As the Wheels Turn

Author's note at the bottom.

Chapter Two - Seat Removal

BELLA

The dusty gray sky released a blanket of rain, causing thin streams of water to dribble down the windows. Thunder rumbled, lightening lit up the sky and the bus kept on moving, removing us from civilization and bringing us into the wild.

After hearing paper being ripped from a notebook, I turned my head towards Jessica and watched as she placed the loose piece of paper on top of her notebook and frantically scribbled a few words before folding the paper up.

"Whatcha doin'?" I asked.

She grinned. "A note. For Mike."

"Jess, dear, there's this invention called texting. It's how we communicate now. Passing notes is so early 2000's."

"Well, Lieutenant Smartass," she snapped, shooting me a quick look, "considering the fact we were told not to bring cell phones or anything valuable because the school won't be reliable for anything that may get stolen, I'd say writing notes is a good secondary option."

I lifted my hands up. "Retract the claws." I looked at Alice. "Our little Jessica is growing a backbone."

Alice said, "Your days as ruler are coming to an end."

"Now I'll have to find new minions." I sighed. "Do you have any idea how long that takes? You should start creating the form for applications."

Alice shook her head. "Jessica has showed me how to escape your grasp. You're on your own, Swan."

I feigned a gasp right before Jessica thrust the piece of paper in my hand.

"Quit being a nerd," she said, "and give that to Mike."

I stared at her blankly. "One, who made you boss? Two, how would you like it delivered? Should I stand up on this shaky bus and walk down the aisle and hand it to him before tripping on bag strap and breaking my neck? Or would you prefer first class? Turning your little note into a paper plane and flying it down to him?"

Jessica darted her eyes to the seat in front of mine. "Give it to Tyler and tell him to pass it down until it reaches Mike."

"Yeah, that sounds like fool proof plan," I replied dryly.

I leaned into the aisle and twisted around to stick my head and arm in the seat ahead of mine and tapped Tyler on his shoulder.

He did a quick double take. "Well, hello there."

I did the 'sup?' head nod. "Need you to be a paperboy for a second."

His brows crinkled together. "What exactly does that entail?"

"Passing a note to the person in front of you and telling them to make sure it reaches it's destination."

Tyler took the note. "And where is the destination?"

I nodded my head down the aisle. "Mr. Mike Newton."

He smirked. "Newton, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Just do it."

"If I had a nickel for each time a girl told me that-"

I thumped his forehead. "Get to work. You're wasting precious time here. I mean, geez, we only have like 3 more hours on this bus."

"Do I get paid?"

"No. Now snap to it."

He sighed before tapping the person in front of him on the shoulder. That was when time slowed down and my heart sped up. I was too blinded by performing Jessica's mission that I forgot who was sitting two seats in front of us. My enemy. The devil reincarnated.

James twisted his ugly face backwards, looking down the aisle and meeting my eyes. He frowned at me as Tyler spoke.

"Hey man, give this to Mike."

James looked from me to Tyler. "What?"

Tyler spoke slowly, "See this note in my hand? It's for Mike."

Don't say it. Don't say it.

He continued, "It's from Bella."

Nooooooooooo.

James smirked before reaching for the note, and before I could say anything, he opened the note and began to read it. I held my breath as I watched his expression turn from mild curiosity to blatant amusement.

"Jessica," I whispered, "What the hell does that note say?"

She turned from her conversation with Eric and asked, "Why?"

I pointed at James.

She followed with her eyes and her mouth dropped open. "No! Make him stop!"

James finished reading the note and looked in Mike's direction. "Mike!" he shouted, causing everyone on the bus to stop talking and pay attention to the disturbance.

"James!" I hissed. "It's not from me!"

James ignored me and continued shouting, "Bella wants to know if you packed any condoms! She's eager to give herself to you! Her first time!"

Laughter filled my ears.

My eyes bugged out of my head and I shot a glare at Jessica. "What the hell, Jessica? You never, ever, write that in a note! Never!" I reached over for her notebook, grabbed it and flung it at James' head. "It's not my note, dumbass," I practically screamed at him.

Unfortunately, the bus had gone silent during my tantrum and Mrs. Durst's screeching voice followed. "Isabella Swan!"

"Shit," I muttered.

James made an 'oooh' sound. "Mrs. Durst, Bella just called you a bitch."

"What the hell?" I shouted. "No, I didn't."

Mrs. Durst stood up and used her finger to gesture for me to walk towards her.

I looked around. "Um, we're on a bus. A moving bus."

Alice slapped my arm. "Bella, quit it. You're going to be sent home. Just shut your mouth."

"I didn't even do anything!" I screeched.

Tyler placed a notebook on my lap, the one I threw at James.

"Oh." I handed it back to Jessica.

Mrs. Durst said, "Now, Miss Swan."

I grabbed my purse and stood up, holding onto the brown seat so I wouldn't wobble and fall. I looked down at Alice. "I'll be back after this gets settled."

I moved forward, all eyes on me, and by the time I reached James' seat, his foot stuck out in the aisle and I tripped, nearly falling on the floor but catching myself in time.

I looked up at Mrs. Durst and pointed at James. "Did you see that?"

Mr. Cullen stood up. "Alright, James, come on. You can join Miss Swan up here."

I stared at my favorite teacher with incredulity. "You can't be serious. We'd kill each other."

Mrs. Durst answered. "We have no choice but to separate the two of you like a couple of kindergartners. Bella can slide in with me, and James will sit with Mr. Cullen."

I grumbled as I continued my walk forward and listened as James followed and bickered behind me. Both Durst and Cullen were standing up, waiting for their prisoners to join them. I glanced at Mrs. Durst as she signaled for me to scoot in by the window. I wanted to throw up. When I reached the front of the bus, I quickly dodged Mrs. Durst and brushed against Mr. Cullen, taking James' place.

Mrs. Durst lifted her arms up, as if to say 'whatever' and gestured for James to join her.

Mr. Cullen sat down beside me as I leaned my head against the cold window and mumbled, "Do you have any idea how ridiculous this is?" I peaked at him. "I didn't write that note. A friend did. I'd never sleep with Mike, and I'm not even a virgin."

He ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't need the intimate details of your personal life, Bella."

I sat up straighter and slapped my thigh. "So, Edward, you're a teacher, teach me something."

He raised an eyebrow and stared down at me.

I shrugged my shoulder. "I'm bored. And it's your fault I was ripped away from my friends. You brought this on yourself. Now entertain me, sir."

He leaned in closer, making my heart skip a beat. "You brought this on yourself, and don't call me Edward here."

I rolled my eyes. "Trying to appear professional in front of Mrs. Durst?"

"Precisely."

"Good luck with that. You're new here, so let me tell you something, no one gets on her good side. No one." I paused. "Not unless you spank me or something, I bet she'd like that."

He grinned. "You're in a time-out, stop talking."

"Why are you smiling?"

He shook his head. "No reason."

"Liar."

"Miss Swan," he chuckled, "everything you say is incredibly inappropriate and you're going to get me into trouble."

"Would that be such a bad thing? You're not really living until you're taking risks and doing what you want to do."

He sighed and rubbed his hand over his forehead. "I'll try to remember that."

"You should. I'm offering you my pearls of wisdom for free. You're a lucky man."

He looked at me as if he were working out a difficult math problem in his head. Well, this was shaping up to be a great weekend.

Author's Note: I was blown away by the amount of people who reviewed. I honestly wasn't expecting that, so thank each and every one of you for reviewing. I was going to post this chapter sooner, but then I got nervous because I was afraid I'd let everyone down because this is a story I'm writing quickly, just to get back into writing regularly. Hopefully you guys will still read it.

Oh, and Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates it!