The last bell rang for final period, as dozens of anxious students departed the Scientology lab, awaiting the long weekend ahead.

           "And don't forget, we have a pop quiz when you return Wednesday," Mr. Richard announced to the class, rounding up his set of notes beside the projector. "Study pages 47 to 51 on the human brain."

           That's all Allen Ricardo heard, as he plugged in his Apple earbuds and merged to his locker on the second floor of the school, the whole time listening to his favourite Jimmy Hendrix playlist. Allen was definitely into classical music, a lot that his 20th-century friends would often roast him for.

          After punching in the code to his locker, grabbing his sweaty socks and gym shorts from PE class in second block, Allen was tapped on the shoulder by his football teammate, Darius Miles, a massive defensive lineman.

            "What's up, bro?" Darius asked, he too pulling out a set of earbuds to talk, the school hallways flowing with students passing by.

          "Not much legend," Allen replied, dabbing him with a fist bump. "You ready for that game Thursday?" Allen was a wide receiver himself, with hands softer than butter, able to snag down those tough one-handed catches.

          "Of course bro. We gon' smoke em'." Just like Allen for his old-school taste in music, Darius was often roasted for talking slang, especially when he was whiter than Casper the ghost, and came from the mean suburban streets of Jerika. A town with grass greener than a golf course, along with houses more extensive than an entire standard apartment.

          "They know they can't fuck with us," Allen edged on, speaking of the Mattonfield Wildcats, who had been a strong rival of the school as far back as could date. Coincidentally, and rightfully so, Allen pulled out his football jacket and fit it into his backpack, the same one the team tried to rock every game day. It had red stripes with black arms, along with a wolverine standing across the chest to represent the school mascot.

          "Alright," Darius said, ready to head home and rest after a long week of classes. "I gotta head out and study. Have a good weekend bro."

          "You too," Allen replied.

          After making sure he had all his stuff, and that his locker was snugly closed, Allen began making his way down to the south campus, where he'd meet his buddies like always for the legendary Bus Ride Home. 

          On the way there, he passed by the track team, running relay matches for the upcoming provincial finals at the end of the month. He also saw Miss Paterson, his math teacher, but she was too busy having a discussion with another student to notice him attempting to say goodbye for the long weekend.

          As he reached the south campus within minutes, Allen saw his great friends Mattias and Jacob waiting for him. They were in that same spot, never once missing a ride home together, unless terribly ill or sick at home.

          "Your wrist good?" Mattias joked, as Allen was six minutes later than his usual time.

          "We were about to leave without you," Jacob also messed with him.

          "Sorry, yo. I had to grab my PE clothes from my locker, then had a quick chat with Darius about the game Thursday."

          "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. We're gonna miss the bus." Jacob led the way. He was short yet stocky, as opposed to Mattias, tall and on the skinnier side. Despite Allen being a high-level player on the football team, Jacob and Mattias were more academically gifted, like being able to put together computer parts, and always getting higher scores on tests and exams than Allen. But that didn't interfere with their friendships. 

          "It's not like another bus doesn't come in twenty minutes," Allen joked defensively.

          "We don't wanna wait that long," Mattias stated the hard truth. "And besides, we want to catch the bus before those lame-ass Sacario kids." Sacario was a private school fifteen minutes away. There were lots of social beefs linked between the two schools, as drunk fights were known to break out at the local McDonald's after late-night parties.

          "True," Allen agreed, waving and smiling in the distance goodbye to Lindsey Moran. "Sacario is so lame." He and Lindsey shared a third-block mathematics class with Miss Paterson, the same one he had seen on the walk down to south campus.

          "You sure nothing's going on between you guys?" Jacob bugged.

          "Nah."

          "You asked him this last time," Mattias reminded as the boys crossed the street with groups of chatty students. "If anything, I'd think he's going for Makayla Summers."

          "Oh, yeah," Jacob admitted, giving a playful shrug. "Sure is summertime when she's around. She bad as hell."

          "I'm not going for either of them actually," Allen informed, adjusting his backpack. "I think Mariah Calmers is cooler than both of them."

          "Mariah? Really?" Mattias did not look impressed.

          "What's wrong with Mariah?" Allen defended.

          "I don't know," Jacob stepped in. "Mariah is cool and all, but I think he's trying to say you got some serious baddies who are down to get with you."

          "Bingo," Mattias replied, before taking a hit from his vape. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

          "Yeah, well. I get along with Mariah. She's super chill and always lets me have free alcohol at the get-togethers. I also think she's funny.  And let's face it, there's not a lot of funny girls around these days."

          Jacob chuckled. "Buddy, you're fifteen, not twenty-nine. Sounds like you're trying to settle down already. But hey, you do you."

          Before they knew it, the boys were already down the hill at the bus stop. They waited only a minute or two, before the 255 came ripping around the corner like it always did, already filled with students from different schools across the mainland.

          "I hope my bus pass actually works this time," Mattias said, a lineup naturally forming ahead of the stop.

          "I see kids get on all the time for free," Allen replied.

          "Yeah, but usually they are twelve or under, remember?" Jacob confessed. 

          "True," Mattias acknowledged, the bus pulling into the same stop they got on every day.

          The ramp was slowly lowered down for an older lady pushing a walker chair. The boys followed on behind her, Mattias' pass luckily working, to where they sat together in the back of the express bus like always.

          "It's too hot for spring," Jacob stated, clearly distressed by the heat, grabbing his shirt and fluffing it out to cool himself.

          "I think it's kind of cold," Allen disagreed as the bus took off.

          "You're crazy. If it stays like this till summer, I'm just going to pass out and quit."

          "You are also wearing some pretty heavy pants," Mattias pointed out, now opening a bag of potato chips from the lower pocket of his backpack.

          "True."

          After not even five minutes, the bus stopped by 27th Street, where the legendary Zach was waiting to get on. Zach was a year older than the three boys in his junior year, though had developed a great friendship with the three through a middle school basketball game during lunchtime years back. His last class of the day was typically online, where he'd wait at the local Subway sandwich shop for the boys and catch them at 27th Street. Zach was the biggest goof of the group, but could also have a serious side, where you didn't want to piss him off.

          "Howdy," he said, tilting his hat like a cowboy. "What's good with ya'll?"

          "Not much bro," Mattias replied, going in for a handshake. "Just gotta worry about a socials test."

          "I never study for socials," Jacob boasted. "Easiest subject, in my opinion at least."

          "Again, I disagree," Mattias challenged, as this was usual for them to debate, but in a growing, positive way.

          "How so?" Jacob frowned.

          "You literally just follow the map and have an answer."

          "Not really." Jacob pulled out a leftover half-eaten sandwich.

          "Pretty much."

          The two carried on for a moment, continuing their discussion, as Zach made an announcement to Allen. "I just leveled up in Counter-Strike."

          "Oh, yeah?" This was the side of his friends that Allen could never relate to. Sure, he played video games here and there like every teenager, but not near the level and competitiveness as the others. It was like they lived and breathed Counter-Strike, and it drove Allen crazy, especially coming from the athlete side of him. It also saddened Allen that Zach was no longer into sports hardly like he once was, as that's how the two had initially connected. It seemed now he'd rather be online behind his computer, than shooting hoops at the courts down by the beach, like in the past.

          Not interested in the gaming talk, Allen zoned out, rather listening to Mattias and Jacob debate over their classes.

          "So who is your teacher?" Mattias asked, still on the same subject.

          "Mr. Rowely," Jacob replied, taking another puff from the vape, ghosting it to hide the smoke from the driver up front.

          "That's why you find socials easy. I've heard stories about him from Sam Patterson that he makes you do fuck all. Whereas Mr. Bentley assigns 60+ questions on tests, and enough homework to cancel your late-night plans."

          "Well, good thing I'm not in his class," Mattias said, being a smartass. "I genuinely find English a challenging class. Maybe because Miss Roberts can put you to sleep with her soothing bedtime voice. Haven't felt boredom like that in ever."

          The bus dipped over a speed bump, coming to a stop by the river.

          "Plus, everyone in that class is so lame and boring," Mattias continued. "Now I just realized I gotta study for a test coming up in that too. Gosh...just kill me."

          "As you wish," Jacob joked, putting a finger gun to the side of his head. "But sarcasm aside, and I'm not trying to be funny anymore, the worst teacher is Miss Huntington. With all due respect, fuck her. Can't stand that old woman."

          "Same," Allen agreed, joining in. "She is low-key a weirdo too."

          "I was literally just going to say that," Zach chimed in. "I had her last year and she freaked me out. I couldn't stand the size of her pupils when she'd stare into your soul like Medusa for being late or talking in class...ugh."

          "Or whenever she'd make the class just sit in complete silence and watch puppet videos," Allen mentioned. "Just weird-ass stuff."

          "Oh, yes. She's definitely the type to pull out a cross and crucify you during a lesson."

          They all laughed.

           "Reminds me of grade 9 Spanish class," Allen said. "Remember when Bryan Alvarvis brought the laser pointer and kept shining it on Miss Marvella's ass?"

          "Oh my gosh," Mattias chimed in. "Good times."

          "Or when Niko Miller chugged the Gatorade bottle filled with vodka, but he thought it was water and caught a buzz?"

          "That class was ridiculous." Jacob laughed. "You could get away with absolutely anything."

          "Yeah." Allen laid his head back. "It's crazy how we're sophomores already. Feels like just yesterday we were all walking down the aisle together at the middle school graduation."

          "For real."

          "Yeah."

          Then, there was another pause of silence in the group, as indeed, just as predicted, two big shot Sacario kids got on the bus past 36th street.

          "Oh, great," Jacob muttered under his breath.

          "Amazing," Zach said with utter sarcasm.

          Allen recognized one of them instantly, Edward Palmer, a cocky and egotistical son of a bitch, that ran his mouth more than the New York City Marathon. He always boasted and bragged on social media, particularly Instagram, about how rich his parents were. Often posting videos of himself and others partying in their mansion while mom and pops were away on vacation, living in the second most expensive area in the entire province. Allen couldn't stand him, pretty much along with anyone else, who couldn't relate to being the poster boy of a snobby rich kid. He also wore his hair slicked back all greasy like Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter, and had a reputation for being too cool to smile or laugh. Just not a fun guy.

          The rival school members glared back at each other, before the two Sacario students took a seat at the front, staying away from Allen and his boys in the back. After what seemed like maybe a tense moment, the rivals were able to keep their composure, not wanting to make a scene on the public transit. Had it been away in a private area, things may have gone down differently, possibly with even punches thrown. Yes...the school beef was that serious.

          "Punks," Allen whispered to his three buddies, now only seeing the back of their heads.

          "You looked like you were ready to go Zach," Jacob expressed.

          "Fuck 'em," he replied in slang, somewhat similar to Darius Miles earlier at Allen's locker. "You heard what they did to our boy George Romero. George is our guy, and those pussies jumped him, eight to one. That's bush league, not getting a one-on-one during a fade."

          "For real," Mattias admitted, even though he was never one to fight, and better at things like repairing computers.

          "Yup," Allen agreed. "Then those cowards uploaded the video to FaceBook, but only showed the ending of him getting beat up, so it looked like a clean one-on-one fight. So fucking lame."

          "Only kids from private schools can get away with shit like that," Zach too agreed.

          "Totally. How about asking Mommy and Daddy to wash your uniform for tomorrow."

          All four of them laughed again, doing their best to ignore the two dickheads at the front, returning their conversation to something more beneficial.

          The bus was now crossing 43rd and Denmare Street. Jacob would be getting off in two stops, the first of the group always to depart the bus ride home.

          "I'll see you lads Tuesday. Enjoy that long weekend." He rang the bell to the bus, standing up and giving handshakes. After coming to a stop, he waved to the driver and got off through the back door, ready to walk up the winding dirt road to his house.

          "I bet he'll be online by the time we get home," Zach bragged to Mattias, Allen again not being able to relate to their video game talk.

          Allen then felt his phone buzz, receiving a text from Sascha Stevens. She wanted to know the questions regarding their Health Ed exam before the end of term one. To be honest, Allen wasn't too worried about the Health Ed exam, as nobody, not even the keenest of students, took that class seriously. Mr Dickson was so chill and laid back, that he'd always let the class go on their phones and do fuck all. He was every high school student's dream teacher, but he was almost too slack, if that was even a thing from a young teenager's perspective. Because just recently, apparently, Principal Madam Ross had told him to pick up the slack, to which Allen had indeed noticed Mr. Dickson more serious overall as a teacher. 

          The Health Ed exam is on diet and nutrition, along with the cardiovascular system and its function, Allen replied to Sascha Stevens, before hitting the send button.

          "I don't like how Brandon Miller thinks he's hot shit now," Allen heard Mattias say, turning back to their conversation.

          "I know," Zach replied, holding onto the hand railing to brace himself through a sturdy section of the bus ride. "Brandon was my closest homie back in middle school, now I can't even get him to say hi to me."

          "It's like he thinks he's too cool for us now," Allen admitted. "I remember all the good times we had at Citrus Lake on that middle school camping trip. Fuck...I don't know what happened."

          "I'll tell you what happened," Mattias said. "Aiden Courtley."

          "True," Zach replied with a nod.

          "I don't care what anybody says, Aiden had been a horrible influence on Brandon, and changed him for the worst."

          "I have to say, I can't disagree," Allen opted in. "Ever since Brandon and he became friends, he's a whole different person."

          Brandon was once part of the boys' group, before befriending the infamous Aiden Courtley. Aiden was known for being the school druggie, and had a notorious reputation for getting in trouble and not excelling academically. Hardly ever coming to class, so busy getting stoned and drunk, losing all respect from the teachers and leaders across the school board. Sadly, after once being a close friend and hardworking student, the boys' old buddy Brandon was starting to sway down the same path. He'd failed half of his courses in the first term, and just barely got by in the others.

          "I haven't seen Brandon show up for class in probably two weeks now," Mattias stated.

          "If only he could recognize he's screwing up his entire life and future."

          "He's such an idiot," Allen said, frustrated seeing his old buddy go down the wrong path. "Letting a goof like Aiden peer pressure him. God, I just want to knock some dame sense into him, but he never listens to my advice anymore."

          "Yup. Aiden sure is a dickhead," Jacob said with a grimace. "I want to strangle him."

          "Yeah, but let's be real here," Mattias cleared. "Aiden may be an awful role model, and not the best person. Sure, that's true. But at the end of the day, Brandon has to make his own decisions, and he's the only one who can change his life back around. That's all I'm gonna say."

          The three boys sat in silence for a moment, none of them able to say it better.

          That's when they noticed the two Sacario kids pull the line to get off the bus. As usual, they gave each other a snobby stare on the way out. It was only a matter of time before another drunk fight would break out at the local McDonald's, but today the two rival schools were able to put their differences aside. At least for now.

          "Don't you guys play them in a few weeks?" Mattias asked Allen about the football team.

          "Who, Sacario? No...we played them early into the season and destroyed them. They were terrible."

          "I hear their basketball team is straight ass too," Zach roasted.

          It made Allen sad to hear Zach mentioning basketball, as he never seemed to show any interest hardly now when Allen offered to shoot hoops.

          "Yup," Mattias informed. "And their baseball team was a disaster and couldn't even get enough players to sign up and play."

          "Private schools should just stick to academics and forget about sports," Allen also roasted.

          "Yup. Pretty much."

          "The only thing they can beat us in is golf," Zach admitted. "And let's face it, being a golfer gets you zero bitches."

          The two other boys found that rather amusing, though it was true. The Sacario golf team was always ranked higher, but that meant little to them.

          "Their parents also have money out the ass," Zach continued. "Meaning they can pay for the training and those expensive golf courses up in the mountains to practice on."

          "The last time I played golf was in grade six, and I hated it," Mattias challenged. "Most frustrating sport ever invented."

          "Not as frustrating as a bad game in Counter-Strike though," Zach said with a nudge on Mattias' shoulder, making them both crack up, Allen yet again not amused with the video game talk.

          The boys were quiet for a minute, as the bus now travelled over the Marvista Bridge, connecting the lower mainland with the main city. Allen looked out the window of the bus, looking down to the waters below, seeing boats and tourists along the horizon. Under the Marvista Bridge in the spring and summer was a hotspot for teenagers to go cliff-jumping off the rocks that bordered the highway. Perhaps the boys would go for a swim during the break and create more lasting memories.

          That's when Zach pulled the cord of the bus, signalling to get off like always on 56th and Robertson, where he shared an apartment with his single mother.

          "I'm out guys," he said, standing up and shaking hands with the boys, similar to Jacob earlier departing the bus.

          "Peace out bro," Mattias said, Allen too saying his goodbyes.

          As the bus took off once again, it was only Allen and Mattias left, as always. 

          "So," Mattias said, a wave of silence brewing between them. "Do you really like Mariah?"

          Allen waited to respond. "Uh...I don't know."

          Mattias laughed. "Oh, come on. If you like her, you like her. I was just messing with you earlier. I have nothing against her."

          Allen paused again. "Yeah...I do think she's pretty cool."

          "There we go. So, are you going to ask her out?"

          "Possibly."

          "Why possibly?"

          "I don't know. I have a lot on my plate lately. I got football practice five out of seven days, gotta watch my younger brother on the weekends, and academics are getting more serious the older we grow."

          Mattias raised a brow. "Sounds like you have commitment issues my friend."

          "What, no?"

          "Well, it was the same thing last year with Rosa Campbell. You knew she was ready to be with you and gave the green light, but you backed out last second and claimed you weren't ready for a committed relationship."

          Allen sighed. "True. I guess what happened with Alexia left a mental scar on me."

          Allen had met Alexia Turner at a middle school party, back before graduation. She was love at first sight to him. The two eventually found themselves in a relationship, leaving Allen so deep in his feelings, like winning the lottery ticket itself. Only for Alexia to cheat on him after four months with Oscar Daniels, another football player at Alexia's school, leaving Allen beyond heartbroken.

          "Hey," Mattias said, giving him a nudge on the shoulder with a serious tone. "Don't even think about her. She doesn't deserve your time, and not even worth it to entertain her." 

          Feeling grateful for the support, Allen replied, "I know, bro. But I guess that's why I'm on the fence about asking out Mariah. I just don't want to go through that bullshit again. My stupid ass thought I was going to marry that girl, and I couldn't sleep for weeks."

          "It's all good bro. Life is all about learning lessons and starting over. Besides, I ate her ass out for what she did to you, and told her that was sly what she pulled."

          Allen raised a brow himself. "Ate her ass?"

          Mattias looked at him with an awkward, embarrassed expression. "Not like that."

          The two burst out laughing, dabbing each other up.

          "But jokes aside, say you do ask out Mariah, how would you go about it?" Mattias asked.

          Allen paused, a thinking expression plastered across his face. "I'm not sure yet."

          "Maybe you could ask her to the valetine's dance after New Years?" Mattias suggested.

          "Possibly. Though I'm more of a private person, so I'm thinking about maybe suggesting we go for sushi down at Gerry's place."

          Gerry Hui was a Japanese boy in the same grade. He and his family owned a sushi restaurant down the street from the school, the entire grade heading there for lunchtime specials and hanging out throughout the week.

          "That be cool. And say you guys are together till graduation, you can just take her to the prom dance."

          "Exactly. I'd rather we do that together. Personally, I find the Valentine's and spring break dances cringey. The teachers and staff think they're doing something special, when in reality it's just a bunch of horny teenagers trying to hook up."

          "That's true," Mattias agreed. "Remember we'd go to those Park Gate dances back in seventh grade? Those were so corny as well."

          "I know." Allen chuckled. "We were like eleven years old, thinking we'd find the love of our life."

          "And nobody even danced there. It was just weird and awkward for everyone."

          "And stupid in general," Allen implied.

          The boys now passed by Samuel Park, filled with kids running and after-school teenagers lying in the grassy field. Allen would be getting off in only three stops.

          "So what about you," he asked, bumping Mattias back on the shoulder. "When are you gonna get yourself a girlfriend?"

          Mattias shrugged. "Maybe I'm a hypocrite, but like you, I just feel I don't have time."

          "Too busy building computers and gaming online with Zach and Jacob?" Allen joked.

          Mattias laughed. "Pretty much. But I have been talking on Snapchat a lot with Jessica Peters."

          "Jessica is chill. She's also a little more quiet and introverted, and I could genuinely see you guys together."

          "You think so?"

          "Yeah. I overheard her talking talking about you in English class."

          Mattias had a little twinkle in his eye. "Really? What was she saying?"

          "She was telling Jayden Holmers she thinks you're funny."

          Mattias smiled like a little kid on Christmas morning, as if witnessing Santa himself crawling down the chimney and handing him a long-lost present. "Actually?"

          "Yup."

          "Damn. Our relationship is weird though. We see each other in the hall and say a quick hi, nothing else. Then, we go home and talk for hours on Snap."

          "Eh, that's common for teenagers. Don't worry about it. Next time you see her in the hall, ask her what class she just had, and you could probably spark more in-person conversations."

          "I'll take it into consideration," Mattias replied, unzipping his backpack and looking for anymore remaining food. "Maybe I'll ask her to do something on Snap. We'll see."

          The boys were quiet for the last block of the bus ride, Allen now getting off, the smallest sight of raindrops beginning to form outside.

          After another great time with the boys, having nothing but love for one another, Allen sadly pulled the cord to the bus.

          "Well, brother, I'm out," Allen told Mattias, both shaking hands.

          "See ya bro," Mattias replied, Allen merging his way to the back door.

          "Remember, not too much Counter-Strike," Allen said jokingly, stepping off the bus and waving one final time, making him laugh.

          And there Allen was alone again, the sound of the bus taking off behind him. He started making his way down the gravel pathway that cut through the park to his house, plugging back in his Apple earbuds and listening once again to Jimmy Hendrix. On the way there, he passed by the local neighbourhood skatepark, seeing a group of other teenagers smoking and drinking in the top corner of the park. He also saw a similar BMX biker he always recognized, who wore that same red, round helmet, along with a group of parents overwatching their younger kids, to make sure everything was safe and sound.

          Once passing through the park, Allen approached his blue, white house. He wasn't rich by any means like those lame-ass Sacario kids they'd seen on the bus, but he wasn't poor either.

          Upon entry, he greeted his mother in the kitchen. She was working on a pasta dinner for the family, for when Allen's sister arrived home after volleyball practice in the evening. She asked Allen how his day went, to which he replied great. He also acknowledged his father sitting in the living room, reading a newspaper and wearing his glasses, along with a hot cup of coffee steaming on the table beside him. And lastly, Allen had to pet the furry family pet, Wolfie, a golden retriever that loved to go for runs with Allen, while staying in shape for the football season.

          After paying his dues, Allen took off his Vans shoes and made way up to his bedroom. He was tired after another long week of school, and sadly knew he eventually had to crack down on his homework and begin studying. First, he laid back down in his bed and checked his social media like all teenagers, scrolling through Instagram and Snapchat, seeing countless new notifications from others.

          He sat and thought about how grateful he was for the close group of friends he had. Allen didn't need to be the most popular kid at school, the one who gets all the girls, or the one every guy aspired to be. He was happy and content with the circle he already had around him, and wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

          Because no matter how rough or amazing things were going...

          Or how bad they may seem...

          The boys could always depend on...

          The Bus Ride Home.