Waves of subtle warmth blanketed the humble town as the sun rose to its throne amongst the sparse clouds in the early morning sky. A chill loomed on the breeze as the coldness of morning slowly dissipated. It was the makings of a beautiful mid October day. Bells chimed loudly, echoing across the bustling campus of a local school house, signalling the end of breakfast period. A stampede of chattering students and the heavy patter of footsteps filled the halls and classrooms. Suddenly the somewhat distorted voice of the vice principal rang out over the intercoms as she cleared her throat to speak. "Attention students and staff! If your class was selected for the trip to Lake Ebott, please meet with your class at the rear of the campus. Buses will be waiting to load everyone. Do not board without your teacher! The selected classes will be--" The announcement went on, vaguely overshadowed by the dull roar of children across the school. Most everyone had known who was and wasn't going for a couple weeks now. Anyone who didn't either wasn't going anyway, or would soon find themselves in an empty classroom.

The rear exit of the school was made up of a wide driveway which merged into the staff parking lot, with the main path leading past the track and field into one of the bigger playgrounds. It had been about ten minutes before the playgrounds and cafeterias were clear, and a large horde of children had assembled at the rear exit gate. Just as promised, several long, bright yellow school buses lined the curve just outside the padlocked fence and continued around the corner. This was a large school and the rosters were big. Even though only a few classes made the list, there were still very many heads to account for. Many students wandered about, slowly being corralled into formation by the handful of somewhat stressed adults.

"We're gonna to need bigger buses..." Spoke a slender middle aged woman standing on the sidewalk just outside of the fence as she passed an anxious gaze over what was practically a small army. "There's about thirty to forty children per class here. Maybe thirty-somthin odd seats per bus at best. How were we supposed to fit them in these?" She asked, pulling a few loose strands of auburn hair that escaped her ponytail behind an ear. But her question went expectantly unanswered as, aside from the crowd of kids, it was only her standing there. Still, she reassured herself, straightening her blue, button down blouse, tucking a stray corner into her black, snug fitting slacks, and stepped toward the chain and padlock that held back the flood of excited children. Tightly gripping a clipboard in one hand and a ring of keys in the other, She took a deep breath before reaching for the lock...

Mr.Connors and his geology class seemed somewhat out of place here. No, it wasn't that he dressed himself like he was half asleep most of the time, or that his hair could be mistaken for a grayish brown birds nest. Rather, most of the classes going to Lake Ebott were gradeschool range. But his was the only middleschool class that even bothered signing up for the trip. Pushing a pair of thin glasses up on his nose, Connors almost felt embarrassed, looking out at how his students towered over most of the rest. He couldn't help but think back to how excited he was when he first heard about this trip. Mount Ebott has always been fascinating to him, being a sleeping volcano and all. He's always wanted to go with the idea of getting some interesting minerals or stones for his lectures. He only found out at the last minute that this was actually just a glorified picnic to the lake next door to it. Or at least that's how he felt about it. But this didn't get him down too much. The school year was coming to a close soon anyway so it's not like anyone's really missing out on anything that they can't be taught another day. With that in mind, let out a sign and accepted the situation. "Okay kids...I guess it's time for role call...Malcom?..."

A loud rattling screech hissed out of the metal gate as the small woman slowly pushed it aside, leaving a space just big enough to fit herself through. Standing amongst the crowd now, she pulled up a whistle that dangled from a string around her neck and took a deep breath. The piercing sound of the woman's whistle cut through the uproar, bringing a temporary quiet to the mass. "Alright everyone, we're about to start loading. Make sure you stay with your teacher and classmates at all times." She biefly looked down at the notes on her clipboard. "A few of you may be assigned to ride with the smaller middle school class due to space issues. Your teacher will let you know who you are so please do not ask to be moved. Now, the following classes are assigned to the following bus numbers, so listen closely..."



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"Are you excited, Tommy?" Malcom questioned, directing it towards what looked like a smaller version of himself that he was currently towering over; Tommy Holme, the second oldest of the three siblings (9 years old) in the Holme family. It was routine for Malcom to check on his brother before any sort of outing; Just in case the boy got nervous or wasn't really feeling up to it; Malcom wanted to always be there to lift his spirits and get him on his way, and it almost always worked out.

This time was going to be a bit more difficult than usual, however.

"I don't really want to go, bro..." Tommy admitted, shifting awkwardly. "The other kids say that place is haunted, and some monster there takes children." He added, fear in his voice. The little boy was easily scared, and his big brother knew this; Malcom knew he had to make Tommy dismiss his concerns, for the sake of him enjoying the trip. But with that upset expression, Malcom knew it wouldn't be very easy.

"You can't worry about stories like that, Tommy. They're just trying to scare you. There's no monsters at the lake." Malcom dismissed Tommy's concerns, smiling. "Besides, there'll be adults around; They'll keep you safe. I won't be very far, either." He assured, firmly.

"If I need you, you'll come and help me, bro?" Tommy questioned, looking up at Malcom hopeful of a positive response.

"Of course!" Malcom replied quickly, with confidence. "You've got your phone, right? If you need anything, just call, like I taught you. I'll be there quicker than you can hang up the phone!" While he was certain this wouldn't be necessary, Malcom wanted to make it clear. He felt a lot better as a smile crossed Tommy's face.

"Thanks, big bro!" Tommy replied, cheerfully. His eyes were glowing with an admiration of Malcom's displayed confidence, and he stepped back from Malcom, looking up at his brother with the biggest smile the older boy had ever seen; And it warmed his heart. "I better go, or I'll get left behind!" Tommy added, before quickly turning and running off; Waving back at Malcom momentarily before focusing on what was ahead of him.

"That kid changes his attitude so quickly." Malcom spoke with a sigh as his brother ran off. He was glad that his brother was feeling better about the trip; But figured he'd have nightmares about those stupid rumors the older kids must've been telling him. He wished he honestly knew who had scared his brother; They'd get a stern talking to, for sure. But, with no clues, Malcom decided to let it slide. Instead beginning to head towards the bus he was intended to board; So they could get this trip started.



"Here, Mr. Connors!" Malcom answered respectfully; Ready to enjoy the time out of the class room. He wasn't the smartest kid, honestly, but he still thought he did decent. His parents never got a complaint that he was failing, so that was a thing, right? That being said, geology wasn't something he 'clicked' with. But, none of that really mattered, because for now, he got to enjoy the outdoors!

Momentarily scanning his classmates, he wondered how they felt about the trip. He knew not everyone was so simply entertained like him; But figured it could be an enjoyable experience for the whole class. A few looks told him otherwise, however. Some of the kids honestly looked like this was more torturous than actual schoolwork; And Malcom couldn't grasp how that could be a fact at all; Maybe they were crazy in the head, or something.

... Wait. Malcom thought to himself, something clicking in his head.

This is Mr. Connors! He's probably going to lecture us the whole time! This idea brought terror into Malcom's heart; As much as he respected his teachers, Mr. Connors was boring. Out of respect Malcom listened, but he'd literally prefer to do anything else.

Sadly there was no escape now; He was trapped in a full day of the man talking. In an attempt to keep positive, Malcom figured there were worst situations to be in; So he shouldn't really complain.

Quietly, he waited for their departure.

Seventeen...Eighteen.... One by one children flowed into the bus, but not Mimi. She had slightly different plans. While no one was looking, she quitely slipped away. Her two accomplices ready and in place.

Her friend Tony* had also managed to sneak out. Mimi flashed a grin at him. "Took you long enough, Toto." "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tony was insecure, so he looked up to Mimi's daringness, yet he was Always worrying. "It'll be fine, see? Dede has already opened the window, so give me a boost. I want to see the crowds beneath my feet!" With a sigh Tony resigned himself to his fate and helped Mimi up, meanwhile Denise (Dede) was reaching out from inside the bus and helped her up. With some more help from Denise, Mimi managed to get on top of the bus, from where she yelled; "Haha! I own all of you! Praise your new leader!"

Mimi's reign of terror quickly ended however, as her teacher had expected her to pull a stunt and got up to her using a ladder. Grabbing Mimi by the ankle, her teacher soon had her hanging upside down in one hand and scaled down the ladder. All the while upside down, Mimi wss carried to mr. Connors' bus. Her teacher asked mr. Connors to take care of 'this problem-child'. And then, there she was. In a bus full of people older and taller than her and without either of her comrades. Mumbling "Heh, I still win, silly teacher." she resigned herself to the situation, the mission had been completed and this could possibly be all that bad, right?

...right?
*Tony and Denise (clearly) are NPC's

"well this is... something?"William standing near the center of the crowd looks onward toward the kid that was standing on top of the bus only to be taken down moments later, After this event William walked up to one of the teachers that were unlucky enough to be out in this mess with only one question. "excuse me sir but can you remind me where we are going on this trip?" The teacher looks back at him with a look that can only be described as agony as yet another kid asks a stupid question. "Well didn't you hear the announcement?" The teacher asks in response to the question hopefully to shut this kid up and leave him alone "Well I don't know about you, but I can't hear much of anything in this dull roar" William responded back more annoyed than anything else for why was the teacher being rude he just asked a question. With a sigh the teacher finally answered his question regretting ever wanting to be a teacher. "We are going to Lake Ebott now go back to your group and wait for departure." Without another word William went back to his original standing point standing like nothing ever happened waiting for his name to be called.

(Lake Ebott... where have i heard that name before? It sounds so familiar like a fuzzy memory. Lake Ebott, Lake Ebott...)

*sigh*
Man, this really blows. He thought to himself. Dilloh, entirely ready to have a day to himself relaxing and exploring the sub urban wilderness of his town, has his plans pulled out from under him by his crazy parents. Now he has to relax in the wilderness surrounded by a bunch of immature brats who deserve nothing more than to have a mouthful of dirt. I mean, His parents already know it's impossible for him to make it in school, so why are they even trying? He grimaces to himself. They've got a buncha screws in their heads the lot of em. Even the teachers, being fooled by their acts of kindness on my behalf. If they think I'm just gonna up and behave all of a sudden, then they've got another thing coming. Whatever the case, he seemed dead set on not enjoying this trip whatsoever whether his parents wanted him to or not. While mulling over these thoughts, he completely misses the teacher calling out his name.

"Psst," A kid next to him nudges him. "Hey Doofus."

"I'm not doofus, ya ninny." Dilloh responds

"The teach called your name... Dumb****"

Dilloh stands up, ready to beat some sense into this jerkface when Mr. Connors interrupts.
"Thank you Dilloh, but I told you to raise your hand when I called you. Not stand up entirely. Please sit down."

A few kids giggle and laugh at the display, but he knows enough from experience not to cause a scene with the teacher watching. He sits down calmly as instructed and gives a stink eye to the person next to him. This kid, whatever his name was, better watch himself...
Yep, things were already starting to turn out exactly as he had expected.

^{Before Departure}
Mr. Johnson's voice carried easily over the cacophony of noise that was his 5^th grade class as he took roll. Lucia had always thought it was weird that he addressed them all by last name, but when calling on them in class he'd use nicknames like "Sparky", "Prince Reggie", "Hannah-bannana", and for herself the ever hated term "Lucybell".

"Miss Bellemont?"
Lucia rose her hand and shouted "Present!" as the teacher called her name, waiting until his eyes found her in the crowd before dropping her arm. Her best friend, Reginald aka "Prince Reggie", elbowed her in the side and pointed over to one of the busses not too far away. It looked like another 4^th or 5^th grader had gotten on top of the bus somehow, and was now shouting that she was their leader now. Lucia laughed and mock bowed towards the girl with Reggie as a teacher dragged the girl down from her newfound pedestal. She felt kinda bad that the girl was probably in trouble now, but that had been awesome. Her smile stayed on her face until when she went to get on the bus, Mr. Johnson pulled her aside.

"Lucybell, could I ask a favor of you?" She nodded quickly, hiding the dislike she had for the nickname with a cautious smile as her teacher continued. She was always willing to help, or try to at least. "It seems that our class has just one too many kids to fit on the bus. Would you mind riding with the middle-schoolers? I'm sure you'll get along with them just fine." She glanced over at the other group as they filed onto their bus, suddenly unsure. Older kids were scary, even if they didn't do anything to her. She looked back to Mr. Johnson after a moment, and then decided.

"Ok, but I don't wanna go over there alone." The teacher nodded happily at her answer, and agreed to walk her over and introduce her to the middle school teacher. Once that was done, he went back to his bus where the rest of the class was already onboard and ready to go. Reginald was waving at her from one of the windows. She sighed and smiled at Mr. Connors as she climbed onto the middle-school bus, and sat in the first empty seat she could find, looking out the window as the lot cleared of people while everyone finished getting on their busses.

A stern voice came from the throat of Mr.Henderson. "I understand who your father is, but we don't have enough space for our students let alone another adult. If anything you may drive along with us." Morrigan was attempting to use her iListen to drown out another pointless comparison of power between her bodyguard and her teacher, a man whom seems to enjoy the little bit of authority he could muster...Since the class clearly is out of his control.

That went on for almost 10 minutes before the girl finally sighs, "Geoffrey, leave him be. It's a field trip that a majority of the school is attending. Just observe from a afar, you do know that you are making insinuations about my immaturity at this moment, yes?" Morrigan gaze locked on the sun-glass covered eyes of Geoffrey, a bead of sweat formed on his head. "N-no mam....As you wish mam." With that the man did an about face and left her there. Grumbling about how she should be in a private school, or at least one with fences.

A short time later she found herself in a mixed bag of children of all ages, and the noise, horrendous. Even her music couldn't drown out the escalating volume of the children trying to speak over one another. Not to mention one of the young ones was flat out crying towards the back. Morrigan popped her neck, and questions if this was Henderson's punishment for her bodyguard once again overstepping his bounds. A confusing concept of if it was fair troubled her, but its clear she holds sway over the man, so she could have ended that sooner if she would have just put her foot down....But was it right to try and prevent him from trying?



A younger student among its peers with a rather mischievous grin on its face. While it was a weird insult, it acknowledged her accomplishments none the less. Morrigan forced a smile at the likely 10 to 11 year old boy. "May I assist you?" He paused a moment off put by her less than fun reaction, but it didn't deter him....Nor did the white wires leading to her ears..."Is it true your daddy is in prison?" Her thoughts sigh almost in sync with the one she lets slip. "Yes I am the daughter of Drack Youla Doom." A bit of pride can be heard, but not enough to where she could be misconstrued for arrogance. The child continued its attempts to insult the girl. "Well I heard hes never getting out." Morrigan responded with quick precision. "True, 80 years while short considering his crimes, is far to long for him to ever hope of seeing me or my mother without a glass panel between us. Honestly it was fortunate that he was so willing to admit to his crimes, they may have prevented us from ever seeing him. A small blessing if you ask me." The grin while forced was enough to weird the child out...He and his little crew looked alarmed enough as they made their way further onto the bus.
Mr.Connors must have drawn the short straw she thought. The music finally began to overtake the noise as she closed her eyes and let her irritation pass.

^{Still Before Departure}
After watching the people out the window for a little bit, Lucia turned her attention to the people inside the bus. It was a strange hodgepodge of kids of all ages, and demeanors. A few of the older kids looked just plain mean as they watched the younger ones near them, and Lucia couldn't blame them for being a little sour about having to share their bus, but unless the kid did something to you don't ya think you could be a little nicer? On the flip side, glancing around at those who were her age or younger Lucia could tell they were all just as nervous as she was to be around the older kids. Some of them just hid it in the wrong way and ended up poking the resting lions with pointy sticks, as it were.

One kid in particular caught her eye as she looked around at the growing chaos that was the bus. Probably the youngest kid on the bus was standing somewhat awkwardly in the aisle, looking like she had no idea what to do. After a second Lucia guessed that she was probably looking for a place to sit, and seeing as no one had taken the spot next to her yet, She stood up and beckoned the girl over. "Hey! There's a space right here, if you want. Do you wanna sit by the window or the aisle?" She smiled as she finished asking the question, hoping not to scare the girl. "My name's Lucia, by the way. What's yours?"

Max the soul of integrity

Max was late. He was rushing to the bus why did his parents forget to set the alarm. He made it to the busses as the last one was being filled. He ran up to a teacher and asked "Miss, sorry I was late but what bus do I get on?", "well you barely made it, hurry up and get on that bus." She said as she pointed to Mr. Connors bus. "Thank you miss." max said as he hurried and got in the line to get on the bus.@Thread Generator SIN(there ya go entry post)

"William come here please!" Exclaimed the frustrated teacher as he ran into yet another issue on top of the billion already on his plate today. He motioned for the young boy who had addressed him earlier to come over, and led him off the bus. "Mister Davison, come with me. There aren't enough seats so your moving to the middle school classes bus." His speech seemed a little hurried as he walked William over to Mr.Connors. "Here's another one. Have fun!" He said somewhat facetiously. It was mildly concerning for the future. But after seeing one teacher peel a little girl from the top of their bus and walk her over by the ankles, Mr.Connors already had a pretty good idea of what lied ahead. Checking each child off his roster, plus accounting for all the transfers, the geology teacher collapsed into his seat next to the emergency exit and dove into a textbook.

It took much longer than anticipated, but finally, the last of the children were loaded and the roar of bus engines shook the concrete. Teachers checked and rechecked their rosters. Counted and recounted their students. Plumes of exhaust billowed into the air as the first buses rumbled into motion, pulling out into the street and driving off. The windows of each bus were plastered with children waving or making faces as they passed each other. Pretty soon there was only one left.

Few people were capable of miracles but only one person could pull off something like this at such a speed. Or at least that's what the slender woman told herself as she watched the final child board the bus she was assigned to. Following closely behind, she tapped on the dozing drivers hand to close the door, which he eventually did. "Ooookay! Everyone!" She announced. But her voice barely broke through the chatter. "Excuse me!" Again, she tried but again she failed. "EXCUSE ME!!!" In spite of her effort, most of the students seemed completely oblivious to her presence as they competed with each other for loudest talking champion. She tapped her foot impatiently and furrowed her brow until her attention shifted to that of Mr.Connors, who was buried in a volcanology book being absolutely no help at all.

The fascinating sight of erupting volcanoes were amazing works of art to behold. Even looking at pictures of them drew Mr.Connors deep into his own thoughts. If only one could withstand the molten heat he thought to himself as he imagined what the insides of a volcano looked like. The thought of it even made him feel a little warm. Hot in fact. Then he noticed it wasn't the inspiring thoughts of volcano research possibilities firing him up, but rather the intense blazing glare he was receiving from the now red faced woman staring death rays at him. 'What?' He motioned, shrugging his shoulders. 'THIS...IS...YOUR...CLASS' Mouthed the angry woman. A bead of sweat managed its way down his brow as the sound he normally drowned out finally came to his attention.

"Uh..." Mr.Connors stood up, clearing his throat. He adjusted his glasses, and brushed a tuft of scraggly hair away from his face. Taking a deep breath, it looked as if he was going to say something.
The blare of a megaphone quickly snatched the attention of the bus, while nearly rendering everyone deaf. Mr.Connors seemed unaffected. Then, finally, silence. "Sorry about that....uh....you were saying miss....miss..." "Misses Cassidy!" She barked, snatching the megaphone away from the oblivious geology teacher. The students had settled down.

Letting out a small sigh of frustration, Mrs.Cassidy, the field trip coordinator for this whole event, managed to find a smile again before passing a confidant gaze over the children. She raised the megaphone to her lips.
Her ears nearly popped on that one. It was no longer necessary anyway. She threw blasted thing into her seat. "Alright everyone...today we'll be going on a wonderful end of the semester picnic to Lake Ebott! Everyone please find your seats and try to keep the volume down! My name is Misses Cassidy as you probably heard, and I'm the one who organized this field trip so that we could all get out and get some fresh air while bonding with nature!" The expression on Mr.Connors face grew slightly pale as he realized it was THIS woman who was responsible for the whole Lake Ebott Mount Ebott confusion. "Goodness knows we could all use a break right? I know I do!" An empty chuckle escaped her lips. She continued. "Make sure you have a lunch packed with you and if anyone gets an ouchie, I have a first aid kit available. But we only have so many band-aids so please try to be careful. Stay with either me or...Mr.Connors and don't stray from the group when we arrive. Without further adieu, lets begin this great adventure! Who's with me!?" Silence... "O-okay! ...Lets just go..." Silence. "....I said we can go now!" Childish giggles escaped the students as a faint snore rose from the driver seat. Mrs.Cassidy sharply jabbed the bus driver awake in the shoulder with a bony elbow. "GO!"

Motion rocked the bus as it revved alive and rolled forward into the street and toward the intersection. Pretty soon the school was out of sight and they were on the road. Early Halloween decorations peppered the storefronts and houses as they drove through the town. Having started late, they were a bit behind. The rest of the buses were too far ahead to see. But finally they were on their way. The trip to Ebott had officially begun.




♥_{Goodbye Malcom}
♥_{You are ruler of the world! But only for seven seconds. Your classmates and teachers will remember this.}
♥_{Your question may have been the final straw. The teacher is eyeing you now. You have an idea why you were moved.}
♥_{Mr.Connors finds your enthusiasm refreshing. Your classmates find it goofy. Eyes are on you now.}
♥_{Mr.Connors noticed the protective expression on your teacher's face. You offered your seat! He will remember this.}
♥_{Your hesitation and apprehensiveness is your first impression. The spotlight is on you, but only for a moment. It looks like you might have made a friend!}
♥_{Your maturity wins you the battle. But you faintly hear your name passed around in whispers. Or maybe not.}
♥ _{You hear the doors closing behind you. You were the last one on the bus. But you somehow went unnoticed...}

@Thread Generator SIN Once Misses Cassidy was done Max's ears were ringing slightly. Max looked over in the seat next to him and saw a girl. "hello my names max what's your?" max said smiling. He always treats people he doesn't know nicely to get to know them.@Venom

Despite her headphones, Morrigan heard the deafening tone of the Megaphone. Thankfully the woman cast aside the instrument of ear destruction...Rather than listen to her stating the 'obvious' the girl decided to indulge in irony and turn up her music to the point that that any around her would likely hear it. As much as she wanted to turn off her thoughts and get lost in her remix of 4 days at Olivers soundtrack, some small person neared her.

He said something, but her music prevented any of it from being heard...She tossed him a rather uninviting stare. As much as she wants to be more unpleasant than is needed he hasn't done that much to bother her. Rather she pulls out a single ear bud and offers a cold greeting.

"No, I am clearly ready for a conversation. Do go on."

The girl crosses her legs and leans against the window, her eyes soon gazing out it instead of looking at the boy. Trying to paint a beautiful painting of just how thrilled she was that he choose her to pester.

Examining mrs. Cassidy, Mimi grinned a mocking smile, whispering to herself "She is unfit to rule, she has zero authority. It would be better for everyone if she would just submit to me." After mrs. Cassidy was done talking, the silence answering her call only reinforced Mimi's confidence in her earlier declaration.

After the silence had once more faded, the tiny empress overheard a kid introducing himself, only to get greeted back in a horrifyingly sarcastic manner. Instantly, Mimi decided she liked this person. Though the girl was acting rather disconnected, Mimi was sure that if given enough time, a beautiful partnership could spring to life between them.

William Taking a seat near the back found himself looking toward the open sky, counting clouds he mutters to himself. "Well at least we aren't going back to class today." Chuckling to himself he then looks toward the other kid sitting right next to him more in there own little world then anything else it looked like he was drawing something unknown to William "Hey whats that your drawing?" The kid jumped in surprise turned to William unknowing the fact that someone sat next to him "Well i-its uhh... its just a doodle you know... I don't really k-know what I'm doing..." The kid kept tripping over his own words it was clear that he wasn't the most outgoing kid around. "Hey kid it alright I think your art is actually really good." William responded trying to calm the kid down, after a couple seconds of silence between the two the kid looking at William finally responded with. "... Thank you." He looked back down to his art and continued his drawing while William looked back up to the clouds anticipating the drive to Lake Ebott.

"So what did you have for breakfast?" The kid sitting by Dilloh asks.

What the hell kind of question is that? He gave the person he sat beside a look of dumbfounded awe at how they could possibly be this stupidly annoying.

"Well?" They ask, furthering Dilloh's reason to feel utterly annoyed by them.

"sigh~ Fine." He finally concedes, knowing that there won't be any other source of entertainment on this ride anyway. "I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast this morning." Truth be told, the reason he didn't get a chance to eat was because his parent's arguing with each other that morning. Telling that to the person sitting next to him would have probably gotten them to shut up, but once again, that would remove his only source of entertainment. So meh...

Autumn leaves littering the edges of the street were dashed up into the air as the bus full of children rumbled down the street. Traffic was sparse but it was still relatively early, and most were either at work or school. As they made their way through the city and into more residential areas, early halloween decorations could be seen scattered about on every other home. Brilliant rays of sunlight beamed down from the late morning sun, fading every so often as the clouds occasionally roamed in the way. It hadn't been more than an hour or so since they had departed but the bus was ripe once again with the sounds of children as they talked amongst each other.

"Do you always climb on top of tall things like a crazy person?" Spoke one of a pair of older girls sitting across from the young trouble maker Mimi. One was wearing a plaid skirt and a white collar t-shirt with a ponytail while the other had on glasses, a sweater and tights. "Why did you do that? What if you fell off? Are you dumb?" Nagged the one sitting furthest as she push up her slightly oversized glasses. The one closest smiled down at Mimi and continued, ignoring her friend. "Naw...I think you're kinda funny. Mimi right?" She extended her hand toward the little girl. "I like your style Mimi. I'm Naomi. Wanna be friends?" Her expression seemed genuine, even though her friend didn't seem to agree with the idea.

Meanwhile, a couple seats ahead, four boys all joked and jostled, playfully kicking at each others ankles. One couldn't help but notice the drawing in the hands of the young boy William was speaking to. "Can I see?!" Proclaimed one of the rowdy older boys, taking the picture away from the kid before he could respond. "H-hey! Give that back!" Cried the young student as he feebly reached for his papers. "What is that?" "Looks stupid." "Is that a dinosaur?" "Let me see." They passed the doodle between each other, laughing and poking fun at it. The young boy sunk back into his seat, defeated, deciding to wait and see if they would eventually give back his picture.

Suddenly, the bus slowed to a stop in front of a subtly decorated house, pulling to the side of the road as it's engine sputtered and growled. The halt of motion rose Mrs.Cassidy's attention from her clipboard of paperwork and scheduled events. She looked ahead through the window to see no manner of traffic or obstructions in the street. Only the bus driver next to her at the front of the bus as he fiddled with the ignition and the gas pedal, in a desperate attempt to get the bus going again. "What's going on? Why aren't we moving? I know we aren't there yet." The divers eyes met with hers as he gave a very decisive shrug. She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out an annoyed sigh before the driver got the hint and stood up, opening the doors and stepping down the small stairwell. After a moment, Mrs.Cassidy, having a need to be in control of the situation, followed behind.

Mrs.Cassidy and the driver walked along to the front of the bus to check out the issue. Meanwhile inside the immobile bus, the children took the opportunity to start standing and playing around. Mr.Connors seemed like he was too invested in his volcanology book to pay any mind to the kids or the fact the bus had stopped. Instead he sat contented by himself, mumbling geological facts under his breath. "What's going on?" Asked a female student, tugging at the oblivious teacher's sleeve. He didn't even lift his eyes from the pages as he responded. "We're going to lake Ebott...Take a seat...we'll be there soon." Unsatisfied with the less than informative answer, she walked to the front of the bus and peered out the open doors.

"So what's the issue here? We're already behind schedule!" Asked the ever impatient Mrs.Cassidy to the bus driver as he hunched over into the engine. She tried not to let the sight of his exposed lower backside meet her vision. But before she could manage any further complaints, the engine roared back to life, taking her slightly by surprise. The hood cover slammed and the slightly oily driver dusted his hands together, giving miss Cassidy a brief thumbs up before shuffling back onto the bus and into his seat. Looking down at her watch, Mrs.Cassidy once again followed close behind. "I can't believe I'm the trip coordinator and I'm going to be the last one there. Isn't there anyway you can make this thing go faster?" The divers looked up at her and after a moment shrugged conclusively. But then he thought of something. After some rummaging around in the bag next to his seat, he procured a rather wrinkled and slightly worn topographical map. Searching around for a moment, he found and pointed a specific spot. "A shortcut?" Asked miss Cassidy, somewhat skeptical. She was answered with a decisive nod. Sighing once again, she reluctantly grabbed the map from his still slightly oily hands and looked closer at the shortcut he was referring to. "This seems kind of off the beat and path...are you sure it'll make up the time?" .....he shrugged. "Wow! you are the most helpful person I have ever met!" Concluded Mrs.Cassidy in a satirical tone as she shook her head and returned to her seat.



As they approached the city limits, the road began to curve and narrow, winding through patches of forests and farms. Before long, civilization was in the distance behind them and the bus was on an incline as the road carried it up into the foothills around the base of the mountains. Through the window, the could see the massive mountain peaking into the sky just to the side of them, and for the first time the entire trip, Mr.Connors looked up from the book, his eyes gazing out over his glasses in awe at the massive geological beast. "Do you see that guys? That, my friends, is the legendary Mount Ebott! The place I THOUGHT we were going." The tail of his sentence seemed aimed at the field trip coordinator but his comment went otherwise unnoticed by her. He went on, his enthusiasm for the sight outweighing his disappointment that they weren't going. "Did you guys know that Mount Ebott is actually a dormant volcano? Volcanoes are classified as active, dormant or extinct depending on the amount of volcanic activity happening. 'Active' means there's regular activity, 'dormant' means there's been recent activity but that it's currently quiet and 'extinct', meaning it's been so long since the last eruption that it's unlikely to ever erupt again. Scientist don't yet know if th..." Mr.Connors went on, bolstering on about volcano facts and geological nonsense.




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Bursting out in laughter at being called dumb, Mimi took a moment to recover. 'Dumb'. Clearly, this simpleton couldn't understand her greatness. Momentarily ignoring the nagging girl and turning to Naomi, Mimi smiled back. "Thanks, Nana! Glad to see one of you understands greatness. So yeah, let's get along!" Sticking out her tongue at the nagging girl, Mimi decided she'd clear up a misunderstanding the nagging girl seemed to have. "You think I would fall off? Why would you think such a thing? Falling is for the weak! Actually, why do you think in such a manner to begin with? You'll never reach greatness with a mindset like that! It seems that I will have to teach you how to be amazing. So we'll be friends now, too."

Practically beaming with a confident, yet slightly hopeful smile, Mimi looked at the two girls. Nothing but good times ahead of them for sure.

^{Going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship blinding yellow hulk of a school bus!}
Lucia wasn't bothered by the girl's silence. She'd probably just come off as a little intimidating without meaning to was all. Instead of trying to do something to help, which may have just made it worse, she chatted with the students around her as the bus drove along. A lot of the older students near her hadn't seemed willing to talk to her at first, but after a few minutes she found a topic that they all opened up on: TV shows.

So it turns out that big kids do still like the 'little kid' shows that they 'used to' watch. They just don't admit it very often. The group she was talking to was in the middle of a heated debate over what the best episode of Spongebob Squarepants was when the bus stopped suddenly. In the slight chaos that event caused, the kids got up and moved around, Lucia among them. Well, she didn't really walk around at all, but ever since seeing the stunt that one girl had pulled before getting on the bus, and then Lucia realizing that girl was on the same bus as she was, she had an Idea in her mind that she could finally act on.

So, now she was standing on top of the back of her seat, one of her hands pressed to the ceiling of the bus to help her keep her balance. Her eyes found the person she was looking for only a few seats behind her, the girl was laughing as she talked to a few older kids and Lucia was able to overhear that her name was Mimi, though she couldn't make out much else of the conversation. Alright, time to do this.

"Your attention please!" She started, smiling broadly at anyone who actually turned to look before repeating herself, louder this time. "Your attention please! I am Lucia, and from this point forward I am the self-proclaimed Lieutenant to our rightful leader, Mimi." At this she carefully took her hand off the ceiling and bowed towards the girl, a bright smile on her face. "So, let's all be friends ok? That is all."

She stepped off of the chair and sat back down just as the bus started moving again. As they got out of the city she watched the land change into the beautiful sight of a mountain towering above the trees of the forest around them. Mt. Ebott, as Mr. Connors started explaining to the group that the mountain was actually a volcano. Too bad we're going to the lake today. I bet it'd be really fun to climb to the top of that... and the view from up there must be amazing!

@Ryougu

@Venom
"oh sorry I didn't mean to bother you I just wanted to talk with someone" max said as he turned around and watched as blurred buildings passed and signs of speed limits and turns. Eventually green trees would pass.
@Thread Generator SIN when the bus slowed to a stop max looked over the brown seats to see what was gong on. Hearing what Miss Cassidy said to the bus driver Max thought to himself 'well this will take longer then I thought". Max looked over to the apparently sleeping volcano. 'wow" max thought as he looked up and down it seeing the green trees and grass all the way to the top.