Revelry, Kings of Leon

On Shirley's bus we were required to sit in groups of three. Thankfully I had my good friends B and her neighbor T to sit next to. We were the three inseparable amigos who frequently did things together, whether it was making music videos or playing tackle football in the show while "Mambo #5" was on repeat. Life was grand.

Well one afternoon T had to stay after school for some reason, I believe it was for his basketball team, so we had an extra space on our seat. Since we sat farther in the back, the tres amigos sometimes happened to sit next to the sketchy kids.


You know the ones! They had a reputation for being rebellious, cussed, had a corner in the school and were awfully mean to teachers. I called kids like that "trouble-makers."

Well on this particular day, Leo decided he was going to sit next to us, so he would be sitting next to his friends directly behind us. With his command for us to scoot over, B and I slide close to the window. We sat and waited for the rest of the students to board the bus, and while we did so Leo pulled something from his bag.



For the first time in my life I came face to face with the white sticks I learned about from many educational films. My favorite was "Your Choice Our Chance." It featured various situations in 10 minutes, and then left the ending open so you could make your own decision. But I digress...

Leo took out a cigarette from the package along with a lighter from his pocket and lit it. I was stunned. What was I supposed to do? B and I huddled over our back packs trying to avoid the smoke. Seconds later the doors to the bus closed and we began moving forward.

We continued moving from behind the school towards the front of the school. Without a hesitation the bus moved into the empty parking lot and instantly stopped. Shirley opened the bus doors and stood up.

"WHO LIT THE CIGARETTE?" She screamed. Her voice echoed as it bounced back from the back door to the front. B and I looked at each other not know what to do. We glanced at Leo who stared at us snidely.


"DON'T MAKE ME GO GET THE PRINCIPAL! WE WILL SEARCH EVERY BACKPACK IF WE HAVE TO!"

The fear of 50 middle school students froze. After scanning all of us like detained criminals, Shirley sat back into the drivers seat. With a slight jerk forward, the bus moved behind the school. The bus doors opened again, and Shirley continued her investigation. After several minutes of silence someone from behind me yelled Leo's name.

Shirley walked down the aisle and eventually reached our row. After a few probing questions Leo admitted it was him, and was kicked off the bus. As he made his way down the exit steps of the bus, Shirley ranted, " You will never ride this bus again."

For the rest of the ride home I sat in silence. The scenario in my mind kept thinking about how Leo was going to attack me outside my house. Also I knew that Shirley now assumed that I was one of the rebellious kids since I was sitting next to the "trouble-maker." There was no way to improve my situation.