The Event: expect the Unexpected (4)

Hey! Welcome to Part 4 of this series. I'm glad you enjoyed the last one. So, U know the deal eh? If you like it, share. (Tweet button to the right, bunch of share buttons under each post - facebook, blogger, etc). If you don't like it, drop a comment so I'll know what's up.
Btw, Tuesday's the Birthday of a really cool friend, Lola Carissa. Stop by her facebook page here and show her some love, will ya? Thanks for that!
Also, I'm not one of those to apologize for not posting after a while. Just enjoy the read, and don't forget your drink. Its gonna be a fun ride!
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The BOY

“Sir, please don’t tell my Mom”, Hiko pleaded. “She’s going to ground me for a month! Please!” he begged further.

The bus driver gave him a vicious look, and said “No! I will tell your mother. I will make sure Principal Naoki knows, and I’m sure she is going to suspend you for at least two weeks. For goodness’ sake, you punched a tooth out of the boy’s mouth!”

Hiko knew he was in for it at this point. He had no other option, except the one that dominated his cerebrum.

Before he could implement the devious plan that was occupying his thoughts, he heard a rumbling sound from behind the bus. The bus driver looked at him again, and as if he could read Hiko’s thoughts, shouted at him: “Don’t go anywhere!”

Hiko strained his neck to see what was going on as the bus driver went to inspect what was going on. Then he heard the rumble again, much louder this time. Then…

CRACCKKKKK!!!

The road split in two! And the crack in the road kept coming – coming for the buses, coming for Tohoku Elementary.

Image obtained from this link.

“GET INTO THE BUS!  NOW!” the bus driver roared. Hiko jumped into the bus faster than one could say Jack Sparrow. The bus driver leaped into the driver’s seat and floored the accelerator.

“SEATBELTS ON! NOW!!” the bus driver roared again. Hiko didn’t need anyone to tell him twice – he slapped the seatbelt on as the bus driver sped off. Hiko was sure that the bus was going at 80mph now – well above the speed limit for a regular car, let alone a school bus. He saw the children in the bus looking back, and he followed suit. He saw it happening. 

One of the two buses behind his was sinking. They saw the driver of that bus rev his engine, but the crack had caught up with them. The bus began to fall back into the huge chasm that was being created. In a last attempt at survival, the driver abandoned the children, jumped out his bus and tried to save his life. At that moment, Hiko’s bus driver made a left turn, and the sight was taken away.

The children kept looking back in terror. What made them more horror-struck was when they didn’t see the second bus make that same turn. It was gone.

Shaking. Shaking. Violent SHAKING.

At that moment, Hiko realized what was happening. He had seen this in a movie once. Realizing that this was no movie, he shouted: “EARTHQUAKE!”

The MAN

Shou looked at the kid that pleaded with him. “He’s not even as remorseful as he should be”, he thought. He rained threats on the kid. “This kid has no idea what he has gotten himself into, does he? He took out his friend’s tooth!” Shou mused. He was about to send another barrage of threats when he heard the distinct rumble behind the bus. He went to check it out. He saw the kid trying to move away, and screamed at him: “Don’t go anywhere!”

Image obtained from this link.

He looked ahead, but he could not believe what his eyes told him. The ground was opening, and the crack looked like it was heading for them! He saw two cars aligned at 80° angles to the ground inside the ditch created, and they were falling – falling headlong into the crack! He could make out a person’s figure in the backseat of one of the cars, her arms flailing and banging, trying to get out of the car. He watched motionlessly as the cars were swallowed by the ground. A loud cracking sound and the quivering of the ground jolted him into action.

“No way THIS is gonna happen to ME!” he thought. He turned and ran to the driver’s seat, revved the engine and moved the transmission at the same time. The car lurched forward and sped off. He grabbed the steering to steady the bus, and shouted to the children behind him: “SEATBELTS ON! NOW!!”

He kept his foot on the gas pedal, and then stole a look at his rearview mirror. He saw another bus sinking into the ground behind him. A bus from Tohoku Elementary. 39 kids and a bus driver just died behind him.

“Oh HECK NO! Not happening! Not to ME! Not to my kids!” he thought. He took his foot off the gas pedal, pushed the transmission one step down, pulled the handbrake, and turned the steering hard to the left. The tires made a loud SCREEEECCHH as the bus drifted into the left turn. He pushed the handbrake down, slammed the gas pedal and moved the transmission one step up. The car jerked and jumped forward like a little boy who got stung by a soldier ant on his behind. “Who says one can’t learn driving skills from ‘Need for Speed’? I certainly did”, he thought.

He felt a huge RUMBLE, and the car shook violently like a leaf in the wind. One of the kids in the bus screamed “EARTHQUAKE!” He retorted “Really? You just realized that we were in the middle of an earthquake? Tell me something I don’t know!”

 The safest place he could think of was the military base thirty minutes away. “They’ve got underground bunkers and the roads are reinforced against earthquakes. We have to get there fast”, he muttered under his breath. He made a right turn in a manner similar to the earlier left turn, and barely saw the small black Hyundai speeding towards him.

Instinctively, he made a left turn to avoid the car. The combination of the drifts and sharp turns made the car somersault sideways.

BLAM! BLAAM!! BOOOOM!!!

The WOMAN

Kiyoshi felt another speed bump. “Oh no! Not my TIRES! Tadashi is in more trouble than he knows – he’s making me puncture my tires!” she thought. Her thoughts distracted her from seeing the distinct yellow of the school bus hurtling towards her.

She reflexively steered the black Hyundai she was driving to the left.

BLAM!

Image obtained from this link.

She had crashed into a tree on the side of the road. She was dazed, and everything looked fuzzy. Then, POOOF went the airbag, thumping her head against her car seat and knocking her unconscious.

***********

The quivering of the ground roused her back to consciousness. She looked at her body; no major damage. She could feel her hands and legs; her nose and ribs hurt badly however. She put a hand to feel her nose.

Blood.

She tried to shout, but all she could let out was a moan. She stumbled out of the car after unhooking her seatbelt and used her shirt sleeve to wipe off the blood on her nose. Her ribs hurt more now as she stood. “I’m probably bleeding internally”, she thought. Then she saw the yellow bus that she had swerved to avoid, on its side, and partially sunk into the ground. It was a bus from Tohoku Elementary. Another RUMBLE of the ground. She could make out the big lettering on the back of the bus, now turned sideways: AF16B9.

“Tadashi! My Tad!” she thought, as she ran toward the bus. The ground vibrated some more. The bus slid deeper and deeper into the ground. Her nose caught a whiff of some smoke. “It’s coming from…it’s coming from the bus! The bus is going to explode!” she thought.

She ran faster. Her ribs ached more. They shifted and ground against themselves inside her as she tried to increase her speed. She whimpered, but didn’t slow down; she had to get her son from that bus. She arrived at the foot of the rift that was swallowing up the bus; it was bigger than she had imagined. At that moment, the earthquake seemed to reach its peak with the loudest and most violent quivering she had ever experienced. She hit the ground before she knew it, and watched as the bus slid and jostled itself into the ready throat of the chasm. Then she heard the explosion from the belly of the ground.

“Tad! Tadashi!!” she cried. “TADASHI! MY BABY!!” she wailed. The mental and physical pain racked her mind and body, and it gave way: she coasted once more into the sweet nothingness of unconsciousness.

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.... (still) to be continued.

Are you enjoying the story? Lemme know what you think of the design and story in the comments section!

(P.S: All images that are not mine have links to their source. Tryna avoid plagiarism and all that, you know...)

Graphic Design Blog, remember? I couldn't find a good place to put this in the story, so...
Original Graphic/Logo for Tohoku Elementary. Opinions?

The Event: expect the unexpected (2)

Hey There! How are you? I wanna know! :) 

Enjoy the last post? I appreciate all your comments and likes. I'm enjoying this story mehn - its a fun read! Enjoy, share, click the like button, spread the word. You know you want to...lol. You can even subscribe to the blog and receive a notification email when a new post arrives. First, some instructions.

All definitions of words that may be confusing have a hyperlink that you can click and learn the meaning of the word. 

I told you to grab a drink, last time, right? This time, You might wanna grab the whole bottle and a glass.  Now, I present part 2 of the story. Enjoy the ride, and don't forget to leave a comment and tell 5 friends!

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So, what do You think of the design?
Its custom-made, in case you were wondering.

Rumble. Rumble. Bright Flashing light.

Rain. Most likely a minor thunderstorm.

The man sat up straight. Unlike many of his friends, he was a morning person. He was ready to take on the day. He looked to his left, took out his pen and cards from the bedside cabinet, and was ready to begin his morning ritual of list-making and positive reinforcements. He looked at his alarm clock; the poor old alarm clock. Once again, he had woken before the clock could do its duty: spreading morning gloom with its incessant tintinnabulation. He was smarter than it was, of course. He wouldn’t let it spoil his day. So he competed with the clock constantly, and had soon made a habit of waking up at exactly 5:59am. “Well”, he said, “Beat you to the punch again, didn’t I?” Then he thought, “I’m talking to my clock. I really need to schedule an appointment with a new psychiatrist.” He moved to get off the bed. Suddenly, something jerked under the sheets.

The figure that was revealed when the sheets moved was quite astonishing. Shapely, yet mature, wearing only a striped blue longsleeved shirt. Long auburn hair, full red lips, long eyelashes, face shaped like an orange, light colored skin with evidence of tanning, legs that looked athletic and frail at the same time. The duvet covered her midsection. She had spent the night there. With him. And who was to blame? Her? She was 38, divorced, with 2 kids who abhorred her, and had traveled far away from the United States to this place, where she could continue her profession and begin a new life. She had no friends or acquaintances to keep her company. Or was he to blame, for sleeping with his psychiatrist?

This was not him. He didn’t even know why he had done it. He was told by his boss to seek help for his addiction. Indeed, his boss was a lenient, sweet, old lady: she knew he was addicted to gambling, and that he especially had a thing for Poker and Dominoes. And she had called him into her office one day.

“Welcome, Mr. Shou Masato.” she began, “How are you today?”

“Hello Principal Naoki. I’m okay, I guess. Is there a problem?”

“Yes, my young man, there is. A huge problem. Bigger than an elephant. In. This. Very. Room.” She brought her round-rimmed glasses to the tip of her nose, so she could peer at him directly without taking the glasses off. Then she bent down and looked into his face. This intimidating move had the desired effect; Shou became afraid. Her face bore no inkling of the sweetness she was known for.

This is a graphic design blog, remember? So I made an original graphic for  

'Three Fingers Bar'. What do U think? What could I have done better? 

Opinions are sincerely welcomed.

“I heard what happened at the Three Fingers Bar two nights ago”, Principal Naoki started again. “I have booked an appointment for you with this lady.” She shoved a business card into his hand. “I want you to see her as soon as you are done with today’s duties.”

“But Principal Naoki, I have to …” he started.

She gave him a piercing gaze, fiercer than the first one. She seemed to bore a hole right through his forehead with her eyes. It worked like a charm. He shut up.

“You can leave now. And know that I’m doing this because I like you, young man. I want you to keep working here. But realize that the reputation of this school is at stake. If you do not go to the appointment, you can feel free to pack your things after today, and turn in your I.D. badge. “

He nodded, stood up, and left. “The restroom”, he thought. He had to use the restroom. The Principal almost made him wet himself in her office. He would have to go see the woman whose name was on the card. “Why do they think I have an issue?” he thought. “Gambling is a way of life; I live on the edge everyday! It’s so much fun. Those who say gambling is an addiction say so because they have no life; they do nothing interesting. Now I have to go see this silly old hag who was paid one week’s worth of my wages to listen to me talk about something I love for 2 hours. What a waste.”

Well, it wasn’t that much of a waste. He was intrigued when he first saw her. She wasn’t his type of woman, being from the States and all. However, she had a presence, a charisma, an allure that most of the ladies he had met didn’t have. She listened to him intently, but was able to steer him back onto the right course of conversation when he started drifting or rambling. It made her all the more enigmatic, and he was determined to solve her. By the second appointment, they had kissed. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he had no power to stop it. He had heard of people whose lives were ruined because they started sleeping with someone who was close to them or someone who was helping them. He had heard of people who talked of some guy – what was he called again – that could make one stop doing wrong things. “Well, I need whoever that guy is. Iesu Kirisuto*. I think that’s his name…or something like that. But later on, not now”, he thought.

Yesterday afternoon was his third appointment – and their first date. And here she was, lying on his bed. How did it come to this? Not that he didn’t like her – he liked her very much. He liked her even more after last night. Yet, he was in love with someone else. Unfortunately, that someone had been refusing his several date requests. “It’s not like I had a choice,” he thought. “Anyway, she’s gonna have to do the ‘walk of shame’ later on – I’m heading to work.” He left the bed and went into the shower.

Shou had a quick shower and breakfast; total time spent was 15 minutes. She still hadn’t woken up. “Mehn! She sleeps like a log!” he thought. “Or, maybe I’m quite good at….” He let the thought wander without finishing, while his face contorted into a leer. He scribbled something on a sticky note and stuck it to the bed poster of the side where she slept. He dropped a few notes and coins on the table, and put on his baseball hat and brown jacket, then he was out the door and into his car. He was a brisk man; he didn’t believe in dull moments. Surprisingly, he had one of the dullest jobs he could think of: a bus-driver. What was worse than being a bus driver? A bus driver for school kids. Stubborn, dirty, foul-mouthed, loud, angry school kids. A livid thought raced through his mind: “Who in the world invented kids? Worst Invention Ever!” Then a softer, mellow, follow-up thought: “I was once a kid though. I probably behaved like some of them. Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on them.” The second thought softened him up a bit. He could hear the patter of the rain drops as he drove to the school. He decided to go slower; he was going to be driving for a while. He arrived at Tohoku Elementary School at 6:50am. He greeted the ‘Man of the Gate’, and collected the keys for his bus. He got into the driver’s seat of Bus #AF16B9, and drove off to pick the children whose houses were on the #AF16 route. The morning drive was the easy shift. Most parents took their children to school anyway, so he had a handful of children in the bus. It was quiet and uneventful. A series of thoughts raced through his mind: “Why is the ‘Man of the Gate’ called that? Because he’s been watching the gate for over 6 years now? Because his previous job was also watching the gate at the house of an opulent couple? Because he’s so old, his government ID number is 5? Why doesn’t he just shorten the self-adopted nickname to ‘Gate-Man’? But he really freaked out on me the last time I called him that. Old people are funny. Well, they make life more interesting with their names. Man of the Gate. Hahaha…” He smiled a hearty smile.

The morning went by without any commotion. He dropped off the kids at Tohoku Elementary, and drove his car to the nearest news stand. He picked up one of the several newspapers at the stand, walked into The Old House Café right next to it, and requested his usual. A Double Mochachino Latte. He paid, sat down in the lone booth by the window, and settled into his eight-hour wait for the school to close. This was a day like any other.

At 2.00pm prompt, Shou left the Old House Café , got into his car, and drove off to Tohoku Elementary. He began mentally preparing himself for the battle that was the afternoon shift, with all the children. And today was a Friday. “Woooh – saaah…. Wooooh – saaaah…I’m calm, confident, assertive. I’m relaxed. No pressure. WOOOOH – SAAAAH…”, he muttered to himself. He arrived at his destination at 2:25pm, got into Bus #AF16B9, and waited for the wave of children. At exactly 2:30pm, it happened.

The gates of Tohoku Elementary burst open as she launched out her little minions onto the sidewalk, armed with lunchboxes, schoolbags, and waterbottles. The invasion had begun. They even managed to topple the ‘Man of the Gate’! He landed on his behind with a thud. The kids laughed so hard, tears dropped from their eyes. Even Shou grinned. Everyone was rushing to get into their respective buses first – because they wanted the back row of seats. The back row was known as ‘The Naughty Row’, and rightly so. Pranks were masterminded, people were jeered at, stones were thrown at people - all from The Naughty Row. And when sitting in the naughty row, the driver had the least possible view of what one was doing. During the 20-minute to 1-hour ride home, the ‘Naughty Row’ for that day had the least adult supervision. Little wonder Shou looked at the back of his bus through the mirror above him and saw 2 young boys struggling to take the last seat in the back row. Before he could get up to go separate them, one of them had thrown a punch. The other kid dodged it and retorted with a left hook. It sank in. The first kid held his face to absorb the pain. Then he pretended to slap the other kid with his right hand. As the other kid moved his hands to block the slap, the first kid saw the opening he was trying to create, and gave the other kid a walloping uppercut with his left hand. A tooth flew upwards, followed by some blood. Shou arrived.

“WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH YOU KIDS! HAVE YOU GONE MAD?! WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING???” Shou started furiously.

First Kid: “He started it! He was trying to take my seat! I got here first!”

Second Kid: [amidst muffled cries of pain] “Not true! I got here first! Ask the girl over there!”

Shou: “No! No!! I don’t wanna hear it. No one is sitting on the back row today. Everyone, find another seat! Now, you two, apologize to each other!”

First kid: [with a red face] “I’m sorry.”

Second Kid: [crying fully now]: “I’m sorry.”

Shou: “You,” [pointing at the second kid] “Go to the school infirmary so they can take a look at that tooth – or the space where the tooth was supposed to be. Go! Now!!”

The other kid scampered out of the bus and back into the school premises.

Shou: “You!” [pointing at the first kid] “What is your name, fighter? I’ll make sure to report you to your parents and the principal. What is your name?!”

First kid: “‘The Terminator’. My name is The Terminator.”

The other kids, who were watching the entire altercation with gusto, laughed and cheered in the background. Shou realized that with all the kids present, he was fighting a losing battle. He took the kid outside and shoved him up against the bus.

Shou:  “Do I look like I’m joking? Do you want to be suspended? Your name! Now!!”

First kid: “My name is Hiko.”

Shou: “Full name, son!”

First Kid: “Akihiko Daichi.”   [pause]

“Sir, please don’t tell my mother.”

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..to be continued. (That feels really good to say! try it...lol)
2. * Iesu Kirisuto = Jesus Christ (from the Japanese katakana).

Till next time, have a Kolor-Full Life!

Yours truly.