The Kid on my Bus

It was July 2nd, 2012.

Yesterday, I saw the new movie: "Ted" with my brother, dad and friend Gregory, who apparently showed up at the theater with his father. Today would be the day, I would be attending a new summer school because I was enrolling into middle school (seventh grade to be exact). As the bus arrived at my house, I walked inside - sat in the very back of the bus and put on my seatbelt. As the bus drove off, everything was tame - the radio channel was on 105.7 The Walrus. Alas, I didn't know that what would happen next would change everything for the better...

The bus entered into a gated community; we were blocked by another truck, but managed to get past it. We eventually came up to a corner and the doors opened. It was about five minutes or so, that I waited to see if someone would come out and just to my luck, I was right. What appeared to be a kid that was the size of a elementary school student, stormed inside the bus without a word. He came to the very back, a row beside from where I was and sat down. The bus driver then went over to where he was to put on his seatbelt. But as he was, that's when I heard him squeal. The driver then went back up to his seat and the bus drove off. The kid then started to act a bit odd, he started covering his ears while squealing and pounded a few times on the back of the other bus seats - the squealing was almost like a dinosaur or a pterosaur screeching. I knew, it wasn't going to be that easy riding on this bus. Once off after witnessing the horrid aspects of the outside world from my bus seat, I was met up with several groups of kids and saw two identical twins whom I told my story to, although the twins didn't mind. The rest of my day went by fine, but it was really boring (like a majority of my days spent there - nothing except paperwork activities after another). When it was time to go home, that's when this time I sat in the front with another teen who had a hearing device in his ear. He seemed normal, so I didn't mind.

Then what appeared to be another kid, boarded the bus and sat in the exact same spot - where I used to be in earlier. He acted kinda crazy and spat several times on purpose. Halfway of the bus ride, I heard squealing and window pounding from the back. It felt surreal. The second time I heard it was when we were back in "said neighborhood" (once again stopped by another truck). Alas, the bus driver went to go investigate what was going on only to find the boy all upset from the taunting of the other kid. Nearing tears, what appeared to be another person - possibly a parent - approached to the bus. The doors opened and the kid alighted silently. I was obviously horrified about the incident and once I got back home, I rang up my parents about what had happened. The next day, I sat in the front once again and that kid got on the bus again. I heard his squealing again and told another boy sitting a row beside me. The rest of the day went by normally; not to mention, the whole summer school went for a hike that day. As we walked back to the school, I approached that same kid and started to question him about yesterday's episode: What happened? Why did the kid attack you? Did he taunt you?. The kid just stared at me with a grim expression, muted. When the buses came to pick us up after school, I noticed that the boy didn't even come on the bus - it was eventually confirmed that he rode home with one of his parents; so I didn't bother with him. For those next few days, the kid didn't even bother to come on the bus to go to school and back. But every time he was shrieking, I was plugging in my ears. It hurt, but burned to do so. This would occasionally go on for a few minutes, but whenever we'd pull into another neighborhood that was adjacent to Solana Pacific - he would just stop. Now that I think of it, I feel that I was drawn more attention to the kid rather than the school I've been going to and back. One day after school, I was waiting for my bus to arrive - but there were at least three or four other ones that obscured my bus from view. My bus driver approached me and as he led me over to my bus, I heard that same squealing. Inside the bus, I looked and saw him - tears streaming down his face with another boy (déjà vu) standing beside him, whom he obviously taunted. When the bus driver located the boy to his seat, he tried to calm him down but the kid was all upset. Like I was, too. While still riding back, I saw that same kid reaching out his arm towards the other traumatized kid and that's when I blurted out: "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"

Dancing Queen played through the speakers as we came back to the neighborhood again to drop said kid, the once upset boy was now cheered up and hysterical; he appeared to make some funny faces while moaning - I assumed it was one of the other boys that cheered him up - plus, he never seemed to be bothered about waiting for his parent during that time. Still, I was given the creeps. For the remaining two days of my second week in summer school, that's when I saw the boy sitting in the front instead of the back and whenever he'd get on the bus, he didn't bother to squeal nor even for the whole bus ride! Well, that was until after I alighted... I saw him clogging his ears while squealing briefly, but I didn't mind him this time. Then came Friday, July 13th. The kid's mom told the bus driver that his son would be riding to school and back. It was also going to be his last day, because he'd be going off to a summer camp. And during the bus ride to school, he squealed a little longer than before; I clogged my ears and prepared for the worst.

After my day had ended, I got onto the bus and saw another teacher place him into his seat; I thought I heard her call out his name. I assumed it was Baldwin, but I wasn't very sure of it. When the kid was all strapped into his seat, the teacher departed and so did the bus. Once we returned to the neighborhood and shortly before that kid got off the bus, I heard brief squealing from the back alas the taunting of the other boy once more. That's when I also saw his mother approaching the bus and I assured him that his parent was here. He got out of his seat and off the bus as the mother thanked the driver; I sighed in relief that it was finally over with. For the remaining week of summer school riding the bus there and back again, there was a calm atmosphere. I hadn't seen him since his departure. Still going back, I always have felt that my summer was a pain - which it was. But several months past, a day at my middle school changed that all once more...

My gym teacher (who works for A.P.E.) said that there would be a new student attending her class. She mentioned all the details about him; I really didn't know what to expect. And when they all came down, that's when I saw him... and heard his familiar squealing...

Update/Epilogue - 10/05/2017

I thought I would end my story just there, but there's still so much to tell about it. I guess I'll just have to keep it to a morsel as it might not be all that compelling as what I've just summarized. I would have this kid for the next year and a half (the duration of my middle school), but as time went on - I stopped caring about him as much as I used to. He did develop some more odd behavior (such as "dog piling" on top of me), but it was still the same often at times, repetitive. I have rewatched some of my old home movies and sure enough, it seems that he's been a part of my life since I was four. But that was way before I even gave a damn about him. I've grown much stronger of him and pretty much, the whole ordeal with him has died down ever since then. I'm 17 now and even though, most people would find me insane of writing all this - I just wanted to express myself freely about what those times have meant to me. And I just know, that there's more horrible games to play in the real world... I'll have to risk it all, because the writings on the wall.

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