B is for Bus

“What are you going to be doing at Franklin, James?” The bus driver asked as he pulled away from the stop and continued down the busy city street.

“I’m going to a job interview.” James about burst when he said those words. He hadn’t told his parents; the music teacher at the school had arranged it. “I might not get the job. Mr. Hammer told me that. Me getting the job will be all me or not me. And he said it okay for me not to get the job because only one in forty people get the job for stuff like this even with an interview, but someone has to get the job so I should try the interview. I got to play my best. If I am good enough, they will make me a session musician. I can do music and not have to play for crowds and I can maybe have a real job instead of being permanently and totally disabled and being a useless drain on society who would have been better off being left in the woods for wolves to eat.”

The bus driver gripped the steering wheel tighter, while the woman who had moved to the seat behind James’ normal seat winced. Mr. Krick cleared his throat, glancing up at the interior mirror and seeing James staring at his tablet again and nodding in time with the music running to his earbuds. “Good luck on the interview, James.”

James didn’t respond, not sure how to act. He thought he may have said too many words. Mom always told him not to talk too much, unless she was trying to get him to talk. He never was sure which he should do, talk or not talk. Listening to music and watching the screen, he rocked his body to the beat and waited for the alarm to let him know when it was time to change buses.

People got on and off. Some looked at him like he was diseased and shouldn’t be out in public while others familiar with him having been on the route for a while smiled at him. A few ignored the front seat passenger in the anonymity of the flood of humanity in the city.

***

Standing in front of 439 West Franklin Avenue, James breathed his mantra “Adapt. Improvise. Overcome.” He had made it nearly forty-five minutes through the transportation system, to arrive the required fifteen minutes early the music teacher had said was needed when going to a job interview. All on his own. He touched the message center on his tablet and sent the premade text to Mr. Hammer letting him know he had arrived at the recording studio.

“Go through the doors.” was written on the screen as the next step. Mr. Hammer and James’ in-school counselor had sweated over the instructions with James, making sure they didn’t miss anything. From the time he had woke up this morning until now, every step had been written. Showering, dressing, eating breakfast. Mr. Hammer and Miss Grace understood this was James’ real graduation ceremony. If he could do this, he may be able to convince his parents he could live in a group home instead of depending on them for the rest of his life.

Also his sisters, Barbara and Dorthy, needed to know they didn’t need to worry about him. They had their own kids to take care of. James had been a late in life surprise to his parents, with his two sisters already in high school when he came along and changed everything. They didn’t need to be his caretakers even if they were willing to help.

A to Z Short Story List Breakdown

Rainbow Spectrum (A to F)

4/1/2019 – A is for Adapt
4/2/2019 – B is for Bus
4/3/2019 – C is for Courage
4/4/2019 – D is for Duke
4/5/2019 – E is for Eclectic
4/6/2019 – F is for Finish