Young Writers Society

Since everyone seems caught up on this "bus crash" idea, I'll get it started.

'Alan' Wright

Deciding walking to the back of the bus wasn't worth the effort, I sat down across the aisle from the boy who hadn't said a word since he got on the bus. Probably the only one who hadn't said anything.

The bus turned onto a dark, narrow street. The road got rougher, and the houses seemed to vanish into the trees until there wasn't anything but dark green pines in sight.

It was like a bad horror movie. A bus full of teenagers goes down the dark narrow road. The sun begins to set behind the trees. Suddenly the world seems to go dark. There's a rustle in the bush.

I rolled my eyes at myself. My mind was getting to me. I pushed back the images in my head; my real life horror movie. First my mother, then my brother, now my dad. I was the only one left.

The realization shocked me. I was the only one left in my family. My dad was an only child. I hadn't seen my grandparents in years, and one set of them was dead, on my mother's side.

I was alone.

A tear threatened to leak down my cheek. I had to be stronger than the others. The tomboy. The tough girl. Taking a deep breath, I looked at the guy beside me.

For a second, I seemed to recognize something in his face. The almost recognition kept me from looking away. It only took him a second to see I was looking at him. He glanced over at me, and I shook the thought out of my head.

"What?" He asked. His voice was jsut above a whisper. He sounded alost annoyed.

"Nothing. Nothing." I took a deep breath, searching his face one more time, then turning back to face foward just as it looked like he was about to open his mouth. Still looking ahead, "What's your name? I know everone elses, might as well know yours too."

Ksenia
Drea sat next to me again and had her arm around me. It made me want to cry that she was trying to comfort me when she herself just had a breakdown. This girl obviously never heard of the word 'selfish'. Just like my mom
I felt like I should say something to break the silence I was responsible for but I was afraid I would burst into tears if I tried. Suddenly I saw my mom again in her blue summerdress, trying to wipe away the tears that were streaming down on my face. She also had put her arm around me while the tears were streaming down on her own face.
Not only the memory made me want to curl up in a corner but also the thought that I wasn't like her. I tried to control my breathing and push back the tears, because I didn't want to be a burden to anyone here. Don't cry. No matter what happens, don't cry!
I sighed deeply and crossed a line I hadn't crossed in more than 7 years.
"Kroshka. That's what my mom used to call me. You can call me that way if you want to." I whispered softly while looking down.

So...on to the crash? Allow me...

Blue:

A yawn crept over my face, and I stiffled it mid-way, forcing my mouth back shut. Crossing my arms over my chest, I slouched down in the seat and stared out the window, watching the sun setting on the horizon. With another yawn, I glanced up at the bus driver.

The driver kept lifting is head up, snapping in and out of conciousness every couple of seconds. Quickly, I looked out the window down at the road, which was practically on the curb. Before I could react, I felt a bump, the bus going over the curb. Paniced, I snapped my eyes up to the oncoming-

Then we hit it. The bus ran right into a tree. A couple of the people let out screams, but not me.

Andy:

The bus ended up running into a tree, and within a couple minutes, everyone was standing out on the grass, and the bus driver was on the phone talking to some people.

I held onto my guitar, thanking God it wasn't harmed. The bus wasn't all that bad, but we definitely weren't going to be going on it anytime soon.

With a sigh, I turned to the rest of them and asked, "Well, what do we do now?"

Michal:

I wrapped my arms around my chest and looked down at my sperries.

"Well, what do we do now?" The guy/girl asked.

Biting my bottom lip, I looked up at all of them, "You guys want to...stick together?" I asked, surprised.

*Sorry it's a tad short.
P.S., I don't think it's a good idea to go to Ty's uncle's house. I mean, we are runaways*

*Well since no one got hurt you're probably right. But they need some sort of goal otherwise they're just a bunch of runaways wandering around*

Ty-

She asked my name.

I immediately responded, "Ty," then wanted to shoot myself for doing so. I should have told her something else, given a fake name. But I was too caught up in the way she looked at me; wishing it wasn't because she recognized me but for another reason. Any reason, really.

Then the bus crashed. It happened suddenly and was over quick, but I could still feel my heart ramming in my chest from the surprise of the jolt as we clambered out on to the curb.

"So you guys want to...stick together?" someone said. I turned to see a short girl with deep red hair addressing the group. No one seemed keen to speak up. I shuffled around with my hands stuck in my pockets at the edge of the group, continually glancing at the girl whose name I never got.

I leaned towards her and flashed the smile my parents had paid thousands for and said, "I'm gunna start walking, find a gas station, maybe another bus station. Wanna come?" I don't know why I asked her to come with me, the best way to stay annonymous is to stay alone, but the words spilled out before I could stop and think.

((Aw! I wanted crashing and rolling and injuries and excitement and real danger!))

Red

I had smashed my face into the seat in front of me. It was trickling a little blood. But luckily, my DS was unharmed. I pulled some Kleenex from my bag and daubed at the blood. The one dude who got on after me (who was even quieter) asked the girl who shook my hand to go to the gas station.

"Hey, uh...how about-how about I go with you guys? Like...a backup type situation, maybe?"

Oof. What a stupid thing to say.

"I mean, if it's cool with you guys..."

I saw a girl who was different from the others. Much more...blonde. Nose ring. Shy. Introverted. A scarier, more feminine me. I needed to socialize. I folded my DS shut and stuffed it in the bag and approached her.

"Hey, uh...wanna come with us if we go? Talking to people maybe would keep your mind off of stuff, or whatever. If you don't want to, it's cool..."

I sort of slouched and began to stumble off. I think I had successfully weirded everyone out. Go Red.

Ksenia
I was standing on a distance from the bus and stared at the forest in front of me. My arms hurt but I was pretty sure I didn't break anything. I heard someone ask if we wanted to stay together, but I didn't know what to answer so I kept quiet. What now?
I was still lost in my thoughts when this guy approached me. He was one of the last passengers that got on the bus and he probably knew a lot more about socializing than I did.
"Hey, uh...wanna come with us if we go? Talking to people maybe would keep your mind off of stuff, or whatever. If you don't want to, it's cool..."
Before I even started to think about an answer he began to walk away.
It won't kill you to have a normal conversation, Ksenia. He's only trying to help. And this isn't exactly the best moment to push everyone away from you.
"Wait.." I said softly but loud enough for him to hear it.
"I guess I can use a little distraction. I'm really not much of a talker though, just so you know."
I looked down and felt like kicking myself for giving somebody an opportunity to hurt me.
Haven't you learned anything of life then, Ksenia?

Drea:
"Kroshka, you can call me that if you want" The girl in the back of the bus, Kroshka, said it quietly. Right before the bus hit a tree, I gripped the nearest seat to keep my balance. I was a bit startled, which drove me to let out a
"Holey Shit...Sorry!" I appologized for my use of language, everyone grabbed their stuff and got off. I set my guitar case down next to me then noticed one of the boys, Red, holding a tissue t his face. He said something about him coming with us, but i was already in "mom mode". I ran over to him, and started inquiring about his face.
"Eya! you're bleeding! Are you ok? Does it hurt? Ugh! I can't believe I dont have band aids!" then I realized how stupid I must have looked and shut up quickly.
everyone was quiet accept the bus driver who was talking to some people on the phone.
I looked at everyone around me and said,
"Well what are we going to do now?"

it occurs to me that i just went against my own rule, i appologize.

Red

I'd pretty much failed. I knew it was a stupid idea, trying to get her to tag along, but I needed to socialize with these people and help that girl out and now I'd-

"Wait."

She had talked. I turned, slowly, and saw her there, massaging her arms. Were they hurt?

"I guess I can use a little distraction. I'm really not much of a talker though, just so you know."

Whoah. She was Russian. Didn't see that coming.

"Hey, not talking is fine. But...are your arms okay? If they're hurt we should maybe get them looked at."

She sort of stood there, still gingerly rubbing her arms. I waved her over.

"Come on. It's okay. I don't bite."

Ksenia
He waved me over and tried to comfort me. I walked towards him while still rubbing my arms. They had smashed into the seat in front of me when the bus crashed and it was probably gonna leave some ugly bruises. I noticed that the guy was bleeding from his face.
He's bleeding but he's worrying about you, Ksenia.
I tried not to get all too emotional and looked down while pushing back the tears again. People hadn't been this kind to me in years.
What did I do to deserve this kindness?
I heard Drea ask what we were going to do now, but I didn't know the answer to this question either. I didn't even know where I was going before the bus crashed.
I walked next to the guy whose name I still didn't know. I was probably deep in thoughts when he had said his name on the bus. He was still bleeding and I felt like I should say something.
I took a deep breath and collected the right words in my mind before I opened my mouth.
"Are you okay?"
I tried to make it sound natural but my voice sounded like a fragile string that could break any second.

Alan Wright

"I'm gunna start walking, find a gas station, maybe another bus station. Wanna come?" Ty gave me a smile that reminded me of a colgate commercial. I didn't really have time to answer before another guy spoke up.

"Hey, uh...how about-how about I go with you guys? Like...a backup type situation, maybe?" He paused, seemingly considering what he had said. "I mean, if it's cool with you guys..." I shrugged, and he took that as a yes, aparently. This kid annoyed me a bit.

And just to add to the annoyance factor, he went and invited another girl along. That was nearly half of the group. I walked over and leaned up against the van.

"What if -just a thought- we all stuck together," my voice had a hint of mocking sarcasm, as if I was talking to a group of three year olds, "since obviouosly none of you, from what I've heard, are suposed to be on this bus. And there are laws in this state about runnaways, which I'm assuming most of you are. I suggest we all get the hell out of here before the cops show up." Think a little, people.

There was some murmuring amoung the group, but finally someone spoke up.

Blue:

I was the first to speak up.

"Well, I understand your thought, but we definitely need to stock up a little bit. I really doubt that any of you brought food along: I know I didn't. Besides, I need to-" I stopped myself from saying change my bandages and finished quickly, "use the bathroom."

So, slinging my bag over my shoulder, jamming my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket, and checking my shoes to insure the tape was still holding them together, I started walking, half expecting them to follow but not caring if they didn't.

Andy:

With a smirk, I put the guitar strap over my ace bandage covered chest, the guitar on my back, and started to follow the guy, Blue, to wherever he was going. A gas station or a convenience store probably.

I heard the footsteps of others behind us, and eventually infront of us, seeing that I tend to walk a little slower than most. Darn my short legs. I quickened my step and caught up with some people.

Turning to one of the others, I smiled at them and said, "Hey, I'm Andy, in case you didn't hear before." I figured we might as well become friends if we were going to be traveling together.

*could be anyone*

Michal:

At first, I just watching the guy Blue walk away, not wanting to be the only one to follow him. But eventually the guy? Andy followed, then everyone else began to as well.

Quickly, I scurried after them, not wanting to be left alone. Who knows what could happen if I was alone, or who would find me?

Ksenia
"What if -just a thought- we all stuck together, since obviouosly none of you, from what I've heard, are suposed to be on this bus. And there are laws in this state about runnaways, which I'm assuming most of you are. I suggest we all get the hell out of here before the cops show up."
She sounded kinda annoyed and I didn't miss the sarcasm in her voice. Her words started to sink in. If the cops find you and bring you back, there will be no hope left for you.
I started to get a little nervous and looked around me quickly to make sure the cops hadn't arrived yet.
The group kept quiet and I was scared they would disagree with her. Finally the guy Blue said we should get some food and stuff and started to walk away. The others started to follow him and I was debating with myself whether to go with them or not. I didn't want to go to a populated place, scared as I was to be seen by 'them'. But If I went my own way the cops would probably find me eventually. I sighed deeply. It would have been a lot easier If I had just died in that buscrash. I tried to push away those thoughts and started to follow the group.

Red

The sort of frightening looking Russian girl had asked me if okay. I said I was fine, it was no big thing, ruptures of the olfactory membrane happen all the time, nothing to worry about, blah blah blah. Then this other rough looking girl spoke up, suggesting that we get out of the area if the cops showed up, there were laws against runaways, that sort of thing. Her voice was heavily laden with sarcasm, and maybe I felt a twinge of anger towards her. But, alas, we were a group of kids who could really easily get arrested, and infighting would certainly be the death of us. Then one dude headed off and the group moved after him. I stopped and made sure I hadn't left any bloodied Kleenex on the ground.

Can't have them finding this and DNA testing it and finding it. I'd be in a world of hurt...

I chuckled to myself. It reminded me of a famous line from my favorite film.

"You will be a dead Marine, and then, you will be in a world of shit."

Stanley Kubrick was rad. I noticed that the group had left me a bit behind, and I jogged to catch up with them. The Russian girl was lagging behind, so I went over to try and figure something, anything, out about her. She was so fond of being quiet and cryptic. I didn't have much room to talk, but still.

"Hi. I don't think I've properly introduced myself. Name's Red."

I (in the most ironic thing in my life) extended my hand for her to shake.

Ksenia
"Hi. I don't think I've properly introduced myself. Name's Red."
I smiled shyly at him and shook his hand.
"Hi."
I cleared my throat and let go of his hand. You should tell him your name, Ksenia. I cleared my throath again and looked at him. He was still waiting for me to say something.
"Uhh you can call me Kroshka if you want to." I bit on my lip and suddenly hated that name. I wasn't that girl anymore who my mom used to love. That girl had died when my mom figured that I was never gonna be like her and looked an awful lot like my dad.
"Or just call me anything else but that."
I looked away and tried to forget about those awful days.