CHILD'S PLAY, quentin beck

V. TIME TO GO, JO

The dark, messy hotel lobby was brimming with twenty-something exhausted students, one over-enthusiastic teacher, one teacher who seemed to be bored out of his mind, and one teacher who had fallen asleep on one of the few uncomfortable chairs. Sounds like an average class trip. It was Mr. Harrington who, after letting his students know that they would be getting some breakfast before hitting the road, woke his colleague up from her little nap.

'Time to go, Jo,' he said, clearly amused at his own little rhyme.

When Josephine came back from her midnight walk a few hours ago, she had fallen asleep as soon as her back hit the mattress. Two hours later, her alarm blared through the room, letting her know it was time to get up. She felt as if she had only gotten five minutes of sleep.

Josephine felt nauseous. While everyone else was clearly enjoying the breakfast they had been given, she had absolutely no desire to eat something. Some of her students seemed worried, asking her if she had gotten sick. She assured them that the reason why she felt so bad was that she didn't sleep that much. It was sweet of them to ask her. She had asked the employee if she could have a bag so she could bring the food with her. Despite her broken Italian, the employee thankfully understood her.

They returned to the hotel first to pack their bags. Since Josephine had never unpacked hers in the first place, she was done rather quickly. Walking down the stairs, struggling a little bit with her large suitcase, she overheard the words 'upgrade' and 'Prague' coming from the mouths of her fellow teachers. Julius saw Josephine coming downstairs and helped her with her suitcase.

'I just got a call from the travel agency,' Roger said, excitedly. 'They have upgraded our trip. We're going to Prague instead of Paris and our driver will be here in half an hour.'

Josephine stared at him with a furrowed brow. 'And you're sure it's completely valid? No additional costs or anything?' She wasn't sure what to think. Did travel agencies often upgrade trips at the very last minute? She wondered if Prague even fit into their budget. The three of them did spend many hours figuring out what they did and what they did not have the money for before they went on this trip.

Roger nodded. 'It sounds totally valid to me. Transport and hotel are all completely covered, we just need to get the students to hurry up if we don't want to keep our driver waiting, he'll be here soon.'

Josephine and Julius shared a look. Both of them were surprised, a little doubtful even. 'Alright, then.' Josephine looked around. 'We should probably let the parents know. They might want to know that their children are in a completely different country than we had planned,' she suggested. It was Julius who volunteered to send a quick e-mail to all of the parents.

'We're going to Prague!'

The students looked at their science teacher in surprise, not expecting the change in travel plans. While Roger explained that the travel agency had upgraded the trip, the bus driver finally opened the door and stepped out.

Josephine could hear Peter mumble a soft 'crap' when he looked at the bus driver. She glanced from the driver to Peter, wondering what it was about the man that seemed to make Peter so nervous. Josephine had to admit that their new driver was a little creepy looking, but she didn't judge.

Flash Thompson was the first one on the bus. As soon as Josephine had placed her suitcase in the luggage compartment, she got in as well. She sat down somewhere in the front next to the window, hoping to be able to look at some nice views on the way. Ned and Betty sat down next to her, on the other side of the pathway. Josephine thought they made a cute couple. Julius was the last one to get onto the bus, right before the bus driver did.

Josephine never expected to actually go to Venice one day, let alone Europe. Being here was like a dream come true for her. No, she wouldn't be in Venice for a very long time and she definitely wasn't here with a romantic partner like she had originally wanted, but Josephine was grateful to be here right now. Even after what had happened the other day with the giant water creature.

The bus ride was quiet. Nearly everyone had decided to take this opportunity to get some rest before they arrived in Prague. Julius had informed everyone that there would be a quick toilet break in thirty minutes, and a chance for everyone to stretch their legs. 

When Josephine checked her phone for any messages, mainly from her sister who required constant updates on hot European men, she noticed that she had two missed calls from an unknown number. Strange. It couldn't have been any of her students since they were all on the bus and there was no reason to make an emergency call. Josephine decided that it might be a parent of a student, maybe they had some questions about the e-mail and the change in travel plans. 

'Be back in fifteen minutes,' Josephine announced to the teenagers right after everyone had gotten off the bus. Fifteen minutes was enough time to use the restroom, get something to eat or drink, and get some fresh air. 

While Josephine, along with her colleague, Roger, walked into the cafeteria, she felt her phone vibrating. She took it out of her pocket and saw that is was, once again, an unknown number. If there was one thing Josephine hated, it was answering calls from a phone number she didn't know. 

'I should take this,' she said to Roger. 'I'll be right back.'

Without waiting for an answer, Josephine walked back outside and picked up the call. 'Hello?' She looked around, looking at the many students running around, chatting at each other. They seemed to be rather excited to go to Prague instead of Paris. 

'Josephine Colby?' An unfamiliar, male voice spoke up after a few seconds of silence. When she muttered a 'yes', the voice continued speaking. 'Good,' he said. 'I need to talk to you about Spider-Man.'

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Sorry it took me so long to update, guys. I've been sick for almost a week now and I had absolutely no motivation to do anything. But there's a new chapter, and I hope you'll enjoy it. Let me know what you think!