Saturday, September 13, 2008
The Blank Crossword Puzzle
I stole a quick glance at my watch. 2:55pm. Time to go. I shifted the bus into gear and lugged the doors shut. The rain fell softly on the windshield in front of me and as I waited for the line of buses before me to pull out, I heard a faint, hollow knock on the hard glass. I opened the doors, and as if an afterthought I turned to watch the student enter. I was surprised that I didn’t recognize the girl that stood below me on the pavement, as this was the fifth week of school, even if it was a freshman. As she climbed the tall steps into the bus her converse clad feet seemed to barely reach. Her face was pale and spattered with tan freckles, giving the impression that someone had kicked sand into her face. The acne that usually staked out a claim on most freshmen’s faces had not been interested in this pretty plot of skin. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, but her bangs were wet and stringy, hanging over her face. Underneath this rope curtain of hair I tried to catch her eye, but she kept them permanently fixed to the ground, watching each step she took. Her mouth remained glued shut and I couldn’t even hear her wet feet squeak on the slippery floor like everyone else. As far as I knew, if I hadn’t turned to watch this girl enter the bus, I wouldn’t even know that she was there. Her tall rainbow colored socks pulled my eyes away from her face and made her skinny legs look like candy-canes. The bright splatter of color on her legs clashed with her brown skirt and purple checked sweatshirt, which together made a motley combination, but one that looked at home hugging her body. Slung over her shoulder and swinging back and forth, was a book bag with empty crossword puzzle print. Her small hands remained deep in the confines of her sweatshirt's front pocket. She walked with her head down through the middle aisle of the bus, moving like a drop of rain, passing through the groups of people, quick and clear. The laughter of the other freshman continued around her. I waited for someone to call out her name, so she could go sit with a friend. I waited for someone to wave to her, to beckon her, to call forth a smile. Nothing. About halfway back into the bus, she slid into a seat and disappeared. The bus in front of me finally pulled forward and as I eased my foot off of the break I looked into the rear view mirror. Half way back into the bus I saw an empty seat.
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5 comments:
=] I like how you wrote your paper in the point of view of a bus driver. It's really different from the other posts, and it's really creative. Most people would talk about freshman being really annoying but you talk about a girl who is the quieter and shy type. I really like the ending too!
Wow! I really liked your paper, it was really creative and different from everyone elses. It was really cool how you wrote from the perspective of a bus driver. And instead of you talking about how annoying half of the freshmen are, you took a different direction and wrote about the other half.
Once again, a post that was so creative, what's new? Writing from the perspective of the bus driver gave the post a whole different feel from the others.
Wow. You should write novels. I feel like this was a passage pulled write out of a classic. I always like the personas you take on, too. You're so right about freshmen, too. AMAZING
not to repeat what i'm sure everyone else already said, but that was a nice touch, writing as the bus driver. I like the title too, I think it really speaks to how freshman feel. Your use of detail was amazing. I could really see her in my head while I was writing. I liked how you described her feet as "barely reaching" overall, i'm very impressed.
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