Chapter 1: Hot
By Steve Brezenoff
“Wow,” Samantha said as we stepped off the bus. She put down her luggage on the pavement. Then she took off her old hat and fanned her face with it. “Too hot.”
I followed her off, with Edward—that’s Egg to you—and Catalina, or Cat, behind me. All of us had our luggage. Sam was right. It was way too hot: muggy, sticky, humid, and hot, hot, hot.
“Stop!” I said. Egg bumped into me on the bus steps, and Cat bumped into him.
“What are you doing, Gum?” Egg asked. He gave me a shove, but I didn’t budge. I’m a lot bigger than Egg.
“I’m staying on the bus,” I said, turning around. “It has air-conditioning.”
It was a great bus. It wasn’t your typical school bus, or even a relatively fancy city bus. It was a top-of-the-line charter bus, with cushy seats, TV screens for every seat, and a big, clean bathroom at the back. I could have lived on that bus, as long it was parked near a diner.
Egg and Cat rolled their eyes, but that didn’t stop me. Unfortunately, Mr. Spade, our sixth-grade teacher, was right behind them. He stopped me. “Sorry, James,” he said. “The bus will be going back to the depot now. It will be back to pick us up at five o’clock.”
I let my shoulders sag. “Can’t I go back to the depot too?” I said.
“Um, no,” Mr. Spade said.
I looked past Mr. Spade at the bus driver, Gary. “I can hang out with Gary!” I said. My eyes got wide. “I bet he knows all the cool places to hang out in Homestead!” That was the nearest big town, east of Everglades National Park.
Gary laughed, but he shook his head. “Sorry, kid,” he said. “I have a lot more jobs to do between now and five o’clock.” There’s a group of seniors to pick up and drop at the race track. Then there are the nuns playing bingo today. . . .” He probably would have gone on, but Mr. Spade cut him off.
“That’s enough, James,” he said. “Now turn around and disembark.”
I cocked my head to one side. “Huh?” I said.
“That means get off the bus,” Egg said.
“Darn,” I said, but I turned around and climbed off.
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Adapted from The Everglades Poacher Who Pretended, by Steve Brezenoff, ©️ by Capstone. Reprinted with permission.
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Questions
Do the narrator and Mr. Spade feel the same way about staying on the bus?
No, the narrator does not share their feelings, but Mr. Spade wants them to get off the bus.
No, the narrator wants to get off the bus, but Mr. Spade wants to stay on the bus.
No, the narrator wants to stay on the bus, but Mr. Spade wants them to get off the bus.
Yes, both the narrator and Mr. Spade want to get off of the bus.