Another Green Day Story, chapter 1
Claudia stared at her reflection in the dark window glass as the bus squealed around a corner and headed up North Road. Dark houses and trees rushed past in the night. She examined her face in the window, her round, black eyes catching a sparkle from a streetlight and reflecting it back. She liked the way she looked in the glass, so smooth, so cool, so calm.
The bus slowed for a stop sign. What was that animal darting thorugh the hedges? Was it a deer. No. Just a rock. Don't start seeing things, Claudia, she told herself, laughing at her vivid imagination. She was always trying to make the world more interesting than it was.
"Hey --- I don't think you've heard a word I'm saying!" Adrienne's voice broke into her thoughts.
Claudia turned quickly from the window and smiled guiltily at her friend beside her on the bus. Adrienne had been talking nonstop, mostly about boys, as usual, and Claudia, lost in her own thoughts, had practically forgotten she was there. "Sorry. Guess I'm just nervous. It was nice of you to ride partway with me."
"I know," Adrienne said. "So what are you nervous about? It isn't like you haven't baby-sat before."
"I don't know. I guess it's just new people, a strange house, a strange neighborhood. There's a lot I could worry about if I really put my mind to it." That was supposed to be a joke, but Adrienne didn't laugh. They'd been friends so long, they didn't have to laugh at each other's jokes.
Claudia glanced at her watch. It was already 7:10. She didn't want to be late on her first night. The bus hit a deep pothole, and both girls nearly bounced off the plastic bus seat. Claudia leaned forward to retrieve her book bag, which had tumbled onto the floor.
"Maybe the kid's a monster," Claudia sais, somehow feeling that she had to justify her nervousness. "Maybe the parents are weird. Maybe they belong to some sort or secret cult and when I find out about it , they keep me locked up in the basement for the rest of my life so I can't tell anyone. Maybe the house is haunted. There's the ghost of a young girl trapped in the attic, and I accidentally let her out, and she inhabits my body and I'm not the same person anymore."
"Possible. Very possible," Adrienne said thoughtfully. She was used to Claudia's wild imagination. She didn't even bother being sarcastic about it anymore. What was the point? Ther was no way to stop Claudia from dreaming up the crazy things she did.
The bus slowed for a stop sign. What was that animal darting thorugh the hedges? Was it a deer. No. Just a rock. Don't start seeing things, Claudia, she told herself, laughing at her vivid imagination. She was always trying to make the world more interesting than it was.
"Hey --- I don't think you've heard a word I'm saying!" Adrienne's voice broke into her thoughts.
Claudia turned quickly from the window and smiled guiltily at her friend beside her on the bus. Adrienne had been talking nonstop, mostly about boys, as usual, and Claudia, lost in her own thoughts, had practically forgotten she was there. "Sorry. Guess I'm just nervous. It was nice of you to ride partway with me."
"I know," Adrienne said. "So what are you nervous about? It isn't like you haven't baby-sat before."
"I don't know. I guess it's just new people, a strange house, a strange neighborhood. There's a lot I could worry about if I really put my mind to it." That was supposed to be a joke, but Adrienne didn't laugh. They'd been friends so long, they didn't have to laugh at each other's jokes.
Claudia glanced at her watch. It was already 7:10. She didn't want to be late on her first night. The bus hit a deep pothole, and both girls nearly bounced off the plastic bus seat. Claudia leaned forward to retrieve her book bag, which had tumbled onto the floor.
"Maybe the kid's a monster," Claudia sais, somehow feeling that she had to justify her nervousness. "Maybe the parents are weird. Maybe they belong to some sort or secret cult and when I find out about it , they keep me locked up in the basement for the rest of my life so I can't tell anyone. Maybe the house is haunted. There's the ghost of a young girl trapped in the attic, and I accidentally let her out, and she inhabits my body and I'm not the same person anymore."
"Possible. Very possible," Adrienne said thoughtfully. She was used to Claudia's wild imagination. She didn't even bother being sarcastic about it anymore. What was the point? Ther was no way to stop Claudia from dreaming up the crazy things she did.
