Chapter 8—Stranded

I had no batteries for the device. In addition, the engine on the bus was dead. I watched as the bus driver paced back and forth outside, wondering what to do. What else could go wrong? Disgusted with the way things were turning out, I slammed the device onto the bus floor out of frustration.

That was a terrible mistake. I watched in horror as the device snapped in two. We were in serious trouble now. "What did you do that for?" wailed Kevin, who looked miserable. I didn't respond to him. I merely picked up the pieces and marched of the bus. "Where are you going?" our teacher wanted to know. "I'm going to get help," I told her, and ran off. Fortunately, we were close to an exit ramp, so I hiked up the small incline to a convenience store at the top of the ramp. I went inside and purchased some new batteries. I emerged from the store and walked around to the back, where I sat down on a curb and began to repair my device as best I could. I managed to get a few key wires tied together again, and then I taped the two pieces together with some clear tape. I ran back down to the bus as fast as I could, and arrived quickly, since most of the run was downhill. When I re-boarded, I noticed that half of the kids were asleep. The other half were pretty quiet, considering the circumstances they were faced with. "Did you get help?" our teacher asked me. "No, but I'm going to try again," I said. I walked over to Kevin and Steve, and showed them the device. They didn't look impressed. "I hope this works, Rob," Kevin spoke softly. "Me too," Steve added. "Well, here goes," I whispered, and pressed the "activate" button…

Nothing. "That figures," cried Kevin, and flopped back on his seat, a dejected look on his face. Steve turned to me and asked, "Why don't we just throw it down again? That's worked for us before." I thought about it, after which I responded, "Well…that might work, but it's already half-broken. Who knows what slamming it into the ground will do to it in this condition. Can we risk it?" "Do we really have any other choice now?" he asked me. He had a valid point. However, I didn't want to risk transporting everyone with this crazy idea, so I quickly shaped his idea into a new plan of action. I walked back up to our teacher and told her that I was going to try again to get help. Steve volunteered to join me, and I gladly accepted his company. We emerged from the bus and began to head up the exit ramp again. When we reached the top, we went behind the convenience store I was at before and made sure no one was around. I pulled the damaged device out, and waited for Steve to grab hold of me. When I felt his hand on my shoulder, I closed my eyes and threw the device down at our feet.

I picked up the pieces on the bus. This wasn't our bus, though. This bus was moving. I quickly looked around. Surprisingly, people were busy looking down at their books, phones, or newspapers, and didn't seem to notice that two kids had appeared out of thin air. Steve and I quickly checked out the windows for our location. Steve spotted a sign first. "Hey Rob, I think we're in California!" he whispered excitedly. I didn't share his enthusiasm. This wasn't what I needed now, a return visit to the "earthquake state". We had to find a repair shop, and fast.

The bus came to a stop at a station a few minutes later, and we hurriedly ran off. The bus driver gave us a puzzled look, but shook it off, as he closed the doors and resumed his route. We walked for about twenty minutes until we found a repair shop, and the owner repaired our "calculator". At first, he encouraged me to simply buy a new one, since it would have been cheaper, but I told him that this "calculator" had sentimental value, and he seemed to understand. Finally, with the repaired device in hand, we exited the store and looked for a private place. Finding a nearby alley, we crouched down behind a garbage dumpster as I pulled the device from my pocket. Once I felt Steve's hand on me, I pressed the "activate" button, and the scenery quickly changed around us. Not for the better, though. We found ourselves perched high up on some very tall pine trees. Grimacing, I pressed it again.

The familiar convenience store appeared before us. Cheering, I grabbed Steve by his shirt and pulled him to his feet. We ran back to the bus. The bus driver was attempting to get the vehicle functioning again, and was re-entering the bus to give in another test start when we arrived. The bus struggled for a few seconds, but eventually started up again. This drew cheers from everyone aboard. I told him to try moving forward again, and see what happens. He reluctantly agreed, and we began moving again. A few moments later, I pressed the button.

The sound of cheering warmed my heart. We were back in front of our school. Our teacher looked relieved, and so did our bus driver. He immediately called off the trip, which didn't bother anyone. All that mattered was that we were home.

The next day, after a good night's sleep, I caught up with Kevin at school during lunch. He was outside, eating alone, and looking depressed. I walked over to him, sat down next to him, and pulled my lunch out of my bag. "How's it going, bud?" I said in my friendliest voice. "I'm good," was his reply, then he added, "but you better not have that thing with you." "What? This thing?" I asked, and showed him the device. In the process, I accidentally hit the "activate" button. Whoops…