Bus-y

"Where's Jeff?" Joey asks as he walked in the house after school today.

"Wasn't he on the bus?" I ask.

"I didn't see him," Joey replies.

Hmm. Interesting. Don't panic. He is probably at the school, having somehow missed the bus, and they are getting ready to call me any second to tell me. I'll beat them to it. I'll call the school myself, I decide. "Is Jeffrey there?" I ask. "He wasn't on the bus."

The woman in the front office asks if he is participating in the after school rec program. "No, he's not participating in anything," I tell her while my heart does a little flip in my chest. Don't panic. To Joey, I ask, "Are you sure he wasn't on the bus?"

"I don't think so," Joey answers.

I try to ignore Mrs. A's voice and the indication that she is trying to keep it at an even keel as she puts me on hold for a second time after I assure her he is not involved in the drama club. He's in 2nd grade, after all. He isn't even allowed to participate in drama, although I'm thinking this is as dramatic as it gets. "Maybe he fell asleep on the bus and Joey didn't see him," I say. It has happened, after all. The last time was three years ago when he was in Kindergarten. But still, it's possible.

"Let me put you on hold and call the bus company," Mrs. A says. "What is the bus number?"

I give her his bus number and wait, again asking Joey if he could have possibly missed him and maybe he fell asleep because he is clearly not at the school and where else could he possibly be, anyway, except for somewhere slouched in a back seat of the bus, unseen by the driver? There is just nowhere else he could be, and therefore no need to panic.

She comes back on the line. "He's on the bus," she says with relief. "The driver has 2 more stops and he'll come back and drop him off." I thank her and hang up, so glad I didn't panic. I knew he was on the bus the whole time. Didn't I say he was on the bus?

"Did you fall asleep?" I ask Jeff as he disembarks the bus.

"I was playing my iPod," he answers sheepishly.

Playing his iPod. Of course. Perfectly reasonable excuse to miss his stop. Happens to me all the time. Which is why I never panicked, not once. Besides, Mrs. A was worried enough for the both of us.

I'd really hate to put her through that ordeal again, though, so the iPod will no longer be allowed on the bus. The end.