When the bus finally came, she stepped up onto the first step only. “Which bus do I take to the aquarium, please?” she asked the driver.
He told her, “Take this bus to Richmond Road, and then transfer to the number eight line going north. It will take you right there.”
She sat down at the front of the bus. “Everything will be all right when I get to the aquarium,” she thought. When the driver told her that Richmond Road was the next stop, she reached up and pulled the cord above her. That was her favorite part about riding the bus.
She got on the number eight heading north and sat by herself toward the middle of the bus. It was practically empty. She opened Mrs. Hardlick’s note and read it for the first time.
Dear Mrs. Persopolis,
Despite my best efforts, Angeline has been unable to adjust to the intellectual and emotional level of the sixth grade. She does not cooperate well with the other children and has stubbornly refused all special assistance I have offered her. She has been a troublemaker all year, but due to her age I have tried to be tolerant and understanding. However, today she did something which I cannot condone. While the rest of the class was out having recess, Angeline remained inside, where she proceeded to throw a temper tantrum, knocking over furniture and destroying other children’s property.
Now, I don’t know how she behaves at home, but here at school I cannot tolerate such counterproductive and antisocial behavior. I trust you’ll see that she is properly disciplined so that this kind of thing does not happen again.
Sincerely,
Margaret P. Hardlick
Her eyes burned from reading the letter. Her hand shook as she held the note in front of her, wondering what to do. But really, she didn’t have any choice. She tore the note into little strips of paper and stuck them under the bus seat. If her father saw that letter, it would kill him.
“When I get to the aquarium,” she thought, “somehow everything will be all right.”
The bus wheezed to a stop and let off a passenger. It started up again, turned right, and passed a garbage truck going in the opposite direction.
Abel flicked on the radio and tried to find a good station.
“Donna’s sister, Lisa, is in town,” said Gus. “How about the four of us having dinner tonight?”
“No, I’m worried about Angeline,” Abel replied.
“You worry about her too much,” said Gus. “You never have any fun. You owe it to yourself.”
“Yeah, well, yesterday I was worried because I never talked to her, so I talked to her like you said, and now I’m even more worried.”
“Why? What did you talk about?”
Abel shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “Okay, for one thing, do you want to know what she does at school? She collects the garbage. She’s school garbage collector.”
Gus laughed. “She wants to be like you,” he said.
“I don’t want her to be like me,” said Abel. “Someday she could be somebody special.”
“She already is somebody special,” said Gus. “And so are you. It is time you started treating yourself that way.”
“All right, what do you think of this?” asked Abel. “She has an imaginary friend named Mr. Bone. Mr. Bone is a lady.”
“Well, I’m not a psychiatrist,” said Gus, “but after all, you’ve been both a father and mother to her for all these years. She needs a real mother.”
“Oh, so now I’m supposed to marry Donna’s sister,” said Abel.
“All I’m saying is that you should start going out with women again, both for your sake and for Angeline. Have a good time.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t let her drink so much salt water,” said Abel.
Angeline reached up and pulled the cord. The bus stopped in front of the aquarium. She got off and stared at the large building where, once inside, everything would be all right.
She walked up to the front door. It cost a dollar for adults and fifty cents for children. She didn’t have enough. She only had enough for the bus ride home.
Sadly she leaned against a cold, black, marble statue of a seal. What was she doing there anyway? she wondered. What did she expect? It wasn’t as if the aquarium would magically make everything all right.