Vivi-Anne at the ALDC

6. On the Bus

We get to the studio at 5:57. Three minutes before Abby says we have to be on the bus. My mom takes her time, checking her makeup in the car mirror before the cameras spot us.

"Mom!" I tell her. "We have to be on the bus right now! And I want to go to the bathroom before we get on the bus." We woke up at 3: 30 and had to start driving to the studio at 4. The bus ride is going to be 4 hours, so I'm not taking any chances.

She groans. "Vivi, if you want to go, just go. I have to fix my makeup."

I get out of the car. Paige spots me from the bus window and rolls the window down. "Vivi, hurry up! Abby's coming any second now!" She shouts amicably. The moms laugh. "Cathy, get in here!"

I run into the studio to use the bathroom. When I get out, my mom is still fixing her hair.  "Mom! Seriously, sometimes I feel like the adult here!"

She finally gets out and helps me get the luggage out. Abby's coming out of the studio, her hair still in curlers. "Cathy! Vivi! We need you on the bus, stat!"

We get the luggage onto the bus and get on. All the moms are in the middle, and the girls are at the back. The producers and cameramen take up the first three rows. Mom tries to get me to sit with her, but I wiggle out to the back.

Bus formation:

Row 1: Producers

Row 2: Producers/ Cameramen

Row 3: Cameramen, A/V specialists

Row 4: Empty

Row 5: Abby

Row 6: Melissa and Holly on one side, Gianna on the other

Row 7: Kelly and Christi on one side, Cathy on the other

Row 8: Empty

Row 9: Empty

Row 10: Mackenzie and Maddie on one side, Nia on the other

Row 11: Brooke on one side, Chloe and Paige on the other

Row 12: Empty

Bathroom

I wanted to sit with Kenzie, but I squish over and sit with Nia. She is in the aisle seat so she can talk to the other girls. I take out my book- because I'm homeschooled and at a Grade 10 reading level, I'm reading Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. It's set after WWII and focuses mainly on race, and the suppression of African- American people. It's really good- there are so many metaphorical moments. I'm on Cloud 9, just reading along. The other girls are having some sort of giggle-fest. I wish I could join in, but I've only known them for like five days and it's kind of awkward. I get out of my seat and go sit in the row across from Miss Abby. I would sit by my mom, but she gets carsick and I'd rather not be right there beside her if anything happens.

The moms look at me. "Vivi, why don't you want to sit with the girls?"

"I wanted to read instead, and it's a bit loud back there."

"Vivi, what are you reading?" Abby asks.

I hold up the book and she snorts. "You're reading that?  You're kidding me. No six- year old reads that sort of stuff!"

I shrug. "I mean, I guess some might consider historical fiction a bit dry, but I think that this is actually a rather fascinating read- the depth of the metaphorical comparison of so many of the events are rooted so strongly to the social justice of the time, and-"

"Okay, Vivi, okay. Gotcha." Abby says. I lean back in my seat, smirking. I wonder if she even understood what I was saying.