the ride home from NACA
by imdeb
I’m not sure exactly what woke me but I opened my eyes slowly to the sunlight slanting through tinted windows. My jacket was balled up where my head had been, darkened in the spot where I had drooled in my sleep. We were very close, only maybe 15 minutes away from UNH. I looked around the rest of the bus. Limp legs fell into the asiles and sleeping tilted heads pressed against windows. Alison was awake and reading. We exchanged smiles, the only two awake on a silent bus…well aside from the driver. Slowly, stirring began, as if an internal gps knew we were practically home. Justin adjusted his glasses as Allie righted her ponytail. In silence we looked back at each other, quielty recalling funny stories from the past weekend. We all knew that this weekend would be something that only the people on this bus would ever fully understand. The gentle curve of the off ramp brought the rest of the bus to life. And as we re-adjusted our clothing and wiped sleep from our eyes, we rode into campus. We stepped from the bus, gathered our things, and with groggy goodbyes, we parted in all different ways across C lot, smiling. An unlikey group united in memories.
