“We have a problem. A girl is stuck in the bathroom on our bus. Can you come and help us?” The bus driver grumbled into a walkie talkie, more concerned about us being late to the zoo than the fact that one of his passengers had gotten locked in a seemingly impenetrable door.
I sat on the bus, and stared out of the window. No trees were passing us. No cars were speeding alongside us. Instead, everything seemed to stand still and watch us in confusion. There wasn’t a part of me that could blame them, however. Even I was confused how we got here on the side of the road.
The bus was clinging to the side of the road, making sure to stay steady for the already anxious children. Their 6 and 7 year old hearts were breaking because they knew our trip to the zoo had been halted. Their hearts were also breaking for their friend locked in the room at the back of the bus. She was talking through the door to her teacher, though her voice barely audible from the front of the bus where I was positioned.
With the teacher gone, it was my job to be sure to calm the steadily rising cloud of panic. “Don’t worry guys, the other bus will be here in just a few minutes. Then we’ll get her out, and be on our way.” My lips smiled in assurance, but my stomach was churning with fear. What if she didn’t get out? What if the other bus driver didn’t have a key either? I was only 18 and already I was learning the fears of being an elementary school teacher.
I decided to shift the conversation to our trip ahead. We would be going to the zoo for several hours. Parents would be there. All the kids favorite animals would be there. It was all the perfect excuse to move on from the horrible incident happening at the opposite end of the bus. “So, guys, raise your hands and tell me what you most look forward to at the zoo. Any particular animals? Any rides? Snacks?” I looked around the bus in relief as several hands flew up in excitement. Their chatter was already beginning to block out the noise in the back.
“I’m looking forward to the carousel ride! And if Abby wants to, then we might even ride it twice!” The little girl in brown pigtails spoke proudly, and her words prompted her friend to jump up in excitement.
“Really? We might go twice? Yay!” The girls clasped hands and began to shake with excitement. I had to stifle a laugh as I calmed them down and moved on to other people.
“I’m looking forward to lizards.” The boy seemed very confident in what he said, but everyone else seemed confused.
“Um, lizards?” My mind began trying to scroll through what he could be talking about. They didn’t just have a random lizard exhibit did they? Maybe they did. It had been a long time since I had been to the zoo. Probably since I was on this same first grade trip.
“Yeah, you know, the ones that look like dragons.”
I started laughing and nodded my head. “Bearded dragons!”
“Yeah! Those things! I look forward to seeing those.” He smiled and crossed his arms. He was in the class I assisted with during the day, so his answer didn’t really surprise me at all. The boy was always found reading some fact book on some type of lizard. “Okay who’s next?”
Before I could pick a hand from the waving flock, the door of the bus swung open. All heads turned to see who it was, and it was the other bus driver. He walked on and we all sat down in anxious anticipation to see the scene unfold.
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