Two Steps Behind by Payne Prescott

Author:Payne Prescott [Prescott, Payne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jamkar
Published: 2024-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 26

It was the last day of May and Julia Simon was counting down the hours until the final bell of the school year rang and she was freed from the fifth grade.

For nine months Miss Tyson had been praising her older sister up and down – holding Rachel up as a model for Julia to aspire to.

While her sister had undoubtedly been a star pupil the constant comparisons grated on Julia's nerves and she was more than ready to be out from under her sister's shadow.

And since all three of the sixth-grade teachers had been hired since Rachel's time that seemed a very real possibility.

At the moment she was in line with a couple dozen other kids all waiting for the school bus, which for some reason was running a tad late.

"I wonder what’s keeping the bus?" Julia grumbled to her closest friends, Tina and Jill.

"Maybe t-the bus had some kind of t-trouble," Jill suggested, her stutter more pronounced than usual.

"Or maybe it got held up by robbers!" Tina suggested excitedly. "Like Bonnie and Clyde!"

Jill's eyes went wide. "You think B-Bonnie and Clyde might have r-robbed the bus?"

"Could be!" Tina nodded enthusiastically.

Julia rolled her eyes. "Why in the world would Bonnie and Clyde hold up the school bus? There's no money on the bus."

Tina and Jill exchanged stymied looks, unable to conjure up an explanation.

"Okay, so maybe it’s not Bonnie and Clyde," Tina conceded. "But something’s making the bus late."

"Maybe Mr. Johnson got in a wreck," Julia proposed ominously.

Jill gasped, her eyes growing round with worry. "You d-don't think he crashed the b-bus, do you?"

“I don’t know,” Julia said, “I’m just throwing things out there. But I think it’s more likely than Bonnie and Clyde robbing it.”

Before Tina or Jill could muster a response a voice from behind them said: "Thanks for saving my spot, Stokes. Now beat it!"

Julia suppressed a groan.

The voice belonged to a boy named Tommy Morgan. Who although in the same class as Julia and her friends was a year older, having had to repeat the third grade due to his frequent suspensions.

Of all her classmates, Tommy was the one she liked least and now he was roughly shoving Jeffery Stokes out of the queue and taking his place in line.

It was obvious Jeffery didn’t like being displaced, but what could he do? Tommy was a head taller and thirty pounds heavier; it was either move to the back of the line or get beat up.

He chose the former.

Now instead of Jeffery, Julia and her friends had Tommy standing directly behind them much to Julia's annoyance.

Stuck, Julia made a point of ignoring him, hoping he'd leave them alone. And he probably would have too had Jill not made the mistake of speaking up.

"Y-you didn't have to p-push Jeffery so hard," she stammered in protest.

"Sorry, what was that?" Tommy said, cupping a hand to his ear. "Couldn't quite make out what you were saying, J-J-Jill."

Julia spun around, eyes flashing. "That's not funny, Tommy!"

Tommy shrugged. "Look, if she’s gonna talk, she needs to talk normal.

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