Chapter Twenty-Six - Joy Korejwo

           The fact that Jim and Sara had been mildly groping each other throughout the end of the ride had almost gone unnoticed had it not been for the curious eyes of the two children. Being of the same age, they found a common ground in curiosity. In the midst of their passion, Sara looked up to see Kevin and Bridget staring at Jim as he slid his hand up her shirt. The children giggled and ran back to their guardians. Jim didn’t seem to care since he kept sucking on her neck and moving in closer. Sara, having more modesty, suggested they continue their act at the next rest stop bathroom. He rolled back to his own side and lit a cigarette. She assumed this was an agreement and tucked her shirt back in.
           Tom sat in the front seat grilling the bus driver on his lack of military knowledge. It was quite ridiculous to him to find a man near his own age who had no opinion on those damn VC.
           “Did you AWOL boy or were you just too scared to even go?”
           “I really need to concentrate on the road.”
           “I bet you ran to Canada with the rest of the chicken shits.”
           “We’re going to be stopping soon, you might want to get your things together.”
           “It’s guys like you that make the rest of us look bad,” Tom wiped some spit from his chin.
           “I think you should return to your seat now.”
           “Don’t you wanna know why you’re a chicken shit?”
           “Not really.”
           Tom went back to his seat mumbling something under his breath. He glanced at several of the girls on the bus, “Damn hippies; main reason we lost so much support.” He slid over to the window and gazed out at the road, wondering how long it would have taken to walk from California to Canada.
           The two girls in the back were drawing on each other with a felt tip marker. They drew words that looked like Sanskrit but were actually a creation of heavy drugs.
           “I want to shave my eyebrows off and write ‘Manson’s Angel’,” Carrigan said with a smile. Her eyes were glazed over with a fuzzy screen of reds. Sadie stared at her chest.
           “I wonder if the Beach Boys like big tits?”
           “Probably, that’s how California chicks look.”
           Kevin and Bridget were using crayons to write on themselves until they were discovered. Luckily, they were washable.
                                         *           *            *            *
           The bus came to a halt at a bus stop that read, “San Francisco, the Other Big City.” The passengers slowly gathered their things and uniformly stepped off the bus. For many of them, this was the last stop. For others, it was time to switch buses. Sadie and Carrigan remained on the bus, not realizing that it had come to a stop, since they still felt like they were spinning. Jim and Sara sauntered over to the men’s bathroom with Kevin a few feet behind. Just before entering the can Jim swirled around and bent down so that he was face to face with Kevin.
           “You ready to step into the other side little man?”
           “ I just wanna pee.”
           “Then go around behind the building, this room is occupied,” and with that he slammed the door on Kevin, who decided to wait since he had never peed in public before.
           The stench from the urinals would have made anyone sick. There were no doors on the stalls that you want to be near them. Sara took an extra shirt from her bag and covered the sink with it. She hoisted her legs around Jim and leaned against the mirror. It wasn’t the most romantic encounter she had ever had, but at least she’d have a story to tell.
           “Are you on the pill?” She had never been asked that before and felt a relief in the thought that he was concerned.
           “No, I’ve always used the rhythm method. I’m OK right now.”
           “I’ll try and pull out if I can,” he grunted as he took off his belt. “Don’t worry, I’ve done it before.”
           Meanwhile Kevin had begun to squirm. He could feel his bladder pulsing and had to hold himself to keep from having an accident. Vicky came over to see what the problem was.
           “Why are you holding yourself?”
           “Cause I gotta pee.”
           “Then go.”
           “I can’t, it’s octupied.”
           “We’ll see about that.” She banged on the door and shouted, “If you could speed things up or move to a different bathroom, the rest of the world could use the toilet. Come on, we’ll use the ladies room.”
           “But I’m a boy, I gotta use this one.”
           “You’re going to wet yourself.”
           “I can hold it,” his face was scrunched up in anguish, but he wouldn’t budge.
           “Fine, have an accident, but I’m not gonna change you.” She walked back to where her suitcase was and in the corner of her eye she could see Kevin sticking out his tongue at her.
           Inside the bathroom, things weren’t going so well.
           “What’s the matter?”
           “There’re too many distractions.”
           “Can I help?”
           “No, I’ll get it, just give me a minute.” She had given him several already.
           Kevin tried to distract himself from the pain welling up inside him. He rummaged through his pocket and found a small firecracker they had picked up along the way. He had stolen some matches from another rest stop and decided now was a good time to use it. Maybe they’d get scared and come out of the bathroom before it was too late. He lit the fuse and threw it on the ground waiting for it to explode. He’d never lit one before and his eyes were wide with anticipation. Then it popped; and nothing could stop what would happen next.
           The firecracker sounded like a gunshot and rang out through the air. Some of the passengers jumped, while others seemed not to notice, but Tom was walking towards the john when it happened and to him, it wasn’t just a noise. His mind seemed to short circuit and he dropped to the ground. He found himself back in Vietnam under heavy fire as the VC surrounded him. His eyes were wide, scanning the area for signs of the enemy. Near by Kevin watched the grown man crawl around in the dirt. He covered his mouth to stifle a giggle. Tom was slowly heading for the bus, convinced that it was his foxhole.
           “If I can just reach the hole, I can all in an air strike and make it out.” His mind was racing; his thoughts seem to fall on top of each other. Vicky was standing next to the bus driver when it happened.
           “Charlie, what is he doing?”
           “I don’t know, but I am not finding out.”
           To Tom, the voices were muddled, but what he did hear was ‘Charlie’ and he snapped. He jumped off the ground and plunged at the bus driver. Beneath his thick army jacket he had concealed a hunting knife, just in case. He flashed the dagger up into the air and let it come down on Charlie’s chest. “Die you gook!” He screamed as Charlie let out a horrifying shriek. It was at this point that Jim and Sara came running out of the bathroom, Jim with his pants around his ankles and Sara wearing her shirt wide open. Kevin had begun to cry at the stabbing as a warm stream trickled down the side of his leg. In the diner across from the gas station a local cop had been munching on a jelly donut when he heard the scream. He came running out onto the scene with raspberry jelly smeared across his shirt. He pulled out his gun and yelled, “Freeze,” and everyone froze.
           Meanwhile Sadie and Carrigan had realized that they were the only ones on the bus and decided to venture out. They stumbled off the bus just in time to see Charlie get stabbed by Tom. Perhaps it was the blood that brought Tom back or maybe it was Vicky’s face as she held him in her arms, either way Tom had come back to reality to find he had stabbed an innocent man. He dropped to his knees and began to cry. It was here that Sadie saw an opportunity to grab fame. She pulled Carrigan over to Charlie and stuck her hands on his chest. Her hands became covered in blood and she began to paint her and Carrigan. Carrigan stood there like a zombie as Sadie turned her red. Sadie began to dance around the body chanting, “It’s all for you boys and you too Manson. A Charlie for a Charlie!” Carrigan picked up the knife and tried to clean it off with her skirt. It was here that the cop had yelled, “Freeze.”
           So where did our passengers end up? Some ended up in jail trapped in a concrete box, others found themselves in asylums dancing on their beds waiting for Manson and the Beach Boys, while others still found their way to Disneyland, where certain mothers had come to meet their kids. And what of our bathroom lovers? Turns out that the only lesson learned there is you’re better off taking care of yourself. As for the others, that’s a whole other story.

Last update: Sunday, December 16, 2001 at 9:42:52 PM.