Christopher En Route

 Micah and his friends are in their freshman year of high school at the age of 14. Micah’s older brother (Matthew) is in his junior year of high school at the age of 16, and had received his driver’s license several months ago. Micah’s younger brother (Christopher) is in 7^th grade at the age of 13, and has been assigned to Mallory Hottermine’s bus to and from the middle school with a couple of his friends (Josh and Jake). Everything goes smoothly for a while until one day, Christopher starts to get mischievous with his friends, which Mallory is ok with in the beginning, but gradually begins to get irritated. One day, Christopher invites Josh and Jake over to his house and they play video games together while Micah works on homework out in the kitchen. At one point, Christopher and his friends get too loud to the point where Micah has trouble focusing on his homework, tempting him to confront Christopher and his friends.

“Will you guys keep it down, please? I’m trying to get some school work done.” asked Micah annoyingly.

“Ah, homework is for losers.” responded Christopher. Micah annoyingly rolls his eyes and returns to his homework while closing his bedroom door with Christopher subsequently opening it. Micah continues his homework while Christopher and his friends continue to be loud, obstructing Micah’s concentration and tempting him to confront Christopher and his friends again.

“Guys, I asked you nicely to keep it down, and you’ve completely disregarded my wish. So, I’ll ask you again. Keep it down so I can concentrate on my studies.” said Micah annoyingly.

“We can be loud if we want to.” responded Christopher mischievously.

“Yeah. What he said.” said Jake.

“Lighten up, Micah. Homework can wait.” said Josh.

“In case you’ve all forgotten, homework does play an essential role in our lives. It’s one of the tasks we get graded on.” responded Micah annoyingly.

“So?” asked Christopher mischievously.

“So, we can succeed when we get out on our own.” responded Micah annoyingly. Christopher and his friends all laugh at Micah, who disregards them and returns to his homework. Christopher continues to be loud with his friends while Micah frustratingly struggles to focus on his homework to the point where he goes to his room and slams the door shut, only for Christopher to open it back up again.

“There’s a reason why I closed our bedroom door, Christopher.” said Micah annoyingly.

“What is the reason?” asked Christopher mischievously.

“Take a wild guess.” responded Micah.

“I like having it open.” said Christopher mischievously.

“Oh, forget it!” responds Micah angrily while heading back to his homework. Micah picks up his supplies and heads to his room with Christopher and his friends continuing to be loud and hanging out with each other. Micah enters his laboratory with his homework and continues working on it while his mother arrives home, putting some things away and getting dinner cooking. As Christopher and his friends continue to be loud, Micah’s mother enters the room and says, “Hey, guys. Keep it down, please.”

“Oh. Hi, mom.” said Christopher. Micah’s mother closes the bedroom door with the phone suddenly ringing. Micah’s mother answers the phone and speaks to the person on the other line for a while and then hangs up, only for the phone to ring again. Micah’s mothers takes the second call and speaks to the sender while subsequently heading back to Micah’s room.

“Josh, Jake, your mothers both called. It’s time for you both to go home.” said Micah’s mother.

“See you, guys.” said Christopher.

“Bye.” said Josh and Jake. Josh and Jake return home while Micah’s mother asks, “Where’s Micah?”

“Oh. He’s in his lab, doing his stupid homework.” answered Christopher. Micah’s mother enters Micah’s laboratory while Micah finishes up his homework.

“Hey. Everything ok?” asked Micah’s mother.

“Yeah. Christopher and his friends were just pushing my buttons is all. I couldn’t concentrate.” answered Micah.

“Josh and Jake are gone now.” responded Micah’s mother.

“Good. I’m finished with my homework, anyhow.” replies Micah while gathering up his supplies and exiting his laboratory with his mother. Micah puts his homework away in his backpack and watches TV until dinnertime, concluding the day with his family with certain hobbies and later turns in for the night. As the days progress, Christopher and his friends continue to be mischievous on Mallory’s bus to the point where she yells at them angrily. One day, Micah’s mother receives a letter in the mail from Mallory, talking about Christopher’s behavior on the bus.

“This is ridiculous.” said Micah’s mother angrily. Christopher suddenly approaches his mother and says, “Mom, I need to talk to you about something…”

“Is it about your bus driver?” asked Christopher’s mother.

“Yeah. How’d you know?” asked Christopher.

“I just got this in the mail.” answers Christopher’s mother while showing him the letter. Christopher skims through the letter and angrily says, “That snot!”

“I know. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.” responded Christopher’s mother. The next day after school, Christopher’s mother confronts the Transportation Director and asks, “Hi there. Do you have a minute?”

“Sure. What seems to be the trouble?” asked the Transportation Director.

“Well, it’s about Mallory. I think she’s a little out of line with my son, Christopher. I know he can be a stinker, but this is just pathetic.” responds Christopher’s mother while showing the Transportation Director the letter. The Transportation Director skims through the letter and says, “This is pathetic. Let me make a copy of this and spread the word.”

“Thank you.” said Christopher’s mother. The Transportation Director takes the letter to a copy machine and prints off a copy while returning the original to Christopher’s mother, who returns home afterwards. The next day, Mallory reports to work with her boss standing in front of her boss and saying, “Mallory, I need to have a word with you.” Mallory gets escorted to a more isolated area inside the building with her boss presenting the letter while saying, “I just received this today. Your attitude on the bus is getting out of hand.”

“I’M getting out of hand?! You should see Christopher, Josh and Jake!” exclaimed Mallory.

“But that’s no reason to mistreat them. I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you off bus duty for a while.” responded Mallory’s boss.

“What am I supposed to do for the time being?!” asked Mallory angrily.

“I’ve got something else lined up for you…” responds Mallory’s boss while escorting her to the cafeteria. Mallory cooks in the kitchen while angrily saying to herself, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“Oh, it’s not so bad.” responded one of the other cooks.

“Easy for you to say. You’ve been here a lot longer than I have.” replies Mallory angrily while continuing to cook. Christopher and his friends wait in the gym and later get dismissed to their buses with a substitute driver taking Mallory’s place.

“No Mallory today?” asked Josh.

“Thank goodness.” said Christopher. Christopher and his friends ride the bus out to their facility and go about their day until arriving home with Christopher telling his mother about Mallory’s absence.

“I know. I just heard she’s not going to be driving for a while. She’s on kitchen duty until she can clean up her act.” said Christopher’s mother. The next day at lunch, Micah and his friends go through the line and load up their trays with Micah unknowingly approaching Mallory.

“Hi, Mallory. Nice day, isn’t it?” asked Micah.

“Aren’t you Christopher’s brother?” asked Mallory.

“Yeah. Why?” asked Micah.

“HE’S THE REASON WHY I’M HERE!” shouted Mallory angrily.

“Look, I know Christopher can be a handful, but he’s family. He’s just going through a phase. That’s all. He’ll grow out of it.” responded Micah.

“Just go! Next!” replied Mallory. Micah finds his seat and eats up while his friends join him.

“Don’t let it get to you, Micah. Mallory’s probably having a bad day.” said Wesley.

“She don’t need to take it out on someone else, though.” responded Micah.

“Forget Mallory. Let’s just enjoy each other’s company.” said Sarah.

“Sarah’s right. This is our time to hang out.” said Jessica. Micah and his friends eat their lunch while chatting until getting dismissed to the gym, proceeding with their day. Micah and Christopher both go on about their daily lives with their friends as Mallory gradually gets a change of heart, eventually becoming as kind as can be to students. One day, Micah and his friends go through the line at lunch while stopping in front of Mallory again.

“Hi, Mallory. Nice day, isn’t it?” asked Micah.

“Sure is. Do you learn anything good?” asked Mallory.

“You bet! Micah and I have learned some new scientific topics that we can apply to our experiments.” answered Wesley.

“Sounds fascinating. Well, you can’t learn on an empty stomach, so enjoy your lunch.” responded Mallory.

“Thanks! You too!” replies Micah while heading to a table with his friends.

“Mallory seems chipper today.” said Micah.

“I think it’s safe to say she’s turned over a new leaf.” said Wesley. Micah and his friends proceed with their daily lives until one day, Mallory’s boss approaches Mallory at the end of the school day.

“I’ve heard some great things about you lately, Mallory.” said Mallory’s boss.

“I got to admit, kitchen duty really isn’t all that bad.” responded Mallory.

“I think you’re ready to go back on bus duty. What do you say?” asked Mallory’s boss.

“Sure! I’m sorry for my attitude before. I guess I just needed a break from bus driving is all. Being on kitchen duty has taught me a valuable lesson: Kids are kids.” answered Mallory.

“I’m glad you learned your lesson, Mallory. We’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning at your bus.” responded Mallory’s boss.

“You can count on me, sir!” replied Mallory. The next day, Christopher and his friends board Mallory’s bus with Jake angrily saying, “Oh, great! Mallory’s back!”

“Actually…I hear she’s changed.” said Christopher.

“We’ll see about that.” responded Josh. Christopher and his friends ride Mallory’s bus out to their school facility without acting mischievously and exit the bus with Christopher dropping his backpack inside the bus.

“Hey, Chris!” said Mallory.

“Yes?” asked Christopher annoyingly.

“You dropped this.” responds Mallory while handing Christopher his backpack.

“Oh! Thanks!” says Christopher while taking his backpack.

“Don’t mention it. Have a great day at school.” responds Mallory while boarding her bus.

“You have a great day, too.” replies Christopher while entering the school building with his friends. Mallory drives her bus off with a smile on her face while saying, “Kids. They can be so silly sometimes.”

 

The End