area, Ian noticed some of his underclassmen teammates. The usual greetings and jokes were made, but Ian couldn't help but notice their persona. They seemed... dead, almost. He quickly passed it off as tiredness from yesterdays match, but still, they looked as if they should have stayed home sick. Ian, however, had something bigger on his mind: the field trip.

Glad to have something to change up the monotony of everyday school, Ian thought about the girl with the plans her self who essentially set the whole thing in motion; Tyler Anne Micello. He had a hard time remembering what she looked like (Ian always had a hard time putting faces with names) but he new her as LCHS's aspiring actress, seeing her perform in productions his younger brother played in the pit orchestra for. He wondered if anyone had thanked her yet-the seniors were getting a day off of school for a free college visit to a university they were most likely already attending. He made sure to at least give her a congratulatory pat on the back for such a plan if he saw her later that day.

Finding an open area in the commons, Ian unzipped his bag and brought out his ball, beginning to juggle, and waiting for the buses to arrive so that his day could officially start.

[TheDashingRogue]

"And don't forget to bring your inhaler!" a shrill voice called out after him.

"Yes mum..." came the taxed reply from a shaking head. Bob walked across his front garden towards his scooter (http://www.doble.co.uk/images/newbikes/highResImages/1253/07/4.2%20Honda%20FJS600A%20Silverwing%20Motorcycle%20 Blue%20Action.jpg). It was an automatic, yes, but still had the power to beat the pants off most 4 wheeled challengers. It was practical too and a relaxing ride and that. He opened the storage compartment and withdrew a silver full face helmet. Placing his rucksack in the space now available he began the journey to college.

On the way he had noticed other drivers and pedestrians coughing and holding handkerchiefs to their mouths. There was a flu of sorts going around, but Bob had had his jabs earlier in the year, and his mother had stocked him up with enough medication to start up his own pharmacy. Painkillers, anti-histamines, anti-inflammatories and asprins sat somewhere in his backpack, lieing in wait for some kind of cough or temperature to arise.

He pulled into the car park and pulled up next to a pickup truck and cut the engine. Storing the helmet again he set off towards the waiting area, but not before checking he had everything he needed. Various snacks, some Pepsi cans, waterproofs, inhaler... and his laptop. His phone had full battery and he had gotten a good nights sleep the day before, so as far as he could tell the trip would go without incident. A thoroughly good day out by all accounts. He sat down on a bench overlooking the car park and brought out a copy of Brisingr by Christopher Paolini. It had dragons in and, despite what other people may think about it, was well written and had an encaptivating storyline. He continued his reading from somewhere near the middle and was lost in a world not entirely of his own...

[ｒａｂｂｉｔ]

The school’s PA (public address) system came on with its customary hum of electricity through the speakers. One of the office secretaries cleared her throat and announced, “Class of two-thousand ten seniors, please congregate at the bus lines if you are attending the field trip to LCSU.”

There was a muffled cough, then murmured words and the voice came back again, a little less formal, “Again, go to the bus lines if you’re going on the field trip, seniors.”

Tyler gave a smirk and tucked her phone into her shorts, swiftly drawing out her folder and folding it in a way it what’s meant to be folded to start checking off people who were present and what buses they were on. Both buses were comfortably full, with a few lucky students going to be able to claim a full seat to themselves. The bare-legged actress took a standing perch on one of the benches closest to the area where the buses would park; a moment later, the two buses pulled into the school’s parking lot and stopped parallel to the curb behind her. She gave a smile to a few of the students who had already been lingering in the area – two of whom were Ian, who she recognized from attendance at a few performances and his soccer games and Josh, who was the school’s starting pitcher and one of the few young men who seemed needlessly single (he didn’t set off her gay-dar at all). Tyler dug out a pen from her purse, waiting and glanced around again, large brown doe eyes lingering on the figure of a young man who was reading Brisingr. She smiled a little. Good book.

The school bell rang, signaling underclassmen to file into their respective classrooms and seniors to head toward the buses. Tyler began checking students off the master list and sending them to their buses, where they were then verified by either Mr. Stockton or Mr. “Coach” Fuller at either bus one or bus two.

“Hey, hun,” Tyler smiled, greeting one of her fellow drama students with a kiss on the cheek before glancing over the three-page list. “Bus one for you, make nice.”

Tyler was on bus two, but she wouldn’t be one of the people to sneak over to the other bus – it was petty and she hated people who did that. They were all going to the same place anyway, right?

[Familiar]

The sound of brakes that just needed a little bit of oil, the smell of old gasoline, the almost inaudible rise in the murmuring of the students around him, Gavin didn't even need to open his eyes to know that the buses had finally arrived, his other senses told him everything he needed to know. Still though, it wouldn't do to be late, and sitting on the bench wasn't really all that different than sitting on the bus. Sighing to himself, Gavin lifted himself up and began to make his way through the crowd towards the buses.

Moving through crowds was always one of Gavin's favourite things to do. He had the sort of aura about him that compelled people to move out of his way, even before his accident, and when that aura combined with his now off-putting appearance gave birth to an effect that never failed to bring a smile to his face. The crowd simply melted in front of him, the individual students breaking off to the side, seemingly without even realizing it. Gavin wondered, and not for the first time, just how far he would be able to take something like this, the image of him throwing his arms wide and parting the student came unbidden to his mind, but brought a smirk nonetheless. It was because of the peculiar talent that Gavin found himself standing more or less at the head of the line in almost no time at all.

He really didn't care which bus he ended up on, they were both heading to the same place and they would most likely be getting there at nearly the same time; why did it matter which one he sat on? He did recognize a couple of the faces in the crowd around him however. Tyler Micello he immediately recognized, they didn't actually know each other very well, but they did share a couple of classes; Gavin actually knew her mostly from her plays, she was surprisingly good for a high school performer, and as a result her name got around in the school. The two others he recognized were Ian Czarnecki and Josh Tallows, two sports stars who,thankfully, didn't fall too far into the jock stereotype. There were also, of course, the hordes of people too indistinct or segregated to be of any particular interest, the jock packs that seemed to feed off of their own idiocy, and the other miscellaneous groups of walking cliches. He looked around for a particular pack of so called 'emo' kids that had tried to co-opt him into their group, figuring that his presence would add a sort of gravitas. The results of that invitation had been highly entertaining, to say the least, and Gavin had always secretly wondered what would happen if he showed up in front of the ringleader again.

Gavin was so engrossed in his thoughts that it took him a moment to realize he was now at the very front of the line, standing in front of Tyler. "What bus am I on?" A simple question, to be sure, but he really didn't have much else to say.

[Lake]

Hearing the PA system ring out about the announcement for the field trip, Ian swiftly stopped the ball from bouncing, rolling it into his bag with one fluid motion. Taking in a deep breath and stretching back, he looked around at his fellow seniors. Smiling at the fact that they were already clique-ing up, even though most of them would probably be separated by different buses, Ian decided he might as well try to find his bus, and thus his seat, before it became overcrowded.

Unlike the more attached peer groups, Ian didn't really mind which bus he would be riding on. LCSU wasn't that far away, and he would probably end up falling asleep on the ride over with the help of his iPod. Still, he wouldn't mind of one of his soccer buds or at least someone he had a class with would sit with him. It wasn't that he didn't mind meeting new people (he could hardly call his classmates, he he 'known' for the past thirteen years, as new) but he didn't appreciate leaving his comfort zone as much as his risk-taking counterparts did. Sighing, Ian moved towards the bus lines, thinking to himself that he shouldn't think as much. Dumbfounded by his contradiction, Ian proceeded towards Tyler, who was announcing the bus assignments for each of the students.

Waiting behind someone who looked slightly familiar, Ian waited for the kid to move so he could find out his seating assignment. While waiting, Ian tried to think of who his classmate was. "Greg? No... Gordon? No... wow, way to fulfill the stereotypical jock-status there, Ian. Can't even remember your classmates names" Ian thought, hoping maybe Tyler would just his announce his bus number.

[Stryker]

Since he had followed Tyler to the buses, Josh ended up being one of the first ones to hear which bus he'd be on from her and promptly he got on it and ended up sitting in the 3rd seat from the front on the right, not really caring to sit in the back since he'd probably just fall asleep before they even pulled out. As if spurred on by the thought, a yawn found its way through his mouth as he glanced out his window and to Tyler who was still directing traffic as more seniors showed up.

One by one they moved to their correct bus and the crowd began to grow thin as he continued watching the antics of his fellow seniors as they scrambled by him to the back of the bus like a pack of hyena's scrambling to a fresh carcass.

As he continued to glance around, he smiled to himself as a thought came to the forefront that he had entertained plenty of times before.

"That Tyler... she's cute." he thought to himself with a smirk before he began to feel his eyes drift close as the sleep he had fought off for the past few hours began to take ahold of him once more. The problem was, he knew it wouldn't last since he'd be hearing a familiar female voice once all the seniors were loaded up.

But he just wanted a few... just a few minutes...

[TheDashingRogue]

He had been so engrossed in his book that Bob had almost completely unheard the PA's announcement of the arrival of the buses, if it hadn't been for the bustle of his peers knocking the book out of his hand, he doubted he would have made it onto the bus at all.

"Hey watch it!" he called, crouching down to pick up his book. He then noticed that the queue for the buses had all but trickled away, and that they were almost full, and he was one of the last people left outside. He jammed the book inside his backpack forcefully, bending several of the pages, and rushed towards the door. He climbed the small steps panting, "...here...sir" he managed to get out before finding the nearest possible seat. He had barely ever caught a place on the back seat, and personally he didn't find it to be too satisfying compared to the front or middle. Sure the suspension was softer, but it also meant it took you about 5 minutes queuing to get out once you'd arrived. Or maybe this was just jealousy talking. He sat back in the seat and took out a bottle of water, taking several mouthfuls of the cool clear liquid before getting out his book once more. He brushed his hand over the bent pages and cursed his clumsiness. Books should be treated with more respect than that, he thought, trying to smooth the pages quite unsuccesfully with his hands.

[Evan_Diablo]

Brain... check, wallet... check, e-pad (http://thedigitalbookreader.com/wp-content/uploads/image/amazon_kindle_dx_official_8-480x480.jpg)... check, bus list... check. 'Well, seems I have everything' Trevor mused to himself. His morning checklist was a routine thing but today's seemed a bit more energetic (being as he'd already run through the same checklist 3 times). Today was a day to mark his time as ASB director. Thanks to Tyler for giving him this opportunity to show the school board that he was very capable in his new position. "Well, time to head out I guess." he said aloud to no one in particular. And with that he started his short drive to school. About half-way there is when his headache started. "Damn! I knew I forgot something!" he yelled out remembering that his thermos filled with coffee was still sitting at home on the kitchen counter. Keeping the thought in his head that he could get some in the teacher's lounge once he arrived he pressed the gas pedal down a little harder.

Once he arrived he headed straight to his liquid savior then directly to his office so that he could enjoy it in privacy. *sip* 'Not the best coffee but it's better than nothing at this point' he thought as he slowly drank the just slightly overcooked coffee. Upon reaching the roughly half-way point of his cup a familiar silver-haired woman drifted into his office.

"So, big day for you isn't it Mr. Stockwell." Mrs. Ruberg said with an unhideable hint of excitement in her voice.

"I suppose it is, I'm just hoping at this point that everything runs smoothly. The last thing I need is for something to happen on the first field trip I'm overseeing as the ASB director."

"Oh I'm sure that there's nothing to worry about Trevor, at least on the trip there most of the students will be sleeping like babies from how early it is! Not only that but even if there are a few minor incidents between the students I have a feeling that the higher ups aren't going to automatically string you up by your gizzards." finishing off her statement
with a theatrical waving of her hands. "Honestly, you worry to much for your own good. Keep that up and you'll have hair like mine in no time!"

"Somehow I don't think it will look as dashing on me as it does you Betsy"

"A good conversation I assume?" Tyler said standing in the doorway, "Should I come back after the bell?"

"Oh, no, child!" Mrs. Ruberg exclaimed before Trevor had a chance to respond.

"No, No, just discussing the trip."

"Right, of course. Are the updated lists I emailed you last night ready?"

Not even taking a moment to think about it being as I had checked and rechecked them this morning I smoothly picked up my briefcase and after laying it on my desk opened it and retrieved the printed out lists then handed them to Tyler. "Yup, and the buses will be here in ten."

After putting looking over then putting the lists in her folder Tyler asked "Looks like we're good then, as long as Mr. Fuller is here?" I nodded a yes remembering that I saw him on the way in, "Okay then! I'm going to go be a student now. See you at the buses." and with that left the room.

"I suppose I should leave you to your worrying then so that you can get together whatever you may need for the trip before the buses arrive." said Mrs. Ruberg in a slightly joking manner, "Talk to you later Trevor." she said on her way out the door.

'I suppose she's right.' Trevor thought to himself as he rumaged through his desk in search of the seemingly endless supply of various over the counter drugs which he bought just in case anyone came down with that flu that was going around. "Heh, if I didn't know any better I'd say this is the beginning of Captain Tripps!" Trevor said as his mind wandered back to the pages of the book he'd been rereading most recently.


Trevor finished packing everything into his briefcase just as the PA system crackled on declaring that the buses had arrived. "Well I'd better get going then." he again said to nobody in particular. With that he picked up his coat and briefcase and headed out the door.

Upon arriving at the buses Trevor attempted to spot Tyler amongst the throng of students. Finding her in the midst of the most organized section he made his way to her and asked with a smile, "Everything going well Miss Micello? And by the way, which bus am I sitting on?"

[ｒａｂｂｉｔ]

Tyler’s brown, wide doe eyes lifted from the papers and focused on the visage of Gavin MacAdam. She thought, for a moment, that her vision was off – but no, she remembered the scars that marred his otherwise attractive features and a little smile pulled her lips tight before she looked back down to her lists, gathering herself as she searched for his name.

“Bus two, Gavin,” she said to him with a little brighter of a smile. “I’ll see you on there.”

She looked to the face next in line and smiled, surprised to see their varsity soccer captain waiting for his bus assignment. “Hiya Ian! How are you this morning?”

She looked to her lists again, highlighting his name once she’d found him, “Bus two, also!”

The drama student smiled at him again before moving to the next student, trying to get this done as quick and as politely as possible. Only a few fussy students were left and she turned her head when she felt someone at her side, Mr. Stockton.

"Everything going well Miss Micello? And by the way, which bus am I sitting on?"

“Whatever bus Coach Fuller isn’t on, Mr. Stockton,” she said, glancing towards the first bus and spotting the football coach scowling at the back of Samantha Gies’s – a member of the school’s anime club – head for some reason or another as he stood near the bus’s doors.

“Which seems to be bus two, since he’s at bus one right now,” she smiled back to the ASB director then sent the last few students to their buses.

“That seems to be everyone!” Tyler chimed, walking toward her bus and beckoning Mr. Stockton in a little flourish and playful bow. She put on a surprisingly good Mancunian (Manchester) British accent and said, “Your chariot, sir!”

She let him board first before trotting up the stairs and flashing her “Star” smile to the blond, shaggy-haired bus driver, catching a glimpse of his AC/DC shirt. “Good band,” she said, squatting between the isles of bus seats to talk to him, “Ok, so, you know we’re headed to LCSU, right? And you have the approved route?”

[RollinRock]

Kevin had been a long time practitioner of the fine art of 'zoning'. No matter the situation, he could completely zone out and be somewhere else in his head. It helped that earlier this morning he had been lounging in the back of his bus, feet dangling out of the emergency exit door, a stick of sweet smoke lazily clasped in his lips and a trusty bag of Ruffles at his side. The chirping birds and cool rustling wind across his bare feet just helped him forget the town's current predicament. The online class he took was currently on hold because his professor had contracted the flu that was sweeping through the town. No biggie to Kevin, just more time to toke up and read.
He wasn't really high by the time the very excited senior ushered the other students on the bus, everything was just... colorful. The crowd sounded like a low hum from a distant colony of bees. He was just relaxing, enjoying the mingled sounds of entangled conversation and the low rumble of his diesel engine and staring up at the sky without really seeing it.

"Good band"

Kevin blinked. Looking around, he found the excited teenager was practically at his elbow and blinked again, slower this time. When did she get there? I'm not still high am I? Can't be, I came down an hour ago.

“Ok, so, you know we’re headed to LCSU, right? And you have the approved route?”

Approved route? She must mean the map someone taped to his door when he was sleeping off his high this morning. It was very bland, but the bright yellow highlighter marking the route stood out like a beacon to his THC-enhanced eyes. It was now taped on the left side of the steering column where he could easily glance at it, should he lose the other bus.

"All roads lead to Rome." He felt it answered her question quite nicely, but she likely wasn't a philosophy major. "But in this case I'm just going to follow that guy." He gestured to Bus 1. "Should the unfortunate incident of a red light fall upon our voyage into higher learning," a quick tap on the map that was likely out of her view. "I've got this guy. Fear not, little chipmunk, you have the Kev-meister at the helm."

[Stryker]

After drifting off to a short rest, Josh woke up and looked around to see that everyone had apparently loaded up while he napped. Up front he noticed that Tyler was talking to the driver, more than likely making a last minute check on the route and his instructions. From what he could tell about her, she'd been very excited about this trip and was going way beyond the call of duty to make sure things went off without a hitch.

From behind him, he could hear multiple voices. For the most part he recognized a few but it was hard to single them out since it seemed like everyone was talking at the same time.

"Might as well stay awake, won't be that long of a drive to the university..." he thought to himself as he sleepily glanced down and noticed a spider sitting on his left knee.

What happened next was something you'd normally see in a cartoon...

He saw the spider then glanced away before quickly jerking his head back and yelling in terror due to his extreme hate/fear of spiders. He then quickly slapped at it a few times until it went spiraling down to the floor and he stared at it as it quickly scampered away. Before long he noticed a few people staring at him strangely to which he laughed nervously and smiled.

"Eh... I.. uh... I hate spiders...." he told them before turning back around and slumping in his seat, embarassed. "Stupid spider..."

[Evan_Diablo]

"All right everyone settle down." Trevor said making sure his voice was loud enough to be heard over the murmur of giddy teenagers, "It's only a spider, nothing to worry about."

Trevor waited until everyone was at least mostly quiet and then cleared his throat to begin speaking again. "Now, before we leave I want to make sure a couple of ground rules are set. Just because you aren't within the walls of the school doesn't mean you're all free to gallivant about as you wish. You will still act as if you were still in school. This being said Mr. Fuller and I will be the supervisors of you all as you might have guessed. I'm hoping that there won't be any issues but they will be dealt with as necessary." Trevor paused for a moment to watch quite a few of the students begin to roll their eyes. "This doesn't mean however that I'm gonna be breathing down your necks this entire trip. I like to believe that you all are mature enough to know how to conduct yourselves so I'm going to give you guys some breathing room, so don't blow it and I'll stay out of your hair. Now I know you all are eager to get to our destination so I'm gonna cut my obligatory speech short."

Finishing off his speech and feeling quite good about the trip Trevor walked up the aisle to the front seat of the bus, sat down, and pulled out his e-pad and began reading where he left off in his book.

[Familiar]

Gavin leaned heavily against the wall of the bus; the cool glass of the window feeling nice against the burned side of his face. He was basically asleep by this point, only semi aware of the speech the teacher was making at the front of the bus. It really didn't matter to him, one way or another. The chances of him actually doing something that violated one of the school's rules was basically non-existent and even if he did, he doubted that anyone would really say anything.

Smiling, Gavin slumped over just a little bit more and contentedly drifted off into sleep.

[RollinRock]

Kevin's eyes roved through the antics of his passengers via the massive rearview mirror. One kid hopped around briefly due to an errant arachnid and the chaperone gave the same speech they all give. Kevin had lost count how many times he'd heard it, but he normally tuned it out anyway. Instead he focused on, well, nothing. Perhaps a bit too long because he almost missed the tail end of Bus 1 pulling out of the lot. A quick shake of the head and the diesel engine lurched into gear. It wasn't long before he caught up to the other bus, only lagging behind by a few cars.
'Oops.' Was his only thought.

[ｒａｂｂｉｔ]

“All roads lead to Rome,” replied the bus driver and she simply blinked at him. What is that from? She thought, reflecting, then remembered.

“Treatise on the Astrolabe Prologue, ll, 1391, by Geoffrey Chaucer,” she said. It’s where the phrase – although, longer and of course more elegant (everything was more elegant in the days of Chaucer and Shakespeare) – had first appeared in literature.

And then he called her chipmunk. And then he called himself the Kev-meister. As light hearted as Tyler could be, she’d had enough – she was trying to get her job done and apart from being at LCSU and then making sure everyone got back safely, it was almost done. As soon as they were on the road, it was the “Kev-meister’s” problem.

“Anyways,” she dismissed his unprofessional manner, “You should still know the way in case ‘that guy’ doesn’t know where he’s going. Drive safe,” she wished him and then scooted past Mr. Stockton as he was mid-speech and took the first available seat she found – next to Josh – but she hardly looked at him, peeking around the bus to make sure no one was too crammed.

Tyler started to relax then, the tension draining out of her shoulders as she leaned against the back of the uncomfortable bus seat. “I don’t look like a chipmunk, do I?” She asked a tone of genuine worry in her tone and mostly to herself, but loud enough that Josh probably would have heard, maybe thought she was speaking to him.

The bus’s engine roared to life and the Kev-meister steered the yellow beast onto the suburban streets of Lincoln City. His problem now, she thought and wrung her hands in her lap.

[Familiar]

There was something rather special about old school buses, Gavin reflected. A sense of, history, perhaps. So many hushed discussions behind the teacher's back, so many sights seen, so many thoughts and memories. So many immature gay jokes and useless, pointless displays of machismo. Good and bad, there was a linage here, a connection to those students past.

He always liked old places, old things. The cracks and dents in the polyester of the seats, the flaws in the window's glass, the slow rumble of the old diesel engine, these were all things that added something to the experience, that made the trip unique. Things that were new, that were perfect and pristine, were uniform, and uniform was boring.

It bumped and jostled, even on the smooth paved roads, and Gavin lay against the wall of the bus. He didn't speak. He had no reason to speak. He simply listened, listened to his environment, listened to the people. Content, Gavin drifted back into his doze.

[Stryker]

“I don’t look like a chipmunk, do I?” a voice spoke up which caused Josh to turn back and notice that Tyler was sitting in the seat with him now.

"Well, if you ask me." he began before straigtening up in his seat. "You don't look like a chipmunk at all." he told her before turning back to the window.

"So how do you think this whole trip is gonna go?" he asked.

[Stryker]

Tyler nodded and slumped a little in the bus seat, playing with the hem of her shorts. They'd made it out of the school zone and down the street, not quite in the suburbs anymore - there were "natural" spots and parks, filled with trees and indigenous foliage that the streets and highways wove through places strategically between the clusters of various housing developments. Now, they were following the first bus along one of the more secluded and rural-looking roads.

In the lead bus, a pudgy, red-faced man blew his nose into a handkerchief, distracted when he did and swerving the bus a little. He'd been ill since three in the morning and blamed his wife's cooking, in too much of a hurry to notice his better half's cold sweats before he'd left the house, even though she was usually up before him.

Tyler lifted her head and frowned as watched the first bus swerve in its lane. She sat up and placed her hands on the seat in front of her, glancing briefly at Josh and murmuring, "Did you see that? I think bus one swerved... I wonder if something is wrong?"

After hearing the concern in her voice, he poked his head up to look out the front window and noticed the bus swerve again, as if avoiding something in the road but nothing was there from what he could see.

"Seems kinda fishy... hey, Mr. Bus-driver... what's up with Bus 1?" he asked, becoming slightly concerned now as well.

[RollinRock]

Chaucer? Sounded like saucer. Coffee seemed like a good idea, but the accompanying doughnuts seemed even better. Raspberry-filled and glazed. The little one moved on, but he wasn't sure what she said. He was thinking about doughnuts.The old diesel rumbled on, a pleasant constant in an ever-changing world. The rural roads weren't terribly smooth, and occassionally a bump would jostle him just enough to keep him focused. Like when Bus 1 suddenly bounded to the shoulder and back, nearly clipping the oncoming lane.

"...hey, Mr. Bus-driver... what's up with Bus 1?"

Mr.? Since when did he have that authority?
"Not sure, little one. Could have hit a rough patch in the road, or perhaps the driver is new to the business." Or perhaps the driver has reached enlightenment. He kept that last part to himself, then his stomach growled and he was thinking of raspberry doughnuts again...or perhaps blueberry muffins...