Chapter 106 Did I Forget Something Important? - Part 0

***

It was the first and only time I would ever take a bus.

It was a warm summer day, in early January. I took my seat on the public bus which I had never once experienced before. The seats seemed oddly placed, with some facing each other, whilst some faced the front. They were all a bright orange-y colour with various playful patterns. It had a welcoming feel, unlike the transport I was used to.

There were sections marked out for those with disabilities and those who are physically disadvantaged. As I took my seat near the back, I noticed there were a few other students, all attending the same school I was in. They were scrolling through their phones, something I took no interest in.

I leaned my head against the window and looked out to see the blur of buildings and cars which moved past in my line of sight. The bright summer sun shined brightly against the road, causing a little refraction which obstructed the view of distances far away. The vivid green trees and lush greenery would signify the beginning of a new stage of my life.

Slowly but surely, the bus began filling up with more and more people, until the two-seat rows were practically all taken up by at least one person. Most were students but there was also the occasional member of the public. Eventually, people were forced to ask someone a simple, "Can I sit next to you?" It seemed as if the common etiquette was to never reject the offer.

It wasn't long before I was also offered the question. "Hey, can I sit next to you?" They looked over at me expectantly from the other side of the seat. "Yeah." It was the common response, so I just decided to make it easy for myself.

The person was another student at our school, they were a girl with long brown hair and two snugly fit white hairclips clipped to the front of her hair. She took off her bag and placed it on her lap as she sat on the seat next to mine. I didn't mind having to sit next to someone else, it didn't really bother me, unlike some of the other people who reluctantly move their belongings to clear space for another.

It was odd, however, usually, the students who got on the bus would look for someone of the same gender to sit next to. I didn't necessarily think that it meant anything in particular but it was odd how she decided to sit next to me despite there being several other girls occupying one of two seats in a row. I didn't think much of it though and continued aimlessly looking out the window.

"How are you?" I first registered the sound as background noise before realising that it came from the person next to me. It took me a few seconds before I looked over at the girl who was staring directly at me. "I'm alright" I replied, lacking a better response. She didn't seem turned off by my monotone, uninteresting response. "You're going to National Selective School as well." She could likely tell from my uniform, I also noticed that she was going to the same high school as I was. "Yeah," I was definitely not skilled at social interaction, but that wasn't exactly any fault of my own.

After the short unavailing conversation, the girl opened back up her phone and scrolled through social media which I unintentionally caught several glimpses of. I did have a phone of my own, however, I neither had the friends nor the desire to care about it. I fixed up my collar a little and opened my phone, displaying the lock screen with 8:14am plastered in the middle of the screen.

The bus turned around the corner and the subsequent momentum caused people on the left to very slightly slide towards the right. As my shoulder touched hers, she quickly slid back bashfully, although I wasn't quite sure why it was so significant. It was a monotonous bus trip without any events however I had never felt a level of calmness quite like the slow relaxing journey.

"Hey, do you use Snap?" She looked towards me with her phone opened to her profile page. I knew about the existence and general idea of Snapchat, though I didn't use it. "No." It was a boring, socially inadequate response but I had nothing more to add. "Really? Everyone uses Snapchat these days." I also knew about that. Just on this one bus trip, I had witnessed almost every other student I saw at least open the app a few times. "Sorry, I don't have it." She didn't seem to pursue the idea any further.

As the bus continued on its arduous trip, I looked out the window, watching people walk their dogs, haul their shopping and participate in many other usual activities which I have never experienced personally. "What's your name?" It was a pretty simple question and I was honestly surprised the girl next to me hadn't become disinterested by my uncomforting tone of speech. "William." A simple reply to a simple question. Was I meant to ask for her name? Oh well, I suppose it didn't matter. "I'm Chloe," she said.

Eventually, I could see the school from outside my window. I wasn't told much about what it was like so it was at least a little exciting to see it for myself. They weaved around several scarce cars dropping off students and stopped at a wide-signed bus stop. After a miniature commotion of scuffling and scrunching sounds, students flowed out of the bus, dispersing onto the nearby sidewalk.

The girl next to me began standing up and slowly made her way off the bus, I followed not far behind her and exited through the door which was conveniently placed in the middle of the bus. I was splashed by a breath of fresh air as I stepped off, breathing in the new life which I was now to be a part of.

The big group of students walked past the garden of vegetation on either side of the sidewalk, under the gentle warmth of the summer sun. We eventually made it to the wide front gate of the school with a big sign with National High School on it and an oversized colourful poster with the words, 'Welcome new students!'

The courtyard of the school which was just past the gate was covered with cleanly-kept grass, giving off a vibrant relaxing aesthetic. My ears were filled with the subtle yet substantial chatter of the students around me. It seemed that many of them had already made or were already friends with several of their peers. There were a few other signs scattered along the main path of the school which read, opening ceremony or toilets or any other useful information that a new student might need.

We eventually all filled into the gym, listening to a brief ceremony which was prepared by the teachers and some of the captains of the school. They didn't give any unique advice which I hadn't heard before, so I disregarded the effectiveness of the speeches.

Before long, as we all exited the gymnasium, I was approached by a small group of people. They were a group of three girls and two boys and seemed to be an already established friendship circle, although it seemed rather new due to the apparent awkwardness between them. "How are you?" I was asked. I gave them my usual answers to their systematically redundant questions, as I always did.

I walked with the little group as we made our way towards another gathering, this time the topic of conversation was the classes. We had already been assigned our classes and they were emailed to us the day prior, so the teachers were basically reiterating what was to occur during the first few periods we had.

"Which classes are you all in?" The question was posed. As everyone in our small group gave their answer, I noticed I was the only one with a different class to the rest. I wasn't all that dejected though, my mind wasn't really filled with any stress or anxiety at this moment. My hope was that I would be able to enjoy this school life of mine,

however short it may turn out to be.

***

Ah, my head hurts... Where was I?

Oh yeah, I was on my way to the elven village.

I looked at Chloe who was walking beside me...

Why do I feel like I just forgot something really important?

Oh well.