The Wrong Bus - Chapters 1 and 2

A new story I will be writing along side Summer at Aunties, let me know what you think!

The chapters for this one will be longer with 2000 words. There are two chapters to start with I will try and get out 4000 words each month.

 

CHAPTER 1

Cody sat at alone at the bus stop, fidgeting anxiously he was constantly switching between scanning the roads in front of him and checking back to the time on his phone. He was dressed smartly in a clean white polo and navy blue jeans, his white laced sneakers matched his top. Today was his first day of college and he refused to be late to the first class of his semester. He wasn’t used to catching the bus such a long difference; unfortunately there was no direct service to his campus which resulted in him needing to change buses half way along the route. This was the first stop in his daily journey, all together it was just over an hour long trip which wasn’t so bad, but this stop he was waiting at offered nothing to indicate if he was in the right area. The only indication he had was the number 23 plastered on a ratty sign above his head which did match the time sheet his mum had made for him. Graciously she had made a digital version since he would undoubtedly misplace the physical one.

He tapped his foot rhythmically on the pavement and checked his phone again. The bus was due to arrive ten minutes ago; he had never had one run this late in high school. Perhaps that was due to the fact it was specifically a school bus he still didn’t have much experience with the public ones. The area was unfamiliar too so he couldn’t really walk around and ask someone for directions, the nagging fear in the back of his mind was if he moved away from the stop then he would surely miss it. His mother made certain to remind him on multiple occasions that if he was to miss this connecting bus then the second wouldn’t be for another hour. She recommended he take the earlier one, but his late night sessions playing video games with friends prevented him getting enough sleep to wake up earlier enough. 

That morning his mother had come into his room uninvited pulled open the drapes and ripped his quilt off. He was still half asleep and was only half paying attention to her comments about him running late on his first day, get up and get dressed, yadda yadda yadda. She then briskly left the house and drove off for work before Cody even had a chance to fully wake up and respond. It took some effort to not full right back asleep but digging deep he managed to find enough self motivation to get up and ready to leave. The first bus was uneventful, the stop was practically right outside his front door, he had never taken it as far as he had though. But at least it was running on time leaving him with a ten minute leeway between changeovers. Or so he thought, now his phone was saying it was quarter past, surely no buses ran fifteen minutes late.

Finally as he peered down the road once more a bus came into view, turning down his street and rolling toward his stop. He stepped up trying to get a better look for any indication it was his bus. This wasn’t a well-worn bus it looked rather in keeping with the buses he used to take to school. He couldn’t make out a number but he did see Clearview Valley run along the digital screen on the front. The bus looked like it was going to pass him so Cody quickly and eagerly stuck out his hand for it to stop. Thankfully it indicated and pulled up alongside him, he didn’t have time to read the full message that ran across the screen. He peered his gaze away from it after reading Clearview Valley C-----; obviously it was about to read college, but his focus on was ensuring he didn’t accidently leave his backpack on the bench. 

The bus came to a stop and the door swung open automatically, Cody took one step inside before being greeted by the driver. She was a friendly looking woman, middle aged with a big smile plastered across her face. 

“You’re looking a bit loss sweetie, are you with the school?” She asked with a hint of mild confusion. 

“Yes, Clearview right?” He asked. 

“Yep… This is the one, step on up darling.” She replied, offering him a warm smile. 

Cody pulled out his bus pass and looked around briskly for the meter to scan it. 

Seeing his confusion the driver spoke up. “No charge for this one hun.” 

Cody smiled, things were finally starting to look in his favour, and a free trip was a huge score. Maybe this bus was always free of charge; any extra money for a student with no work still leaving off an allowance from his mother was a big win in his mind. He quickly scanned the rows for a place to seat noticing an unusually high number of children and parents then he expected for a public bus. A woman sitting at the front behind the driver grabbed his attention and motioned for him to take a seat next to her. The bus had already started lurching forward and rather suffer the embarrassment of falling in front of everyone he graciously accepted her offer taken the aforementioned seat next to her. 

“Thought you might like to sit up here, it can get a bit noisy back there with all the kids.” The woman continued extending her hand. “I’m Nancy.” 

Cody wondered if all people who took public transport were as friendly and inviting as this woman was. “Cody, nice to meet you. Thanks for the seat.” He said returning the handshake, taking a moment to study her facial features. 

She was definitely younger than the bus driver, but still middle aged. Maybe her late thirties he wasn’t exactly sure. She had long brown hair tied up behind her head in a neat pony tail. She wore only a small amount of makeup around her eyes and you could only make out the faintest of wrinkles on her face. Another thing he noticed was the bright green polo she wore, he tried to make out the font under the smiling sun motif on her front pocket when he realised he was practically staring at this strangers breast. He abruptly turned his head away, staring forward hoping she hadn’t noticed and didn’t think he was some kind of pervert. If she had noticed she didn’t give any indication and continued with the conversation as normal. 

“So you’re with Clearview..” Nancy said, taking a moment to pause as she looked for the right words to say. 

“Yeah, it’s my first day here.” Cody said with a small smile, pondering in his mind how proud he was that he could finally consider himself an adult, one who was studying at college no less. 

“Oh how wonderful, we’ll we will be glad to have you join us that’s for sure.” Nancy replied, giving his thigh a gentle squeeze. 

“Oh you’re a teacher?” Cody said, with no subtlety to the surprise in his voice.

Nancy laughed, “Something like that, I do have my teaching degree but I feel like I spend most of my time running after the kids making sure they don’t get into any mischief then actually managing to teach them anything.” 

College was starting to sound less stressful already, if all the teachers were like Nancy he should have no problem in any of his classes. What had she meant by stopping them from misbehaving though, perhaps even with more students and bigger classes the teachers at College still felt that connection to their students and wanted to make sure they got the best from their education. Thankfully Cody wasn’t a big party animal, he wasn’t the best student though either. Forgoing most of his study time or homework in exchange for movie sessions or playing the latest video games resulted in most of his assignments being handed back with a C or at best a B-. As far as he was concerned these were passing grades and he opted not to change any of his study habits or lack thereof.   

It also hadn’t gone unnoticed to him her usage of the word ‘kids.’ His mother still referred to him as her little treasure, this woman probably had children of her own and it was just a force of habit. It did little to deter the feeling he had of his profound level of maturity. Even with the age gap between them it now felt like he was talking to this woman as an equal. His mother never really encouraged or acknowledged his adulthood. She would always seemingly talk down on him like he was still a child, even going as far as to wipe his mouth with a napkin, if she took notice of a stray piece of food smeared across the corner of his mouth. He had to put his foot down with her and establish boundaries; she didn’t like that of course. 

She often grew upset whenever he mentioned he was an adult now and he needed his space. He understood that it was hard for her being a single mother and him an only child. So recently he started letting her get away with more stuff like kisses on the cheek or a quick cuddle when she felt the need for one. He often woke up to tucked in sheets and realised she must be doing it after he fell asleep, he decided not to say anything about it though, he would let her have that one. At least her mood had been changing about him going to college since he started letting her do little things for him around the house. It didn’t make him feel younger though, at first it did but he drew reasoning in his mind that he had shown a higher level of maturity for realising her position and giving her some of the comforts she seemingly yearned for. 

Nancy continued the small talk with Cody for some time, it was nice having a grown up conversation with someone. Occasionally she would lean over and tell the children to quieten down; it seemed like her teacher instincts never left her even when she wasn’t at the college. Cody wasn’t sure how long they had been travelling for; the campus couldn’t be too much farther off. Finally a loud yawn escaped him causing a giggle from Nancy. 

“Sounds like someone didn’t get a full night’s sleep! You must have been excited for your first day.” 

Cody cleared his throat trying to brush off the yawn. “Haha, yeah something like that…” He said, avoiding mentioning his late night gaming sessions. 

“Why don’t you just lie back and catch some shut eye.” Nancy said. The way she told him and her gentle caress on his thigh made it almost feel like she was telling him what to do rather than suggesting it.  

Cody blushed, he was a heavy sleeper there was no way he would wake up on his own, it’s why his mother would always enter his room so abruptly throwing off all the sheets in order to make sure he got the message and would wake up. 

Seemingly reading his mind Nancy continued. “It’s alright sweetie, we’re going to the same stop I promise I’ll wake you when we get there. You will feel much better after a quick sleep; you have a long day ahead of you.” 

It honestly didn’t at all sound like a terrible idea and Cody’s eyes were starting to feel rather heavy. It would probably be just a quick five or ten minute power nap they wouldn’t be that far off. 

“Alright, I probably could use the sleep.” He said before laying his head back in his seat. 

The chairs did feel rather comfy, this was what he would expect from a coach, it was odd having headrests and comfy seating on a public bus he thought. 

“Now before you nod off are you wearing any protection, we wouldn’t want you having an accident and being caught without a diaper on?” 

Cody smirked at her playful tone; clearly she was just having a jab at him because he was here on the bus having a nap next to a teacher. He decided to play along with her. “I don’t need diapers, I’m a big boy now.” Was the last thing he said sleepily before drifting off. 

CHAPTER 2

Cody…..Cody….It’s time to get up. Came a gentle voice that was slowly rocking him awake. 

“Wha…mom please just a bit longer.” Cody mumbled. 

The voice laughed, “Come on now everyone’s waiting on you we’re here.” 

Finally the sleepy young man opened his eyes to be met with the blaring sun beaming down through the windows. He saw Nancy sitting next to him and remembered he was on the bus. Instantly he felt awkward and blushed as he realised he had called her his mom. But as he looked around he quickly realised a more pressing concern.

“Wait where are we?” He said out loud with audible concern in his voice. 

Instead of looking out to the main street of his college campus through every window showed a much more scenic landscape. Rolling pastures and trees surrounded them, the bus was parked atop a gravel road and it looked like they were at some kind of farm or campsite he wasn’t sure. 

“Sweetie, we’re here what do you mean where are we this is where you’re supposed to be.” Nancy said trying to calm Cody from having a panic attack. 

“No we’re not, I’m supposed to be at the college you said we were going to Clearview?” Cody said still struggling to grasp the situation. 

“We’re a far stretch from the College Cody; we’ve been on the bus for almost two hours now.”

“But, you said you were a teacher at Clearview, I’m so confused.” Cody replied trying to remain calm.

Nancy smiled. “Sweetie, I’m from Clearview Childcare and Early development. Didn’t you read the bus sign?” 

“I….Didn’t see the full message.” Cody stammered now clicking into place the matching Polo that all the adults seemed to be wearing and why the bus was full of kids. “Can you please take me back, I’m already so late.”

Nancy shook her head. “I’m sorry for all the confusion Cody, but we can’t just take you back it’s a two hour drive by bus and you won’t get any taxi out here, I’m afraid you will just need to spend the day with us.” 

Cody was shocked; this was all too much for him. He was supposed to be in college not part of some glorified day care excursion.

Nancy saw the tension and did her best to calm him. “It’s alright we’re more than happy to have you with us for the day, you will have a blast I promise.” As she said this Nancy put her hand on Cody’s thigh once again giving it a squeeze. 

Cody’s eyes grew wide as he felt her warm hand make direct contact with his skin. Looking down he realised he was no longer wearing any trousers, his shoes were still on but in place of his underwear Buzz Light year stared proudly back at him. Cody quickly drew his hands to his foreign underpants immediately getting a crinkle in response. 

“It’s alright, I check you already and no accident’s so well done!” Nancy said noticing his reaction.

“WHERE ARE MY PANTS?” Cody shouted. 

Nancy’s tone changed completely hearing the boy shout. “You said you didn’t need diapers you were a big boy, so I assumed you meant pull ups but I checked your bag there weren’t any. We had to pull over so I could check the cargo for some your size, luckily we had a packet that was large enough.” 

“But that was a joke, I’m an adult going to college of course I don’t wear these.” Cody explained, now desperately trying to cover the colourful blue padding with his hands. 

“Age is just a number sweetie; anyone can still have trouble with the potty.” Nancy replied.

“Can I have my pants back please, this was just a mistake I don’t need these. How did you manage this anyway?” 

“While you were sleeping, I was worried you might pee all over the seat. There’s no worse feeling then waking up wet without your padding, I was so careful getting you changed thankfully you’re a heavy sleeper. I didn’t want to put your pants back on in case I disturbed you too much and it would let me check you easier in case you looked like you might leak. I was honestly surprised you didn’t you seemed to be the heavy wetter type, I almost went ahead and put you in a diaper right away but I thought I would give you the benefit of the doubt.” 

The whole time Nancy spoke Cody listened on in disbelief. Surely this wasn’t happening it all felt like some kind of nightmare. It didn’t get any better as Nancy continued.

“Unfortunately your pants and underwear both managed to get packed away they would be in one of the teacher’s luggage bags at the bottom of the coach now.”

“We’ll we will just have to go get them, I can wait here.” Cody said, doing his best to sound confident. 

“Look, the kids are excited to get the day started I can’t exactly leave you here by yourself so you can just come along with me. I promise no one will make fun of you, as soon as first break starts I will sort out your pants situation.” Nancy explained, her patience wearing thin.

Cody’s lips started trembling how could this have happened? He was supposed to be a college student, he felt like he was going to start crying at any moment. Thankfully Nancy realised and was quick to put her arm around his shoulder and relax him. 

“Hey there, it’s alright Cody I promise. You will have a good time, a mature boy would accept his situation and make the best of it wouldn’t he?” Nancy said cooing. 

Cody replied with the smallest nod of agreement he could manage. 

“There, that’s what I thought, now come take my hand and we can get the day started.”

Cody reluctantly put his hand in Nancy’s as he was led off the bus. In a feeble attempt he tried to pull the bottom of his shirt down over his pull up with his free hand. 

Nancy noticed and gently swatted it away. “Don’t do that you will ruin your shirt, also it will only bring more attention to it. I can assure you, that you might be the oldest still in padding but you certainly aren’t the only one.”

That comment didn’t do anything to make Cody feel any better, but he listened and left his left hand limp at his side, fighting the compulsion to cover himself. Stepping off the bus Cody saw a bunch of faces turn towards them, he was sure they were all laughing at him so he did his best to avoid any eye contact and instead opted to stare down at his feet. Unfortunately this meant his pull up was always in view he undecided if that was any less humiliating. He could here hushed whispering and giggling all around as he was led by hand to the front of the group. 

“Alright that’s all of us.” Nancy said to the woman dressed like a farmer who was waiting patiently for everyone to gather. Cody made eye contact with her for a moment but quickly looked back down at his feet quickly after seeing her smile knowingly at him. 

“Ok everyone, now that you’re all here.” The Farmer lady said speaking up. “My name is Jen and I will be your class chaperone today. We have a lot to see and do, you’re teachers have informed me that you all have a buddy so make sure you stick with each other throughout the day.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be your buddy for today little guy.” Nancy said, whispering in Cody’s ear.

“Bathrooms are located throughout the park, we’ll start off with the petting zoo first then after taking a break for lunch we will go down to the water slides down back.” Jen said, her speech was so well presented and rehearsed you could tell she had done it many times before. 

Finally after the speech was finished they all broke off into smaller groups following alongside a teacher. Thankfully Cody remained alone with Nancy as they wandered over to the petting zoo.

“Normally we would stay with one of the groups, but I think you can use some alone time with me until you adjust. The first day is always the hardest; everyone misses their mommy and daddy.” 

Why was Nancy talking like this, did Cody have to remind her again that this was a mistake and after today he wouldn’t be back again. Surely she realised that, but why was she speaking to him like he was going to be a permanent part of their group.

“I…I’m not staying; only for today I’m supposed to be in college now.”

Nancy stopped to look down at Cody and smiled, she wasn’t much taller than him hardly even a full head. She gave his cheek a pinch before kneeling down in front of him. She half crouched so her knees avoided touching the pavement and didn’t hesitate to stick two of her fingers inside Cody’s pull up. Immediately he started blushing and tensed up, before he had the chance to protest Nancy had already taken them out and was standing back up. 

“You’re still dry excellent job Cody!” Nancy announced, loud enough so that anyone around them would have heard.

Cody wasn’t stupid; he knew why Nancy decided that exact moment to check him right after mentioning he was supposed to be in college. He had definitely been put back in his place, after all what kind of college student would be walking around on a field trip holding his teachers hand while still in pull ups? No grown up he knew, it was the situation only a toddler would find themselves in. Even they would get to at least wear pants; he was trotting around with his pull ups on display for the whole world to see. He couldn’t imagine the humiliation he would suffer if anyone found out about today. Thankfully he didn’t recognise any faces and he was sure that the school had little to do with the college so after today all of this would hopefully be behind him. 

The gravel pavement veered opening up into a wider area lined with pens encircled with wooden fencing. All manner of cute animals were inside, ducks, chickens, goats, sheep, miniature ponies anything anyone would expect to find in a petting zoo. Nancy led him over with another group into a pen with some lamb’s chickens and a grumpy looking ram. 

“Don’t mind the ram, he just likes to look after the little ones, he won’t pay you any mind, just make sure to behave yourselves and do what your teacher tells you.” Jen told the group before heading off to check in on the others. 

They were all let inside the pen, finally Nancy let go of Cody’s hand and as he turned around he realised that the teachers were staying on the other side to watch over them instead of joining them. 

“Go on Cody, grab some seed and go play with the cute lambies.” She told him. 

Cody looked to see if the other teacher with them heard the comment, she cupped her hand over her mouth and whispered to Nancy. Both of them kept eye contact on Cody and chuckled, the woman looked to be a bit younger then Nancy but still definitely older then Cody was. He sighed and went over to grab some feed. Filling up a small paper bag he walked over to the lambs and a couple greedily ate out of his hand. He wasn’t entirely hating his time here, the lambs were awfully cute. The moment was short lived though when he heard Nancy say “Smile Cody.”

He turned just as she held up her phone to take some photos. Great now there were permanent memories of his time here, even squatting down he was sure there was no mistaking his padded state. There was no way she would show anyone; surely they were just for her own keepsake. He made a mental note to say something to her later about it. The women turned their attention toward the others leaving Cody with a moment of solidarity. Suddenly he felt a thump and gasped as he fell backwards into a muddy puddle.