WAITING FOR THE BUS

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PREFACE: I'm sure the 12 year old or whoever that wrote this intended for multiple chapters, but all we have to read today is just this limp one. Nothing happens, you've been warned.

Chapter 1: Long Walk Home

The only thing I could do was to just stand there and watch as the bus drove right by, missing me entirely. Maybe it was the tree obscuring my silhouette, maybe it was the downpour of rain. It took me a few moments to realize standing there was not going to get me home any faster, and in fact, was going to hurt my progress in getting there. So instead of waiting at the high school, I moved my legs and set out on a long walk to home.

The road separating the school from my house was long and twisted. It took an average of twenty minutes to get there on wheels, a luxury I didn't have. So I stayed to the left of the road where patches of grass and dirt resided and forced myself to keep moving my feet. The rain drenched the dirt and made it more difficult than it needed to be, but complaining at this point would do nothing for me.

I decided to admire the landscape, no matter how dreary it was due to the onslaught of rain. To my left were rows and rows of hills, scattered trees decorating it. They looked beautiful during the autumn, where orange and red leaves dominated their domains, but this was winter and as such, dead trees stood tall. To the right of the road were large, flattened fields where mostly farm work was done. I kind of wish I stayed on that end but the speeding cars going back and forth reassured me that crossing was not a viable option.

After about ten grueling minutes of just plain walking, I decided maybe I could hitchhike. That plan crumbled when after five minutes it was obvious that no one was going to stop their cars to help stupid me. Wanting a change of landscape, I decided to head into the hills, where perhaps I could admire the… dead trees as I crossed. The hill would provide a sort of challenge to walking that could keep me entertained for the trip.

Of course, that was a stupid idea. The first mistake was walking deeper and deeper into the hills until I couldn't tell where I was. The second mistake was, of course, the walking part. I got so tired that I plopped to the ground and rested. Rested and…. Relaxed and….. and….

I awoke and immediately freaked out. I checked my watch; it had been an hour. I cursed myself for forgetting my phone at home and not having it, which could've helped me avoid this mess. I didn't want to slide back down the hill; I would certainly slip and get myself covered in mud. I decided to climb further up the hill, where maybe there would be a flattened area.

It must have been three or four hours, no, it was, I checked. I had been wandering the forest for a total of five hours. It was obvious now that I had been going the wrong way, as I would've been home by now. I wanted to slide down the hill and follow the road, but I honestly had no idea where the heck the hill was now. Everything was flat.

Then I heard sounds. Yelling. Screaming. Not a scream in pain, but it sounded like an argument. I set out in the direction of the loud voices to hopefully come in contact with human civilization. It took about five minutes when I finally came across a rather large cottage. I would describe the design but really, the rain could only offer its shape. The loud debate had not ended yet but I didn't want to wait in the rain, so I walked up to the door and knocked. The door opened.