An Epiphany Too Late

The deafening sound of my persistent alarm clock quickly put an end to my sleep. The second I opened my

eyes, I could already hear my overbearing mother stomping down the hallway to make sure I was awake. Within

seconds, I heard the three aggressive knocks that represented the start of every unbearable morning.

“Are you awake in there?”

“Yes, Mother.” I mumbled with my eyes rolled.

“Great. I’ll start on some breakfast! Before school, I need you to clean your room, it’s a mess. What time is

your game today? Dad and I have the directions ready and -”

“It’s at 4 Mother!” I shouted in order to interrupt her incessant questioning. “And I will clean my room,

okay? I’ll see you downstairs.”

I had always loathed being an only child with a helicopter parent. My life felt like it was constantly under

my mother’s control and I hated every second that I had to spend at home because of it. I begrudgingly finished each

task assigned to me by my Mother, scarfed down my breakfast, and ran out the door.

Once I got to school, I felt like a new person. I was able to walk through the halls without someone

managing my every move. I said hi to my friends that I passed and made my way to my locker. I robotically began

to twist my lock, hitting each number in my combination when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Hey, Alisha! Ready for the game today?”

It was my best friend Maura. She and I had been captains of our soccer team for the past two years. Our

game that day was one of the last ones in our senior season so I was especially anxious.

“Of course!” I exclaimed with a smile on my face.

The rest of the school day went by quicker than it ever had. As soon as I heard the final bell at the end of

the day, I grabbed all of my bags and sprinted down to the locker room. The second I opened the heavy metal doors,

the hallway was flooded with music. Everyone on my team was in a great mood, dancing and singing with each

other to get excited about the big game. We all got dressed as quickly as we could and rushed to the bus that was

waiting for us at the back of the school.

I ran up the stairs and said hello to the bus driver. He kept his eyes on the ground and ignored me and all of

my teammates. We didn’t think twice about it, assumed he was shy, and continued down the aisle to fight for the
best seats on the bus. As soon as I sat down on the cold, worn out bus seat, I felt a vibration shake my entire bag. I

reached into the mesh pocket and pulled out my phone. It was a text from my coach.

“I’m running a little late so I won’t make it in time to ride the bus with you guys. I will meet you there,”​ it

read.

I didn’t think much of that text. It wasn’t uncommon for our coach to be late. I answered her with a

nonchalant “okay” and continued singing along with my teammates.

Once everyone was on the bus, we left the school and started our trip to Airheart High School. We had

played this school many times before so I knew exactly how much time it would take to get there. 30 anxious

minutes was all that I had to prepare myself for one of the last soccer games of my life.

It was 20 minutes into the bus ride when everyone started to quiet down. Everyone knew that with 10

minutes left we needed to focus on getting ready. To no surprise, this was also around the time that my mother

started flooding my phone with text messages.

“Just got here! So excited to see you play! Dad and I will be right on the end of the field so look out for us.

See you in 10 minutes!”

Of course, she knew how far away we were. She made me download a tracking app the day I got my phone.

She watched my every move and reminded me of that fact constantly. God, I was always so suffocated by her and I

just wanted a break from it. Before answering her, I scrolled over to the app and deleted it.

“Yup. See you soon.” I replied right before turning my phone off completely and putting it back in my bag.

It had been 30 minutes and we still weren’t there. We weren’t even close. I had no idea where we were.

45 minutes had gone by and the bus was dead silent. All of the girls were confused and frantically

whispering to each other. I moved up a few seats to get a closer look at the bus driver. His bloodshot eyes looked

like they were glazed over. The corners of his mouth were turned up ever so slightly, revealing a subtle grin. His

hair was scarce and stood up like he had been running his fingers through it for hours. Eventually, I mustered up

enough courage to say something.

“Excuse me?” I shouted. “Do you know how much longer it will be until we get there?”
 Nothing. I felt the eyes of every girl on that bus fall on me but the eyes of the bus driver remained on the

road. At this point, we were in the middle of nowhere. There were no other cars on the road and we seemed to be

approaching a secluded, dirt parking lot. Everyone was terrified and it was clear that something was wrong.

The bus driver slowly turned the bus into the lot, put the bus in park, and turned the key. He stood up

slowly and turned to face the seats full of petrified girls.

“Phones up here! Now!” he screamed.

I could feel my heartbeat ringing in my ears. I reached my shaking hand into the mesh pocket of my bag

and pulled my phone out. One by one we placed our phones, our last hope of communicating with the outside world,

in the plastic crate that he held out. Everyone retreated to the back of the bus. Three girls were crammed into each

seat as if to reiterate the fact that we were all in this together. For the next 5 minutes, he stared at us. He laughed at

us. He smiled at us. I had never hated someone more.

After what seemed like a lifetime, he reached back behind the driver’s seat and slowly revealed a gun. At

that point, everyone knew we were in trouble. Some girls broke down into hysterics while others remained silent and

stayed determined to not let this monster break them. My mind began racing at a speed I didn’t even know it was

capable of. He took slow, agonizing steps down the aisle as if to emphasize the power he had over us. I knew I

needed to do something. I was on the edge one of the first seats he would approach once he finally reached the back

​ e was feet away from me. I was shaking.

of the bus. ​ Thump thump thump. H

“My God, I have been dreaming of this day. You all deserve this. You all deserve to die!” he bellowed as

his eyes began to twitch.

​ e was close enough. He was looking at me. It was time. After all of the times I told
Thump thump thump. H

my teammates I would take a bullet for them, I never imagined it would be true.

I jumped up from my seat and lunged for the gun. All of the girls screamed in horror as they realized what I

was doing. Before I could grab it I felt the cold, stiff hands of the monster clench my wrist and fling it away. It was

clear that he was stronger than me. He pushed my unsteady body back down onto the cold seat. I could see the rage

in his eyes. I could hear the quickening of his breath. He raised the gun up and placed the barrel on the center of my

forehead. I felt the fear of each person on the bus surround me like a thick, dark cloud.

BOOM
 I remembered movie nights my Mom. I remembered trips to Disney. I remembered pancake breakfasts. I

remembered school field trips. I remembered play dates. I remembered trips to Grandma’s house. I remembered

singing in the car with my Dad. I remembered middle school. I remembered my time in high school. I remembered

everything. The entirety of my life had flashed by in a matter of seconds.

I could see my teammates crying. I could see his devious face. I could see my Mom standing on that field

trying to figure out why she couldn’t see my location. And suddenly, I could see nothing at all.