Missing

Chapter 1

The streets was filled with strangers, some glancing slightly at me, and some just walking right past me. I never really payed attention to people walking by the bus station that much, but I would wonder where all those people were going. They always seem to walk the same direction, at least I think they do, and have no care to their surroundings whatsoever. After me and Emily stopped being friends, things were much different. She used to wait with me by the bus stop, then walk home by herself after my bus arrives, but now she walks straight home, not bothering to even say goodbye. Those old days were the ones I most cherished, when my best friend was still right beside me, and my older brother was still alive. Ever since Toby went missing in that school excursion, everything started to become duller. Buildings were grey, sewers half dented and litter scattered everywhere.

But I don’t always see my town looking like this. When Toby was still alive, and Emily was still my best friend, the town used to be full of colour. Whenever I walked down the same street where I am just now, I felt happier than ever. Trees used to grow on the side walks, the buildings looked cozy, the air was still fresh and strangers don’t seem as strange anymore. When Emily has singing lessons after school, Toby was the one who used to walk me down to the bus stop. Whenever we wait for the bus, he’ll always take out his notebook and draw a picture of us at the bus stop, and I always laugh when he forgets to draw himself in the picture. I thought it would stay like that forever, just me and my big brother, having fun, though I knew that would never happen.

After Toby’s death, I haven’t talked much in class, nor even talked to anyone, just drowned in my own sad thoughts and feelings. That day was when Emily decided that it would be best for us to seperate. Days after that, I felt like everything was slipping away. My dad ran away one night, then my grades went down rapidly from that day. My bus always came late and not even the woman who walks her dog past the bus stop everyday passed by, and when she does, she never said hello to me like she used to. Here I am now, still waiting at the bus stop, soaking wet from the heavy rain and muddy from falling over at school. With my skin still stained with blood and my body still trembling from the cold, I opened my bag and pulled out the notebook Toby used to draw on.

I flicked through the pages, examining every picture there was that he drew of us at the bus stop. One picture had us sitting by the bus stop, with me holding a piece of artwork to show Toby and I could tell he forgotten to draw himself and decided to draw it over the seat, giving him the look that he is transparent. I looked at another one and saw that he drew us with Emily, me just talking to her and Toby, again forgetting to draw himself, decided not to draw it over, but to stick a picture of himself on it. I loved that picture the most because when they came back home, he coloured it with watercolours so the picture looked realistic. I looked at it for awhile, wondering if I could just pull Toby out of the picture, but a single drop of rain fell on the piece of paper and smudged a bit of the paint.

Suddenly, I heard a sound from ahead and looked around to find the bus coming straight towards me. I stepped forward and waved at the bus, which halted right in front of me. As soon as the door opened, I realised that the man on the driver’s seat wasn’t the driver who drove the bus yesterday, but I shrugged it off and went inside. I flopped down onto the nearest seat and took off my jumper, noticing that nobody was on the bus except for me, the driver and a skinny woman who sat across me. She had blood red lips, a black blazer, gingery-red hair and white high heels which makes her look taller in a comforting way.
“Wear your seatbelt, sweety.” She whispered to me, pointing towards my seatbelt. I nodded at her with respect, then reached out to put my seatbelt on.

“Where are you going, sweety?” The woman asked with a curious look.
“Rosepetal street.” I murmured hoarsely, placing my bag on my lap and hugging it tight.
“That’s pretty far. I’m going off at the next stop so will you be ok alone?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine.”
The woman sighed, then grinned at me in a friendly way.
“Alright then.” She smiled, then got up to dismount the bus. This time, I’m all alone. No one to talk to, no one to laugh with, and no one to comfort me at these difficult times. I watched as the bus flash the streets of the small town, occasionally seeing people walking on the sidewalks. It’s been a long time since I could see the beauty the city really had, and I wonder if I could see that old town again. Suddenly, the bus stopped.
“Jelston road, last stop.” The driver called. I shuddered. I looked out the window once again and realised something… I was on the wrong bus!