Field Trip

        Donna wrung, her hands, eyes flitting to and for as the bus began to fill up. Kids her age, clad in Maroon shirts and lugging backpacks that were half their weight, scuttled into the upholstered seats of their air-conditioned tour bus. She glanced out the window, where parents and guardians milled by the school's entrance, waving to their kids goodbye. Miss Rena said something about settling down and finding vacant seats, and Donna sank further into her seat as she waited for someone to sit beside her. You see, Donna wasn't the most sociable person in her class. She barely even spoke, finding it crippling to do so in front of her classmates and teachers. Still, she hoped that maybe Samantha or Gregg would sit beside her, and not one of those snickering kids milling around the back of the bus. Just as she saw Gregg pop his freckled face in through the open double doors, she felt the seats shift. Her head whipped to her left, eyes wide in surprise, only to see Hajime settling into the seat beside her. She looked back at Gregg, who seemed as crestfallen as she felt, as he scuttled through the middle lane to look for a seat. Miss Rena started her roll call. Byun, Bonifacio, Abigail, Serena. Jaiden Day, Addison Bradford, Tommy Hodges, Johnathan Pitts, Ronin Larsen, Ana Frazier, Trenton York, Steven Kelley, Kenyon Christensen, Nelson Crosby, Esteban Fox and Leonardo Cherry. She recited the rest of the names in her head. When Kihara, Hajime was called, he gave only a slight nod before slipping on his headphones. Santos, Donna. "Here." She said. Miss Rena glanced at her for a brief moment, marked her as present, and continued with the roll call. Afterwards, she introduced their tour guide name Mr. Mark Russel. Mr. Mark introduced himself to them. Class, just call me Sir Mark, I will be your personal tour guide for today and I hope everyone will enjoy and be happy until the end of our tour. Before we head-off , let us pray first. Dear God, Please protect us on the journey we are about to take. Support us with Your strength and grace when we are weary. Help us to be mindful of Your presence and love in times of stress and guide us to make our time together meaningful and memorable. Amen. Please sit back, sit tight and enjoy the ride, let's start our adventure, Mr. Mark said and sit in the driver seat. The bus started to move soon after that. Donna tried to doze off, having gotten little sleep last night due to her parents yelling and throwing plates and vases to each other, with the sounds of chatter around her and distinct, low rumble of the bus's engine, she rested her head on the window and closed her eyes.