Love and Friendship: Chapter One

Chapter 1: Bus Ride

My mother's tears darken the collar of my shirt. She wipes her cheeks as she reluctantly releases the motherly embrace. "You be good now, okay?" She instructs me, trying to look strong, but her tear-stained cheeks and constant sniffing saying otherwise. “Study hard.”

The bus carrying my suitcase leaves the stop. The musty smell of petrol and greenhouse gases would usually make me have a hysterical (and quite comical) coughing fit, but today, I'm not in the mood to put up a scene.

"I will, mother." I say, directing my attention to my younger sister. "You'll be fine without me, Ria?"　Ria nods erratically, her brown hair jumping, as she holds back tears. “If anyone bullies you, just give me a call and your big bro will come and smash ‘em alright?”

She jumps on me, hugging me close. "Don't leave, Caelum." She says as her tears begin to escape her eyes. "Why can't the real world wait? Why can’t you stay here with me in the fake world?"

I chuckle as I kiss her cheek. "College is a big thing when you're my age, Riri." I put her down and take off my sweater. She sniffles as I wipe her eyes. "Take good care of it okay?" I raise up her arms and slip it on her. She cuddles it and nods slowly. “Love ya, sis.”

“I love you too.” Ria goes over to my mother and starts to cry into her leg.

I walk over to my step-dad. "See you, Henry." I give him a firm handshake. "I'll send you a postcard."

Henry laughs. "You're only going across the state, Cae."  He pats me firmly on the back. "Keep studying, don't party too hard, and find yourself a nice girl, okay?"

I chuckle as I give him a quick (and rare) bro-hug. My bus arrives, screeching to a stop. The side of the bus advertises the college I'm going to. It must me from the campus. Then a thought hits me. I have to go. "Take care of Mom and Riri for me Henry." My voice becomes sombre. “If anything happens to them and you’re not there-“

"No problem, Caelum." He says, trying to be confident. “I’ll do my best.” I pick up my backpack and turn to the bus. I wave to my family and start up the steps when Henry's voice stops me mid-step. "And, Caelum?" I look back. Henry's eyes are glassy; he's on the verge of tears. "Your father would be very proud."

Talking about my father isn't one of my favourite subjects. He died of lung cancer when I was eight. The vision of him struggling to breathe is one of my least favourite memories. And one of the most prominent in my brain. After he left, the world wasn't really the same. No more laughter, no more fun. The world just sucked. Until Ria came along. A year after my mother met Henry, they got married and then had Ria. She filled in the hole in my heart that my father cut out. My world still sucked, but just a bit less.

"I, uh, t-thanks Henry." I give him a nervous thumbs up and continue up the stairs and settle into a seat in the back row. The doors close and I wave my family goodbye. My mother is crying openly, tears rolling down her cheeks and onto the pavement. Ria is holding back fresh tears and waving my sweater above her head like a goodbye flag. And Henry, I've never seen him so sad. I guess he failed in holding back his tears. I keep looking at my family until the bus drives far enough, then they’re gone.

"Hey, kid." A voice behind me speaks. I turn around and a guy, maybe a year or two older than me with dark hair and light skin is looking at me with sympathetic green eyes. "Don't worry; the first year is always the hardest. Trust me, I know."

I smile. "Thanks." I give him my hand and he shakes it firmly. "I'm Caelum, by the way. Caelum Warrick."

"Quentin Taurus. Nice to meet you, Caelum." We start to talk about the campus and college-y things. He tells me who to look out for, where to catch some last-minute shut-eye, and the best place to study. After a good hour or so he yawns. "Whelp, Caelum, I'm kinda tired. You might wanna catch some Z's if you want to make it through the day." We handshake once more and Quentin reclines his seat back. A couple minutes later, I hear soft snoring from behind me. Quentin has fallen asleep, leaving me with no-one to talk to.

I decide to look out the window and count how many blue cars rush by our bus. 1…2…3…4 the blue cars keep coming. “Jeeze, is there some kind of blue car convention?” I mumble to myself, my hot breath leaving a blurry mark on the window. The blue cars stand out from the bright yellow wheat that is abundant in the field behind the road. I draw a racing car with my finger on the window, and after a few seconds, it disappears. A jet races by from above, leaving a fluffy white streak in the cloudless, light blue sky.

I rustle through my backpack, which keeps my valued possessions. My phone, wallet, an extra set of keys for home just in case, my kindle, my PSP, three packs of gum and my dad's sweater. I stand up briefly and pull the sweater over my head. I take in his smell and it brings back memories. My first day in kindergarten, my fifth birthday, my first rollercoaster, my first science fair, his last day. "Get a hold of yourself Caelum." I mutter to myself as my vision gets blurry and my throat gets tight. I wipe my eyes with my sleeve and rest my head on the seat as, after a few minutes, the wave of sleep overcomes me.