The School Bus
by Nancy
F. Thysell
(the Nifty Lady)
It was a typical fall morning in Southern California. The air was cool and the sky was hazy with smog. John Gage looked up at the encroaching daylight and checked his watch. He was due at his partner’s house in fifteen minutes. He and Roy DeSoto had been partnered for the past eight years as Los Angeles County Firefighter/Paramedics. This morning would take them north of LA County to a take part in a community awareness program to promote the paramedic arm of emergency services.
He knocked on the DeSoto’s front door. Roy’s wife, JoAnne, answered the knock and waved him in.
"Hi, Johnny. Roy’s running late. Jennifer tied up one bathroom and Chris the other. Honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do with those two. Coffee?" she said as she headed for the kitchen. Johnny followed her into the kitchen and sat down at the table that was still cluttered with breakfast dishes. She poured Johnny a mug of coffee and handed it to him, then turned back to the counter to finish fixing the kids’ lunches.
"Thanks," Johnny murmured, a smile crossing his face. JoAnne definitely knew how to make great coffee. A few moments later, ten year old Jennifer dashed into the room. She threw her arms around Johnny’s neck and gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Hi Uncle Johnny!" she squealed.
"Hi beautiful! What’s up?" he asked as she searched for something under the table.
She popped her head up while still trying to reach for something. "The bus is gonna be here in a few minutes. I can’t find my homework!" she explained and dived beneath the table again. Johnny could hear the rustling of papers and watched as Jennifer resurfaced again. "Got ‘em!" she beamed triumphantly. Quickly she stuffed them into her backpack.
"Bye Mom! Bye Uncle Johnny!" she called as she headed for the front door.
"Whoa!" JoAnne yelled and followed after her daughter with a lunch sack. "Don’t forget this!"
"Oh, yeah, thanks, Mom. Bye!" With that she was out the door. JoAnne watched her daughter run to the curb and join the other children who were all waiting for the school bus. In a moment it arrived and once Jennifer boarded, JoAnne could turn her attention to getting her twelve-year-old off to school.
"Chris!" she yelled. "Move it! Your bus will be here in a couple of minutes."
Chris yelled something back but Johnny couldn’t make out what it was. He just chuckled, glad he didn’t have to face this ritual every day. The sound of doors opening and people bumping in the hallway, told Johnny that both Roy and Chris must be headed downstairs.
Chris dashed into the kitchen and swiped the lunch sack from the counter, readjusted his Angel’s baseball cap and said hello to Johnny as he stuffed a Poptart in his mouth.
"M’rn’ng."
"How ya doin,’ Sport?" Johnny greeted. Chris smiled through the mouthful and swallowed.
"Good!" he answered and grabbed his books from the back of the table. Chris was looking more like his Dad every day, especially when he smiled.
"Chris! The bus is here," JoAnne called.
"Coming! See ya Uncle Johnny!" He gave Johnny a quick grin and dashed out the door, yelling ‘Bye’ to his Dad as he ran for the bus. Roy passed through the living room to the kitchen with a weary look on his face. JoAnne just laughed at him as she followed him.
"Coffee. I need coffee," he moaned. He sat down at the table beside Johnny as JoAnne poured him a cup. "Hey Johnny. Whew! You ready for this!"
"What? You mean the chaos around here?" Johnny chuckled.
Roy shot him a sour look and sipped the hot beverage.
"No! I mean the presentation today!" He looked at Johnny over the rim of his cup.
"Piece of cake," Johnny responded confidently. He polished off his cup. "You ready to go?"
Roy nodded, downing the rest of his coffee.
"Aren’t you forgetting something?"
Roy stared at Johnny a moment. "What?!"
Johnny tapped the badge on his uniform shirt. Roy blinked and felt his own shirt with both hands. He had forgotten to put on his badges and pins.
"Damn," he muttered under his breath just as JoAnne materialized at his side with his name tag and badge.
"Here, honey," she smiled sweetly as she handed them to him. He gave her a bewildered look as if to say, ‘How does she do that?’
"Thanks, baby," he said gratefully as he attached them to his shirt. "Well, we’d better hit the road. I’ll try to call you before we head back."
"Please do, you know how I worry. Especially when you’re with Johnny," she joked.
"Hey! Hey! I’m not that accident prone!" Johnny complained. Roy and JoAnne just exchanged a knowing look. "What!?"
"Nothing, Junior." Roy gave JoAnne a lingering goodbye kiss as Johnny headed out the door.
"Get a room!" Johnny teased. "Bye, JoAnne. See ya later."
JoAnne chuckled and walked Roy to the door. "Bye Johnny. Bye honey. You be careful out there," she admonished.
"We will. I promise." Roy smiled and gave her another kiss on the cheek and followed Johnny to the Land Rover. He set his materials in the back and got in the passenger seat. It felt odd not to be the driver. They pulled out of the driveway and headed north.
###
After what felt like an hour of an adult game of bumper cars, Johnny finally took a breath as traffic began to thin out on the Ventura Freeway and they left Los Angeles County in the rearview mirror. He figured that would take them about two hours to reach their destination. Their meeting was scheduled for eleven. If all went well they would have time to get settled before it began.
If it hadn’t been for a flat tire, they would have been on time. By the time they found the headquarters building it was 10:57. Roy was opening the door before Johnny applied the brake.
"Come on, Johnny! We’re late!" Roy urged as he grabbed some of their equipment.
"I know. I know! Just let me grab this stuff." He looked up at the building. "Any idea where we’re supposed to go?"
"The letter said the conference room. Maybe there’s only one," Roy suggested hopefully. They hurried into the building. The receptionist greeted them with a warm smile as they flew through the door.
"May I help you gentlemen?" she asked politely.
"Yeah, we’re here for the Review Committee on Public Safety," Roy told her.
"Of course, you’re expected in Conference Room 101. That’s down this corridor, third door on the right," she directed with her hand. Johnny smiled charmingly at her as Roy headed down the hall.
"Thank you. Come on, Partner!" Roy hated being late. They reached the room and pushed the door open. The room was filled with county and city personnel. They had convened to discuss the pros and cons of implementing their own paramedic program. Roy and Johnny would be addressing any concerns and questions they might have. Roy made his way to the front of the room and shook hands with the chairman, apologizing for their lateness. Introductions were made and the meeting began.
###
Both Roy and Johnny felt it had been a productive meeting when it concluded at 2:30. Their presentation of the paramedic program had left a favorable impression and definite plans were in place to put an initiative on the next ballot. Johnny grinned at Roy as they replaced their equipment and materials in the back of the Land Rover.
"Makes you feel good, doesn’t it," he commented to Roy as he backed out of his parking space.
"Yeah, it does," Roy agreed. As they pulled onto the side street, they noticed a number of children crowding the sidewalks. They were laughing, talking, as they were making their way home from school. Traffic was bogged down with numerous cars and school buses.
"Well, I guess school is out," Johnny noted, glumly.
"No kidding. I guess we’re going to be stuck in this until we hit the freeway," Roy commented.
Johnny nodded miserably.
"Wasn’t there a drive-in place on the other side of that bridge up there?" Roy asked.
Johnny thought a moment. "I think so. Why?"
"Well, I don’t know about you -- but the food they served at the meeting didn’t fill me up. How about we stop and get a bite to eat? I can call JoAnne and by the time we’re finished, the school kids should be gone."
Johnny smiled at the thought of food and eagerly agreed. If only the traffic would move a little and they could get to the other side of the bridge.
From their vantagepoint in the line of traffic they could only see the rear of the big yellow bus directly in front of them and crowds of elementary aged children on the sidewalks. A small girl sitting in the last seat turned and smiled at the two paramedics and shyly waved. Johnny returned her smile and wiggled his fingers at her. She disappeared beneath the window in a fit of giggles. A moment later, a friend joined her, and she whispered something in her friend’s ear. They both waved at Johnny and when he again returned the wave, they dissolved in a pile of giggles. Roy couldn’t help but smile at this exchange. Johnny and his women! Didn’t seem to matter what the age, the Gage charm always seemed to work.
Johnny glanced over at Roy and saw the bemused look on his face and just rolled his eyes. "Hey, Roy, make yourself useful," Johnny suggested.
"And do what?"
"See if you can tell how far we are from that bridge."
"Sure thing, Pally." Roy craned his head out the open car window and peered around the right side of the bus. "Looks like we’re almost there." He started to pull back inside the Rover when something else caught his eye and he took a second look. Two young boys on bicycles were riding against the tide of children on the narrow sidewalk of the bridge. Roy felt the hairs prick up on the back of his neck. In horror he watched the unthinkable. The two boys, in their attempt to stay on the outside of the sidewalk and yet not be in the street, had gotten aggressive in pedaling their way past the walking children. The boy in front slowed and the boy in the rear couldn’t stop. The bicycle wheels locked and the momentum threw the boy on the front bike to his right and the other boy to the left. Unfortunately, as the first boy fell, he landed under the middle of the passing school bus.
Color drained from his face as Roy screamed, "Omigod! Stop, Johnny!" Confused, Johnny slammed on his brakes as he watched the school bus "bump" over something on its right. Suddenly there arose a chorus of shrill shrieks and screams from the children on the sidewalk as they recoiled in horror. The bus came to a stop about ten feet further on the bridge. Roy threw himself from the car and ran towards the boy. The children on the sidewalk were crying, looking around in confusion in fear. Johnny was out of the driver’s side, as he suddenly comprehended what had just happened. He saw Roy kneel down beside the crushed body of the young boy and begin to shakily take his vitals. Johnny hesitated on a split second before waving an oncoming car down. The driver’s eyes were glued on the tragic scene. He ran to their window.
"Can you call the fire department?" he asked urgently.
"Wha...?" The woman turned confused eyes at the man in a blue uniform before her. Johnny realized that they probably didn’t call the fire department here for the kind of help they need.
"I mean the police. An ambulance! Anybody! That boys needs immediate medical help!" He yelled at her.
"Yes... yes. I’ll go find a phone," she promised and drove off. Johnny ran back to the car and pulled out the trauma box that they had brought with them that day and hurried over to Roy. He handed Roy the BP cuff. Roy’s eyes told him more than words could. Even an untrained eye could determine the terrible damage done from the rear wheels of the bus. The boy lay on the pavement so still, barely breathing, his limbs distorted unnaturally. Johnny reached down and tenderly brushed a lock of the boy’s dark hair from his forehead.
Roy’s hands shook as he removed the BP cuff and tears filled his eyes. He rested his elbow on his knee and wiped his hand across his eyes. The empty feeling of helplessness washed over him. In his heart, he knew that even if they had all their equipment and were permitted to treat the boy, his chances weren’t good.
From somewhere behind Roy, a woman screamed. "No! No! Nooooooo!" She wailed. Johnny looked up and over and saw the pale face of a woman he assumed to be the bus driver. He rushed to her side as her knees buckled and eased her to the ground. She sobbed and cried into his chest as he tried to soothe her. Johnny could hear sirens approaching. He watched Roy continue to check the boy’s vitals.
A police car screeched to a halt beside the Land Rover, red lights flashing and came to a stop. The officer jumped out and ran around the front of the vehicle and over to Roy.
"What happened?" he asked Roy. Roy looked up at him with sad blue eyes.
"The bus ran over him," he whispered softly.
"Is he alive?"
"Barely."
The officer noticed the BP cuff and stethoscope in Roy’s hands.
"You a doctor or something?" he asked. Roy followed his gaze and shook his head.
"No. I’m Roy DeSoto. My partner and I," he nodded his head towards Johnny, "are firefighter paramedics for Los Angeles County."
The officer nodded in acknowledgment. That explained their uniforms. "I’ve already radioed for an ambulance. Is the anything else I can do?"
"You have anything like a blanket in your car?"
"Sure thing. Be right back."
While he waited, Roy gazed around at the growing crowd of people. The shock of the accident was reflected in every face he saw. Some stood silently, just staring. Others let tears spill down their cheeks unstopped. The macabre curiosity of most of them chilled Roy to the bone. The officer returned with the blanket and they carefully placed around the boy’s still form. Roy checked his respiration again. He knew he was losing him and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. He pulled his hand into a fist and pounded his knee in frustration.
Suddenly with a piercing scream, a woman pushed through the crowd. "Andy?" she yelled. "Oh, God, don’t let it be him!" She ran over to the boy and tried to gather him in her arms. The officer and Roy restrained her. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she fell to her knees on the pavement.
"Andy? Baby? It’s Mommy. I’m here. Don’t leave me! Oh, please don’t leave me! Oh, God don’t take him from me!" She sobbed uncontrollably. Roy turned his head to afford the woman a slight measure of privacy. He watched as Johnny tried to comfort the distraught bus driver. He knew that Johnny would keep her from going into shock. Then he noticed the still faces of the little girls staring at the scene from the back of the bus. What a terrible thing for them to witness, he thought sadly.
More police arrived and began controlling the traffic and the crowds. The ambulance arrived and the attendants brought out the gurney. Roy asked them for a backboard even though he felt it would make no difference. It was during this delay that the mother rose to her feet. She looked down at her son and then surveyed the scene. Two bicycles were abandoned on the sidewalk. The bus was just a few feet away. Her hand flew to her throat and she choked on her sobs. Her gaze fell on the man in a uniform aiding the bus driver. She knew the bus driver because they both worked for the school system. It suddenly registered in her mind the horror of the whole scene. In a blind rage of grief and anguish, she rushed against the bus driver.
Her arms flailed out in a weak attempt to strike out at the person who had harmed her child. Johnny intercepted her and restrained her from injuring the driver or herself until police officers could take over. They led her back over to the stretcher. She sobbed uncontrollably as they placed Andy in the back of the ambulance. Johnny watched as Roy climbed in with him. He shook his head slightly at Johnny just before the door was closed. Johnny understood the grim look on his partner’s face. The officer guided the mother to the front of the ambulance and they sped off with lights and sirens screaming.
The officer began taking statements. The bus driver was on the verge of collapse and Johnny recommended that a physician check her out. Then he got directions to the hospital and left the scene as soon as he could.
###
It wasn’t far to the hospital. He found the Emergency entrance and parked his car and headed for the doors. Inside he found Roy on the pay phone. He tapped him on the shoulder to let him know he was there. Roy nodded back at him. He saw a coffee machine across the room and headed over to get a cup. He knew that Roy was talking to JoAnne. He dropped coins in the slot and made his selection. The cup fell into place and began to fill with the dark, hot liquid. He took a cautious sip. It was very hot and bitter. He looked around for some sugar. Normally he would have taken it black but this brew needed help. But he didn’t find any. He watched Roy hang the receiver back in its cradle.
"Hey, Johnny," he said quietly. "I just called JoAnne."
Johnny nodded. He didn’t want to ask but he needed to know, "How’s the boy?"
Roy avoided making eye contact with his partner. Tears welled in his eyes. "His name was Andy. He didn’t make it. He was gone before we got here."
Johnny released a ragged sigh. There really wasn’t anything to say. He knew how rough that must have been for Roy. Helplessly watching as the boy slipped away, unable to do anything, not even being able to ease the pain.
"How’s the mother?"
Roy shook his head. "Not good. She’s really taking it hard. How’s the bus driver?"
"She’s pretty shook up as well. I understand that they’re all friends."
"What happened to the other boy?"
Johnny shrugged. "Dunno. Probably ran home scared to death. I’m sure they’ll find him. He’s probably going to need some counseling. Hell, they all will. What a nightmare!"
They moved over and sat down the hard plastic chairs. Johnny finished off the last of his coffee and contemplated the cup.
"He was about Chris’ age, you know?" Roy stated sadly. "So young. So terribly young."
"Hmm-hmm. Roy, uh, do you think it would have made a difference if we could have actually treated him?"
Roy shook his head. "No, the doctor here said that the internal injuries were too massive."
"That’s too bad. He looked like a nice kid." Johnny slouched back in his seat. Damn, these chairs were uncomfortable. "Well, you ready head out?"
"Not yet. The police still want to get a statement from me. They said I could stop by the station."
"Then let’s go partner." Johnny stood up slowly and headed for the door. Roy followed him out.
"Yeah. I want to get home to my family," Roy admitted wearily. Johnny put a comforting arm around his partner’s shoulders.
"You and me both, Pally. You and me both!"
#########
Author’s note: This is a fictional account of an actual event from my childhood. "Andy" was my classmate and I still think about him from time to time. I can still see him lying on the pavement of the bridge. So, I dedicate this story to his memory.
I love getting feedback from you! Please let me know what you think about my stories. Thanks, Nancy
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