6:37 p.m.
Alex stared out the bus window, searching the faces on the street. He was looking for his father, hoping to spot him in the crowd, making his way home. He knew it was a long shot. Right now, his dad could be anywhere.
Even at Ground Zero.
He couldn’t stop thinking about it: the planes hitting; the billowing smoke; the towers as they fell. He closed his eyes, but that only made it worse. The fireball. The smoke. The collapse. Over and over on a constant loop in his brain.
He blinked and wiped a tear off his cheek.
He heard sniffling and looked around. He wasn’t the only one on the bus crying quietly.
Something cool and wet brushed his hand. It was Radar, licking the salty drop off his fingers. Alex gazed down at Radar.
Greatest. Dog. Ever.
When Alex looked back up, he caught eyes with a woman across the aisle. She wore a hotel maid’s uniform, gray with a white collar. Her shoulders were hunched, her brow creased. But when her gaze connected with Alex’s, her eyes went soft, and she gave him a tiny smile.
Alex looked around at the other passengers. He and Nunu rode the bus all the time, and he was used to seeing what they called “bus face,” the blank stare most riders wore to avoid making eye contact with the people around them. He sometimes played a game with Nunu where they’d each put on their best bus face and see who could hold it the longest, staring ahead like wide-eyed zombies until one of them (usually Nunu) lost it and got the giggles.
But today was different. Everyone looked kind of sad; some kept their gaze on the floor, others watched intently out the window. But there was no sign of bus face anywhere. Then it happened again: he caught eyes with a man in a suit; the man nodded and gave him a little smile. Incredible. Four times in one day. And that didn’t even count the bus driver, who didn’t give him any trouble about bringing Radar on board.
Alex felt a tap on his shoulder and jerked around, startled. It was the lady in the seat behind him, a middle-aged Hispanic woman in a flowered dress. She was holding up his Gameboy.
“It fell out of your bag.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
She gave him a kind smile and turned away.
That makes five, Alex thought to himself.
Nunu watched him put away the Gameboy and then went back to reading the picture book in her lap. Alex turned back to the window. Down a side street, he saw a boy about his age burst out his front door, sprint down the sidewalk, and jump into the arms of a man getting out of a car.
Alex watched for as long as he could, until the bus went through a short tunnel. For a brief moment, there was nothing but darkness beyond the window, and Alex’s face was suddenly reflected back to him in the glass.
He saw the wet streak on his cheek and looked away, embarrassed.
The bus pulled over at the next stop. Radar stiffened, back straight, ears pricked. He growled.
Alex followed Radar’s eyes: it was Calvin, one of Jordan’s goons, coming down the aisle. Alex sat up. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t feel scared. Something was different about Calvin. Then it hit him: Calvin wasn’t smirking or cracking his knuckles or trying to act tough. He just looked like a regular kid.
Calvin froze when he spotted Alex. Alex stared back. Calvin broke his gaze and looked away, then down at Radar, whose bandaged ear twitched back and forth.
“Uhhh…he okay?”
“Yeah.”
Calvin shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his eyes on the floor.
“We didn’t mean to hurt him.”
Alex shook his head.
“Yes, you did.”
“Yeah.” Calvin nodded. “Sorry.”
Seriously? thought Alex. An apology? From Calvin? He considered pinching himself to see if he was dreaming, but he played it cool and just nodded.
Then Calvin surprised him again. “Jordan’s a jerk sometimes.”
“All the time.”
“Yeah.”
Alex noticed a purplish bruise on Calvin’s cheek and remembered something from earlier that day. Just before Jordan threw the bottle, Alex saw him take a swing at Calvin and shove him aside. A completely crazy thought occurred to Alex: had Calvin been trying to stop Jordan from throwing the bottle?
Alex pointed at Calvin’s cheek. “Jordan give you that?”
Calvin was silent a long time. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “I, uh, tried…” said Calvin, his voice trailing off.
Amazing.
“Why do you hang out with him?” asked Alex.
Calvin shrugged. “Who else am I gonna hang out with?”
Alex knew it was true. He studied Calvin’s face. Calvin’s gaze was still glued to the floor; he couldn’t look Alex in the eye. Both of them were unsure what the next move should be. They might’ve stayed that way all night if Alex hadn’t suddenly noticed the street signs outside. He reached over and yanked the bell cord, then nudged Nunu, who put away her picture book.
“My stop,” said Alex.
Calvin stepped aside to let them pass.
“See you tomorrow, I guess,” said Calvin.
Alex shrugged. “Whatever.” Then something inside him made him stop. He didn’t like the way that sounded. He turned back towards Calvin.
“Hey, Calvin. Your family okay? After...you know….”
Calvin looked surprised; then he nodded. “Yeah.”
Alex hustled Radar and Nunu to the door while Calvin continued down the aisle. Halfway to the back, Calvin turned around and called to Alex.
“What about yours?”
But Alex was already gone. The doors closed with a hiss, and the bus moved on.