No Fear Franky and the Back of the Bus
My name is Franky and I’m a fourth grade hero. I didn’t fight a dragon or save a princess if that’s what you’re thinking. I sat at the back of the bus.
That may not sound scary, but I could’ve been eaten by some horrific creature or worse, whooped by an evil fifth grader.
Ren was the meanest fifth grader in school and he was on my bus. Most fifth graders got a ride from their parents and never rode on the bus, but not Ren. I heard his parents were too afraid of him.
Ren thought he owned the back of the bus just because he was the oldest one. If anyone tried to sit back there they’d end up at the hospital or disappear forever.
My friend Jessie seemed to know why. “Cool kids sit in the back. That’s just how it is,” he said. “Ren is a cool kid.”
“That doesn’t make sense. We’re cool, too,” I said. “Aren’t we, Sam?” I looked over to Samuel, my best friend since the first day of Kindergarten. Sam just stared at me with his mouth dropped and mumbled something like, “uuhhmmyanoo… maybe?”
“You’re right! There’s three of us and one of him. Let’s kick Ren out,” said Jessie.
“Why would you want to sit back there? There are tons of diseases and hungry creatures,” said Sam. Sam was smart but afraid of anything that lived like bacteria and humans. He often thought some strange creature hid lurking in the dark shadows waiting to attack at any moment. Too many movies, I say.
“Samuel, don’t you think Ren would’ve gotten sick or eaten by now?” asked Jessie.
“Maybe he’s a shapeshifter or an alien, ever think of that?” answered Samuel, so proud of his intelligent reply.
“That’s it! I’m going to sit back there and prove there isn’t any disease or killer spider monkey,” Jessie said.
“I said Sasquatch,” reminded Sam, looking up under his glasses.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, same difference,” said Jessie.
“No, actually —,” began Sam, when Franky cut him off.
“Jessie, don’t do that just to prove a point. You don’t even have a plan! Wait, do you have a plan?”
He had a plan.
The next day Jessie was in front of the bus stop line hollering and pounding his chest, pumping himself up. Everyone was jumping and cheering, even the kindergarteners. Some kids did back flips and cartwheels. Samuel and I didn’t join in on the fun; we were too worried that the plan wouldn’t work.
“Are you in?” Jessie yelled out.
“Yeah! Lead us, King Jessie!” the other bus kids shouted.
“You guys in, too?” he asked, pointing toward me and Sam.
“I don’t know, man. What are you going to do when Ren gets on the bus?” I asked.
“I won’t be alone. We’re all sitting back there. He will have no choice but to sit in the front. The bus driver will tell him to take a seat and he will have to listen.”
“Maybe tomorrow, eh Jessie?” asked Sam.
Jessie laughed, holding his belly. “Oh, Sam, sure. Maybe tomorrow, if you ever find the courage.” Sam just rolled his eyes.
When the bus arrived, Jessie ran to the back right away and took a seat, expecting every other kid to be right behind him. And they were.
All the other bus kids ran to meet him.
They kept cheering, “Long live King Jessie,” until the bus reached Ren’s stop. Then their courage turned to fear, going from cheeky smiles to pursed lips and wide eyes.
The bus became silent followed by rapid stampeding as the younger kids ran quickly toward the front of the bus leaving Jessie all alone at the back of the bus.
Ren stepped onto the bus and froze, locking eyes with Jessie, nostril flaring when his brain finally caught on to what was happening. I yelled, “Get over here now!” motioning for Jessie to sit with me and Sam, but Jessie was not moving. He didn’t even blink. Maybe that’s what they mean by “scared stiff”.
I was scared, too. Ren’s teeth were grinding and I’m pretty sure I saw fire come out of his ears.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He grunted out through his teeth.
Still no movement to Jessie.
“Earth to Jessie. Earth to Jessie,” Sam muttered to himself.
Ren stood still until the bus driver stepped outside to check for children. As soon as the driver wasn’t looking, Ren took off running and dove on top of Jessie. They slammed to the floor, tumbling around. I had to think of a way to help.
“Give me money, NOW!” I told Samuel.
“What? Now you’re the one sounding like a bully?”
“No, but I need a dollar… or five dollars… I have a plan to help Jessie.”
Samuel handed me three dollar bills. I crumbled the money and threw it at Jessie and Ren.
“Hey, Ren the Hen! You dropped your money! Can I have it?” I shouted.
Just as I had hoped, the crashing noises stopped. I didn’t see Jessie but Ren stood up with alert.
“Who said that? Where’s my money?” he asked looking around.
Ren saw the crumbled cash by his feet and swooped it up. He drooled over the money. “Mine now!” he said, eyes glued on the cash as he took a seat in the back. It worked.
“Where’s Jessie?” I asked.
Jessie crawled out from under the seat across from me and Sam.
“You owe me three bucks, Jessie,” said Samuel.
Jessie sounded like the wolf trying to blow the three little pig’s houses down, huffing and puffing.
“Never...go...back...there,” he let out.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I feel fine. Why, how do I look?”
Jessie was missing some patches of hair on his head and had several bite marks, bumps and bruises.
“Well...” I began to answer, but decided against it.
“Thanks for saving me, Franky. Samuel, you were right,” he said. “The back is gross. There were used band-aids. I hope I don’t catch a disease.”
I wasn’t sure if I believed Jessie about catching a disease. I can’t imagine it’s that gross. I was pretty sure the bus driver cleaned up after us anyway. Jessie could’ve hit his head too hard, but how could we know? Anyone that snuck to the back of the bus never came back around to prove you can’t get sick. Not even Jessie, he wasn’t on the bus the next day.
“This is just like Mary Johnson. She went back there and poof, never seen again,” said Sam.
“He’s probably at home healing his wounds. Did you see the ooze coming from his eye yesterday after his brawl with Ren?” I asked.
“He caught a disease, had to. Do you remember John Baker? He went to the back three months ago and still has the flu!” Samuel added.
I peeked over my seat to look at the back. Ren was shooting spitballs at a girl’s head and making her cry. Samuel peeked over the seat and screamed.
“What is it?” I asked as he ducked his head down and covered his eyes.
“You didn’t see it? There’s a giant octopus tentacle!” he yelled.
“You really need to stop reading Goosebumps, Sam.”
The next day I found a flyer posted in the school cafeteria and ripped it off to bring to Samuel.
“The fifth graders have a field trip next Friday!” he asked.
That’s exactly what the flyer stated. The fifth graders were going to a science museum and signing up for their very own buses.
“So what you’re saying is, Ren won’t be on our bus that day?” he continued asking with a smile that grew.
I nodded.
“Wait, you’re not thinking about sitting back there, are you?” he asked, now with a frown.
“You bet I am!”
It was field trip day and everyone at the bus stop was doing back flips and cartwheels again. They all seemed so happy except Samuel.
“I’m not going with you,” he reminded me. “I’m afraid of that lion.”
“What lion? Now there’s a lion?” I asked.
“You never know,” he replied.
“That makes no sense, Sam, seriously. A lion? Really?”
I planned ahead, not knowing what I’d face, even if it was a lion. I wore a baseball cap, gloves, my backpack and rain boots. I handed Samuel a checklist of items I had with me and had him read it aloud.
“Flashlight?” he asked.
“Check,” I answered.
“Tweezers?”
“Check.”
“Sunblock?”
“Check.”
“Granola bar?”
“Check.”
“Hand sanitizer?”
“Check.”
"Good luck?"
"Ch…Good luck?"
"You'll need that most of all," he mentioned, as he pointed to the bus that just parked behind me.
We boarded the bus. Sam and I made our way toward the middle of the bus, allowing the other kids to take the front seats. I waited until the bus driver stepped outside to check for kids still outside. Then I began my walk toward the back of the bus.
“Look out for the flying bat… disgusting winged creatures!” shouted Samuel.
I crouched without checking for a bat, trusting Samuel really saw a bat over me, but I took a peek and didn’t see a bat. I stood up and gave Samuel a raised eyebrow.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
I continued my walk down the last three rows.
My next step was onto something fat and squishy, like it was full of guts. I lifted my foot to see what I stepped on. At first it looked like a giant slug, but after rubbing my eyes I saw it was a massive pile of chewed up gum.
“Is it an eyeball?” shouted Samuel.
“It’s just a wad of gum,” I replied.
I grabbed the tweezers out of my backpack and pulled some of the gum off of my shoe.
After a few more steps I was finally looking at the back row.
There was no lion, or a bat, or an octopus. I didn’t see eyeballs or used band-aids, either. There was nothing gross at all. At least nothing that could be seen without a microscope.
I was startled by a deep voice yelling, “SIT DOWN!” so that I automatically sat down on the very back seat, holding my breath while everyone else gasped. I was afraid something might pop out at me. I was still in forbidden territory, after all.
After releasing my breath, I noticed the back of the bus looked cleaner than where I sat which always had candy wrappers and broken crayons on the floor. The seats looked like they’ve never been sat on, the air was clear of that rotten egg smell, and there was much more space to stretch my legs.
There was no wondering why Ren guarded the back; it was like being the first one to use a toilet after it was cleaned. I felt so special.
The bus was still silent, as was I. None of us were certain we’d get to sit in the back until we completely passed Ren’s stop. And when the bus kept driving on, with no Ren in sight, I brought my hands to the corners of my mouth and yelled, "All is clear!"
Everyone cheered so loudly that I could barely hear Samuel shout, “YOU’RE THE MAN!”
I AM the man. WOW! Now I hoped I could be the same man tomorrow. My only thought was that I caught a disease; after all, you can’t see viruses. What if Ren put a bunch of viruses in the back before he left and the clean appearance was a set-up?
Samuel and I were both surprised that I was actually at the bus stop the next Monday.
“You must be immune from germs,” he said.
“No need to fear, the back is completely safe,” I replied.
I must’ve convinced Samuel because as soon as we boarded the bus he marched to the back and took a seat. I took a seat across the aisle from him.
“Now this is worth fighting for,” he said.
We sat peacefully until we arrived at Ren’s bus stop. Samuel and I stood up and began shaking with fear as the bus came to a stop.
“This may be the end of us,” warned Samuel.
“Stand your ground. Be brave,” I said calmly even though my heart felt and sounded like a bass drum.
Ren got on the bus and looked straight at me. I suddenly knew how Jessie felt. My body was shaking so much the flashing devices in my sneakers were going off. The bus driver walked outside looking for kids that were probably not even there. He just had to check anyway and leave me here to face my fear. He could’ve been on the bus saving our lives instead, but no. Ren walked to us slowly, pounding his fist in his hand.
“What do we have here? Two brave little nerds. Haven’t you learned from your loser friend Jessica?” asked Ren.
“Jessie, actually. His name is Jessie,” I informed him.
“I don’t care!” he shouted.
I was full of fear but I stood my ground, thanks to the voice in my head.
Stand your ground. Stand your ground. Is his vein popping out of his skull? Stand your ground.
“Well, are you going to get out of my seat or should I start your punishment?” he went on, giving me a light push with his fingertips.
“I...I...,” I was interrupted by a tiny finger coming up from behind Ren.
The finger tapped his shoulder and Ren turned around. I couldn’t believe what I saw.
All the other bus kids were standing behind Ren holding juice boxes without the straws.
“If you touch Samuel and Franky, we’ll soak you with fruit punch,” said a second grader standing in the front of the group.
“How many times...SIT DOWN!” yelled the bus driver.
Samuel and I sat down where we stood… in the back of the bus. All the other bus kids found seats around the front. Everyone was now sitting… except Ren.
“You think the rules don’t apply to you?” the bus driver asked Ren.
“No, I mean yes. It’s just that I want to sit in the back. I always sit there. It’s not fair,” Ren answered back.
“Those seats are taken. Find a seat in the front,” the bus driver demanded.
Ren began his walk toward the front of the bus, bowing his head down and stomping his feet.
Before Ren sat down he stepped on what looked to be a green moldy sandwich.
“Oh gross! What is this?” Ren shouted.
He looked over to the first grader he was going to sit next to.
“Want to see my boogers under the seat?” asked the first grader.
Ren stood up and yelled, “I can’t sit here! There are diseases!”
Samuel and I chuckled. If only Jessie could’ve seen us.
I put my hands behind my head and began to enjoy the moment. No one would fear the back of the bus anymore.
“There’s a spider on your arm!” shouted Samuel.
I wrote this many years ago, 16 to be exact. I remember driving to work one morning and being stuck behind a school bus. I began to daydream about the back of the bus and how there was an hierarchy to who sat there. If the older kids accepted you and let you sit there, you were cool in and out of the bus. Then the characters started to form in my mind. Never published, but once submitted to an Editor, No Fear Franky remains in my archives of unfinished works that I haven’t closed the door on. Besides, it’s the one piece I’ve written that my husband gets on me about sharing. So, for him, here it is.
