SIX

"Yvonne! Hurry up!" I shouted from the stairs of the bus, holding my weekender to a running Yvonne who was going back to grab her charger and jacket.

"Yeah! Coming!" She shouted back before disappearing inside the building.

The trip from here to Isle of Wight County was for approximately 2 and a half hours but with lunch, traffic and everything in between, it was predicted to take another hour.

Since the morning, the weather was a bit chilly, so I decided to dress warm. I wore my khaki tank top with my brown wide jeans and put on my brown jacket. It was unintentional turning up in almost all brown including my brown converse.

Yvonne, on the other hand, had worn her white corset top with distressed jeans, carrying nothing warm. I had shown her the recently turned grayish sky which meant that it was probably going to rain soon. Usually in Virginia, the temperature rarely fell below 67F during the fall season and rainfall wasn't usual during it. Autumn was mild in the first half and tended to be cold with relatively less rainfall in the second half of the season. The second half was almost here so there was less rainfall but today's weather contradicted the usual, but I didn't mind because it was always so good when it rains during road trips.

I waited outside, not wanting to go inside without her. She ran back outside after a minute or so with her charger and a jacket. We put our bags in the separate luggage hold mounted below the passenger compartment and started to board the bus. Not many had arrived, so we had almost the entirety of seats to choose from.

The bus had two long rows of seats on either side, each row having around 8 pairs of seats. We took a random middle pair; I got the window seat because Yvonne for some reason disliked the window seat. It was a win for me anyway. Once we were settled, I opened the window to admire the weather, letting the cold wind hit my face as a few drops of rain started to fall. I could see the genuine joy the weather had created inside of me bursting.

"Are we early?" She said suddenly, making me turn to her.

"So?"

"So that's boring," She sulked.

I rolled my eyes. "Just say it's boring because Jason isn't here,"

She turned to me with a caught look. "No... Why would you say that?"

"Cut the trap," I replied, then turned back to the weather.

Just then, I felt her stiffening against me. I turned again to check what was wrong when my eyes landed on the entrance of the bus. Jason stood there, wiping off drops of rain from his jacket.

Little did I know I would be in the same state Yvonne was in right now in just a matter of a few seconds.

Elijah followed right after Jason, and my jaw dropped. He dressed plain and simple yet managed to take my breath away.

"Holy smoke." I found myself whispering.

"You okay?" She asked but I was too numb to even reply so she followed my eyes.

"Ooooh… Don't tell me you are smitten by him? If you are, I am surprised,"

"Shut up."

She sulked. "You are so annoying,"

The Greek God tried to catch his breath as he and Jason walked over and started choosing seats. His dirty brown hair was untamed and messy as always, the wind also seemed to be contributing to making it more as if he ran till the bus in case it started to rain. The squad followed up one by one and when they were all on board, it started to rain. Talk about luck.

Soon, every other student who was going on the trip were seen running towards the bus as the rain got heavier. Yvonne had now hidden herself under the hood of her jacket, but she was too late for that. Jason already saw her before that, and besides, it was easy to make out it was her since I was beside her.

As expected, he instructed the others to take the seats adjacent to us. Elijah and he sat together; he pushed him inside and took the outer seat making him right next to her. She pretended to be busy on her phone, but I knew her too well to know it was all pretenses.

"I didn't know they were coming." I whispered.

"Me too,"

"Okay, guys! Everyone on board?" Someone called to all of us, catching our attention before we could talk more. I wasn't very tall so I had to make an effort and sit up straight to see properly. Besides, there were a few tall guys at the front blocking my view more. Once I could, I saw a young woman in jeans and a turtleneck.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"That's Dr. Green. Senior Professor here in the history department."

Two more teachers followed up after her.

"That's Mrs. Burton and Mr. Moore," Yvonne whispered to me about the other two teachers who I haven't met before.

"Is everyone there, Dr. Green?" Mrs. Burton asked.

"Yeah, everyone is," Dr. Green informed.

"Okay then, we should start moving. We can't predict what can come up during our journey there so we should get started," Mr. Moore added.

They all nodded, and signaling the driver to start, sat down on the seats reserved for the teachers next to the driver.

The bus must have cost a fortune even if they had just rented because the coach bus was usually made for traveling long distances with as much comfort as possible and more room. In contrast to transit buses, they typically featured forward-facing seating, with no provision for standing. Other accommodations may include onboard restrooms, televisions, and overhead luggage space and the rented bus we were in had it all but not the restrooms.

The driver's compartment was much bigger than usual since it was divided into two equal compartments. Even after the division, he was getting more than enough considering how he had it all to himself.

The other compartment had around three to four people's seating with folding tables and armrests attached to their seats; that was where the teachers were sitting. I put my own folding table down to take my earphones out when I realized something. I turned to my side and saw Yvonne lost in her thoughts; her head still hung down so as to avoid looking at me.

An idea struck me. The little push she needed could be done right here right now. I opened my phone and texted her so as to avoid suspicions from Jason. She looked at me in confusion when she got my text but immediately played along when I told her to do so. I started my lecture right away trying to make her see it was the best opportunity and that she most probably wouldn't be disappointed. She stared at me, but not looking at me – she was looking beyond me, thinking hard. After what felt like forever, she nodded slowly before opening her hood and talked to him.

Like legit talked. So boldly that I was beaming with pride. What happened next didn't really surprise me, but it did to her. The way Jason got Elijah's seat empty in a flash made my heart melt. Sure, they had destroyed what they had because they were too afraid but what mattered most right now was the fact that they both seemed ready and courageous enough now to rebuild from whatever little that was left.

However, my heart felt bad for Elijah who looked unbothered - as if he expected it. He patted Jason warmly before shifting front. I felt a little relieved knowing he probably didn't feel bad at all.

I put on my earphones finally and started to go through my playlist, satisfied knowing I did my part to help. My drowsiness was hitting me hard now so I was sure that I would sleep really fast. I put my playlist on shuffle, letting any song play because I was getting tired of trying to search for a song. I almost closed my eyes when I felt the presence of someone beside me. At first, I thought it was Yvonne, but I stopped right in my tracks when I saw who it was.

"Yvonne took my place and they told me to sit next to you since you were alone. You don't mind right?"