The Youth of the Nation

[Banba]

Kelly nodded, cheerfully.
"Yeah. Of course I'll drive. I was the one who fell asleep practically standing up, after all." She laughed, rubbing the back of her head as she stood. She had fallen asleep slouched over the back of the driver's chair as she spoke with Leonard the night before. She often did that, falling asleep in odd places when she was tired. She really wasn't hungry in the mornings, so she just stretched her legs as she watched the others react to waking up. Her eyes fell across a map rack, and she plucked one off, examining it closely, memorising it. She had some maps in her bag, but it was good to compare maps to make absolute sure of where she was going. after spending many years with her father and his "short cuts," she learned pretty well how to navigate around roads, highways and streets. She suddently snapped back to reality, and put the map back, glancing to Leonard.
"I'm sorry, I spaced out. Did you say something?" She said, truthfully. "I won't do that on the road, though, don't worry." She grinned, sheepishly.

[Raddum]

Matthew, although standing, was still half-asleep. His eyes were squinted as he heard Aspen speaking, and he yawned before managing to reply to her. "If you want one or the other that's alright.." He said, scratching the back of his head. His eyes slowly began to become wider and he started to actually wake up, smiling at Aspen. She was nice, at least he thought so. Certainly nicer than most of the people he knew. Although they had sat next to each other, and slept there, he really didn't think anything of it. She was cold and being close to another helped out. Matthew was happy to be the helping hand, it gave him more purpose than his old life ever did. As he thought, the bus wasn't too bad to sleep in. He could get used to it, and Aspen kind of gave him a feeling of... Comfort. Was that the right word? He wasn't sure. "And, yeah." He laughed quietly. "I'll buy next time, don't worry." He said, keeping his smile and waiting on a response on if she wanted the juice or the milk. Matthew could've honestly cared less about which he was given.

[Platinum cobra]

Jack grabbed a Pepsi and a bag of potato chips and paid for them. He was exhausted having woken up in the middle of the night after seeing his girlfriend dying over and over again he hadn't been able to go back to sleep. He quickly opened up his Pepsi and took a drink before going back on the bus. He went all the way to the back and laid down closing his eyes since they were hurting from staying open so much and not getting any rest really. His eyes were a light red from him crying and rubbing them so much. He opened up his bag of potato chips and started snacking on them not realizing how hungry he was he soon at half of the bag and took a drink from his Pepsi before closing his eyes again and falling into a real light sleep.

[InkedWolf]

Miranda jostled herself awake as she looked about the bus. It appeared everyone had stopped to gather drinks or snacks for the journey ahead. She looked at the half opened sketchbook in her hands.

Grabbing a pencil she slowly began to scratch out the beginning of a face. She furrowed her brow as she tried to dredge the image out of her memory. She smiled as she remembered Jack's words about having a sketch of his girlfriend, at the very least she'd be keeping her own mind busy.

As she began to blend the strands of hair brushed across her face, Miranda felt her stomach growl. She smiled as Irene's words came to her "You know, your art is something else. It'll inspire the world someday. I'm just lucky to be along for the ride!" She was jarred back to reality as she finished the sketch. Smiling as she tore the page from her book, she tapped Jack on the shoulder. "Hey, sorry it took so long. You know it's harder working from memory without my usual caffiene high. This is for you." She smiled softly as she placed the sketch by Jack. "I had to work off a few details I could remember. I hope it looks like her..."

[Storyboy]

The first thing he heard was the tweeting of birds. A long time passed before he opened his eyes. Hours could have passed as he drifted in and out of sleep. Finally he did get up. Rays of sunlight poured in through the window and it's thin curtains. A thin cloud of dust was fairly visible in the light. Dakota sat up letting his legs fall of the side of the bed as he rubbed his eyes. He was still fully clothed not knowing who the previous owners of the bed he slept in he decided not to cover his bare skin in their bed sheets. Sleeping in a cheap motel was one thing. They could be nasty but they had to clean on occasion otherwise they'd lose business. These people hadn't planned to have someone come into their house, not with it being vacant at least.

He stood up sliding into his boots and yawned as he stretched. The night before had been rough both physically and emotionally. He had found the cabin after some time but not without being completely lost and alone for some time. He opened the door and stumbled out into the hall making it out into the kitchen where he cut on the sink and splashed water across his face in an effort to wake himself up. There was a shower but it didn't seem to have a water heater. He leaned back against the counter looking around. For a cabin in the middle of the woods it wasn't half bad. He couldn't stay here, not for more than a few days at least but part of him liked it here. All quiet and alone. It was nice being secluded from everything, especially when you were a wanted criminal, or at least for all he knew he could be.

Outside he made his way to an old faucet water pump where there was a bucket hanging on a nail embedded into the post. He placed the bucket under the faucet and began to pump away. Each heave provided just a small amount of water so it took a good twenty pumps before he had it a little more than half full. Dakota took the bucket by the handle and walked back inside. He left the back door open and opened the blinds to let some sunlight in before scrounging through the pantries to find a sponge and soap. He looked back between the cleaning supplies and the bucket of water. "Something's missing." He said to himself. Then he snapped his fingers, or at least made an attempt to snap that made a rather pathetic sound, and walked out the door. He came back after a couple minutes after retrieving his Walkman from his motorcycle. He put in his ear buds and went through the music before finding a song he liked. The young man got down on his hands and knees with the sponge in one hand and the bucket in the other before he started scrubbing away while singing along with the song.

"...it said and i quote, my name is Nikki and i used to be dancer
til the day the doctor diagnosed me with cancer
so i said goodbye to all the hair on head
and said hello to my hospital bed
yeah see i was just a normal girl, it happened so fast
there were so many days that i thought would be my last
however the fight was tough, and the battle was long
but i felt strong when i listened to your songs
you were, always there for me, you helped my heart beat
you were my only friend, kept you on repeat
i thank god for you every single night
cause believe or not, you saved my life"-Jake Miller A Million Lives

[ChristyKey]

Anastasia didn't feel to good when waking up in the morning. Being exhausted wasn't what one wanted when running away. Lola asked her for some milk and she yawned and said, "Alright I will." Anastasia went and reached over in getting Lola milk for her to eat with her cereal. She handed it to Lola, with a lifeless expression. "I'm sorry Lola being exhausted is the last thing I want today." Anastasia was afraid she'll become angry if anyone came anywhere close to her, she wasn't exactly herself in the mornings.

[Platinum cobra]

Jack opened his eye's when he heard Miranda's voice and looked at the piece of paper. It looked exactly like Samantha, he smiled as a few tears fell down his face. "It looks perfect." he said smiling and starring at the sketch. He brought up the bag of chip's and smiled at her, "Want some, and if you want I can get you a coffee or soda. I think they have some in the store." he said but not remembering for sure if he had seen any coffee in there. He went and set up "Thank you, but you really didn't have to do it. I didn't want to put you through any trouble." he said but continued to stare at the sketch in amazement of how well she did. He went and took another sip of his pepsi careful to lean away from the sketch while he did so as not to spill some of the water that was on the side on the sketch and ruin it. He finished and capped his bottle setting it back down next to him, "Thank you again." he said smiling.

[julia]

Lola smiled lightly. "Its okay... I'm sorry for having to ask for the milk..." she whispered quietly. "But you and I can go back to sleep when we get back on the bus," she smiled warmly.

Aspen laughed and smiled. "We will share both, like I said," she explained, nudging Matthew softly with her elbow. "Lets check out and get back to the bus... I'm freezing..." she sighed, yawning and giving a small shiver. She rubbed her arms to rid herself of the gooseflesh as she looked to her feet and grabbed the food. She walked up to the counter and bought the items, giving a sweet smile to the cashier and turning from him to walk back to Matthew.

Leonard smiled and took a drink of his cappuccino. "You're fine... Sorry I couldn't move you while I was driving," he admitted, then looked around the little gas station. He had filled up the bus and everyone seemed to have gotten what they would need for the trip. "C'mon, lets go..." he suggested, yawning largely.

[Raddum]

Matthew took the moment he had to himself while Aspen went over to the cashier to think. It'd only been a short amount of time since they left, but at the same time it felt like it'd been forever. The surrounding area was completely foreign and Matthew had no idea where he even was. It was, in a way, frightening. What could possibly be around the next corner? Or what could happen with the next step he took? No, no... He needed to stop worrying. Everything was going to be fine, this was a new beginning. Not a continuation of the pain that has been brought upon him before. It was still kind of hard to believe what he was telling himself, because it honestly could be a lie. Everything could go terribly wrong within' seconds. There were no certainty's.

He snapped out of his trance as he noticed Aspen walking back with everything in her hands. He walked up to her with a small smile and turned to walk along with her back towards the bus. "Here, I've got it." He slowly took his muffin and the grape juice from her grasp as to distribute the weight and make sure nothing ended up getting dropped. The last thing they needed was to eat their food off the cold ground... Didn't want to think about that, so he talked about another subject on the way.

"I remember when I was a little kid." He began, looking strait ahead with a smile on his face. "A... Friend, once told me that the husband decides the gender of the child. I figure that can't be true, considering all the girly things they had already bought. They expected her from the start but ended up with me." He laughed quietly, but then sighed. "I never understood why they didn't get rid of me. They never paid me any attention, they just gave me the bare essentials and a few things for my room. Some years later and my sister was born, their little star. Doesn't bother me anymore, it's actually kind of funny." He looked at Aspen. "That same friend told me if I was to dwell on the past I'd never find a path to the future. He looked strait ahead again. "I think I found the path to my future, yeah? With you and everyone else." He bit the inside of his cheek, this was starting to sound a little cheesy, so he simply decided to stop talking and keep walking towards the bus.

[Banba]

Kelly waved her hand dismisivly, grinning.
"Pshaa, I was fine. And I'm rested enough, anyways. I've worked on worse conditions. The skys are clear, the road is dry, and I'm hoping that theres no traffic." She laughed as they walked to the bus, moving her arms and feet in a little jig. "And now you can sleep all you want!" she laughed again, dropping herself into the seat and instantly moving to adjust it. Leonard had longer legs than she did. Truth be told, most people had longer legs than she did, with her being of a smaller height.