TRIP GONE WRONG

Parkway High School in Reed City was reputed for development  of sports`persons and body builders. Not that studies were neglected! The Founders Day came and the school arranged a trip to Heartland and Quipu about 150 miles away. Heartland was a resort town which had an entertainment center with Ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds, dodgem cars, target shooting and the like. About 10 miles beyond it was the Quipu waterfalls.  Physical instructor Moses was given the task of arranging the bus and listing those who would join. One other staff member Nandini the yoga instructor, and 18 students joined in. Moses arranged for a luxury bus which was to leave at 8 AM and return at 10 in the night.

Moses aged 20 was over 6 feet tall and was powerfully built. He was an athlete which qualified him to be physical instructor. Nandini was 19, slim tall and good-looking. Moses and Nandini were always at loggerheads. Nandini had returned after 6 months stay in various places in America. After that the fight between them became more intense. Moses would say “I wanted to take part in the Athens marathon but the school refused to finance me whereas you were given leave for six months.”

“The Americans paid for my services.”

She would stump him by using Americanisms, appropriate or not, and leave him flabbergasted. She said “It’s nice to see Quipu falls though it is nothing compared with Niagara. You’ll know only when you’ve seen both.”

The bus with all travelers left right on time and reached Heartland. Here Moses and some students got off saying they would rejoin for the return trip. The bus left for Quipu where the falls fell in multicolored threads recombining in the middle.

After watching the falls Nandini returned to the bus. The bus reached Heartland, and parked. The driver said “The return trip would start at 7 PM”

Nandini and the students walked to Heartland Restaurant.

 Moses who was standing there said “Nandini you’re late.”

“What can I do? Our roads and buses are so bad. I would’ve covered the entire distance in four hours up and down if I had been in America.”

Moses asked “Aren’t you missing out on the visit to the Heartland entertainment area?”

Nandini said “It is for children. In America I’ve ridden the rollercoasters. The speed and inversions on rails would frighten you.”

Moses said “OK it is lunch first.”

As they had lunch one boy said “Nandini, Moses won a bottle of coke in the shooting competition.”

She laughed and said “After how many shoots?”

Moses said “Don’t tell her. It’s my right to take part in shooting. She needn’t know how many shoots I took to get a bottle of coke.”

There was laughter all around.

After lunch they all sat for rides on Ferris wheels and dodgem cars. The school would pay for the lunch and all the rides and Moses was busy noting down the expenditure involved as he sat at a table.

Nandini said “One of you boys must help Moses to reconcile the accounts. See how Moses is trying to add up figures on his mobile’s calculator.”

Moses was furious and said “I’ll manage it myself. I’ll submit a true account when I’m ready. I use the mobile for accuracy.”

The exchanges between Nandini and Moses entertained the boys who kept sniggering. The time for departure came and they were all ready at the bus stop. The bus arrived a bit late and they all boarded. Moses noticed that the crew was different.

Moses asked “Where are the other two who brought us here?”

The driver, an impertinent young man, said “That is the rule. They have to sleep some time. It is left to the company to change crews.”

Moses shouted “Don’t be arrogant.”

A war of words followed. The driver didn’t seem intimidated by Moses’s physical stature and threatening looks which would frighten any normal person.

Moses said “I’ll report this to your company and also your rowdy behavior.”

The driver merely laughed and said “I’m not scared. If you don’t like our service, choose some other bus.”

 That meant extra expenditure and it was already late to go after another bus operator. He signaled to the driver to set off. There was more delay as the driver noted down the start readings on the speedometer. Then he leisurely combed his hair looking into his phone. Moses couldn’t control his anger. He stormed into the driver’s cabin and said “We’re late already. Where is the need for you to comb your hair now? Start the bus.”

The arrogant driver didn’t answer and Moses threatened physical violence. There was no answer. Anyhow the bus set off but very soon stopped outside a string of small roadside shops selling food.

Moses asked “Why this stop?”

The driver announced “This is a halt for dinner. It will be for half an hour.”

The crew vanished. Nandini again prodded Moses saying “Such things never happen in America. The buses are controlled by a computer network and any delay would’ve to be explained by the driver.”

Though a half hour stop had been announced the crew came in after one hour. The driver got into his cabin while his helper stretched out on a seat in the rear and started snoring.

Moses said “See how late we’re?  Alright take us back.”

The bus now started speeding. There was hardly any traffic on this road at night. Despite it Moses and Nandini were both alarmed to see the bus go at such speed.

Moses shouted “Driver, slow down.” There was no response. Moses walked into the driver’s cabin and smelt the liquor on the driver. The driver had his earphones on and was listening to music!  Moses punched the driver’s shoulder hard and the fellow screamed. He lost control and the bus crashed into some obstruction and stopped. The passengers got off and in the darkness held their mobile flashlights on for their safety. The crew was left lying in the bus. Moses phoned the police and also requested the bus company for a relief bus.

Police came and after a test registered a case against the driver for drunk driving. Their search lights revealed that their bus had halted after hitting the side wall of a bridge over a gorge about 20 feet below. The relief bus came 3 hours later and they reached Reed City early the next morning. Moses’s action in punching the driver led to the bus stopping just in time or it would have landed the bus with passengers 20 feet below. This was reported to the school and the management appreciated Moses’s courageous move which saved so many lives. He had been a good science student and was transferred to teach science much to the relief of Nandini.

END

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