Life Changing Experience First day of the rest of my life, my stomach is in knots and I can’t seem to do anything with my hair. I have all my pens, papers, notebooks and other miscellaneous items stuffed into my brand new blue book bag. My mother is down stairs on the patio drinking her morning tea watching the world wake up. I gave my brand new shoes a quick shine, checked my hair about three more times each time finding something new wrong. Mother yells at me from down stairs.
” You ” re going to miss the bus!” The bus! I can’t believe my ears. I can’t show up to high school on my first day by riding the bus. I was scared I needed my mother to drive me to school. Somehow knowing my mother was going to be there part of the way made it a little bit easier for me to go. I need her in a way to hold my hand as I embark on a new chapter in my life. Plus I was a little brat and felt too good for the public transportation system.
My mother could sense that I felt uneasy and drove me. The drive to the newly built high school was just under fifteen minuets away. As we traveled my mother gave me some tips to make it through the day. She told me to introduce myself to my teachers on personal bases, to sit up front and to eat a good lunch. As we arrived at the entrance I felt my breakfast wanting to jump out of my stomach. I was shaking and on the verge of tears.
Mother gave me a hug and a kiss on the forehead, told me everything was going to be just fine. I jumped out of the car and stood on the sidewalk waving my mother goodbye. I never imagined that, the hug, the kiss and the wave goodbye could possibly be the last ones. The first day of high school went over with a blast. My classes were just fine and my teachers were supreme.
Everyone was just so nice and friendly. I only cried once when I couldn’t find any of my classes. The bell had rung everyone scattered off to his or her assigned rooms, everyone except me. I was stuck in the middle of the courtyard trying to figure out the school mapping system. Frustrated and embarrassed I broke down in tears and ran to the nearest restroom. The day continued from that point on a happy note.
I could not wait to get home to tell my mother all about my day. As the dismissal bell rung, I hurried off to find the right bus to go home. I was frightened that I would get on the wrong bus and end up on the other side of town. Uneasy I asked four different people where bus 647 was parked. As I entered the bus I recognized familiar faces of those from my junior high. Some friendly and some not so nice.
I took my place in middle of the bus and glanced out the window watching the trees and cars go by. As the bus grew closer to my stop I became more and more giddy with excitement. I could not wait to tell my mother about my new adventure. As soon as the bus was out of sight, I ran all the way home with a huge smile on my face from ear to ear like a Chester cat.
As I ran down the street I noticed shattered pieces of glass all over the road and a chunk on the street lawn missing. It looked as if a huge bull dozer rode through the grass crushing all the beautiful flowers. I dismiss it and continued to run my hardest. As I skipped up the drive way, fumbling through my book bag to find my house keys, I noticed that my mother’s car was not parked in the drive way.
I figured that she had just got it detailed and put it in the garage. My mother was in love with her champagne colored, fully loaded town car. She had it detailed every weekend. I thought it was strange that she had it detailed on a Wednesday, but maybe she found a single dirt mark. I opened the door, kicked off my shoes, threw down my book bag and screamed out for my mother. There was no answer.
I screamed up stairs, there was still no answer. I thought she was probably working in her rose garden. I ran outside onto the patio. There was no sign of here. As I checked the garage there was no sign of her car either. I was crushed.
I thought for sure my mother would find the time to be home after I got off from school. I called her cell phone, no answer. Where could my mother be I thought to myself? I decided to go and play some pool in the family game room and wait for her. As I pulled back for the break, the front door open and closed. I thought for sure it was my mother. I ran out, it was my big sister.
She was still dressed in her red pajamas with the picture of Garfield the car on the front. I asked her were mom was and she scurried off to the kitchen and gulped down a glass of water, not caring about the little streams of water that flowed down her chin onto her shirt. I asked her again and she told me to sit down. “Moms’ been in an accident. She was hit head on by a handicap bus this morning on her way back from dropping you off at school.” She said it so bluntly that it took a while to register in my mind. I asked her to repeat herself.
Hoping that this was so cruel joke they were playing on me.