Last in Line

Ages 9-12

Ruchi comes out of the classroom late, and the bus line is already moving.

She had stopped to get her scarf from the hook. She goes down the steps at a run with her bag banging against her leg. The line is at the curb, two by two.

She walks to the end of it. There is no one there. She stands behind the last girl, who has her back to her and is talking to the girl in front.

The line shuffles forward. The bus door is open.

She looks down at her shoes. There is a puddle at the edge of the curb, and the bus is reflected in it, yellow and upside down.

The girls go up the steps, two at a time. The last pair gets on. Ruchi is at the foot of the steps, and the driver is looking at her.

She waits. The driver does not close the doors. He leans to the side, and looks at the wheel, and looks at the road in the mirror.

She goes up the steps. She finds the one empty place, at the back, by the emergency door. It is on the cold side.

She sits down with her bag on her knees, and the doors fold shut behind her.