Over the Cobblestone Bridge

Chapter 6 Gwen

"A field trip? Why haven't I heard of this?" Alice perked an eyebrow when she reviewed the paper that her son had handed her.

Gwen squirmed in his place, the sunset splattered colors over the kitchen in blotches and while the shadows of trees danced on the kitchen table. His father, sitting across him, taking a bite from his dinner. Gwen bit his lower lip. "Y-Yeah... We were so busy with the picnic for church, it slipped my mind... We're going to spend a night at one of the college dorms. Friday into Saturday... All I need is your signature..." his voice trailed off when his father reached for the paper to look over it.

"Give me a good reason we should allow you to go." The gruff and firmness of his father's voice always made Gwen shiver down his spine.

"Noah-" His mother tried to intervene, but he held up a hand and stared sternly at his son.

"I-I've been working really hard and receiving good grades... and... it'll give me a good opportunity to look into some colleges... I'm still not certain which college I want to go to."

"It's a university college, you don't want to go into an elite college like your sister and brother?" The mere mention of Landon and Brooke made Gwen yearn for his siblings once more, he hated being the center of attention with his parents.

"It'll give me more of an experience to the college life... I'll be a senior next year... so it'll give me plenty of time to think..." his voice once again trailed off.

Noah stood up and strode across the kitchen. Gwen's heart stopped when his father walked over to the trash, but instead of throwing the permission slip away, he reached for a pen and signed the permission slip. When Gwen received the paperback, he noticed his father's signature on it. With a deep sigh of relief, Gwen smiled at his father. "Thanks, dad."

Smiles were being spread around the dinner table and the occasion of splattered food from a toddler. Everyone laughed while Faith was spreading spaghetti sauce over her hair. "Looks like I have a mess to clean up," Alice giggled as she picked up her daughter and whisked her away to the bath.

Gwen entered the school grounds Friday and took a deep breath. Before leaving his house he double-checked all his belongings to make sure he had everything for his trip. He had to stop his anxiety-driven mother from shoving 'emergency' kits inside his knapsack before leaving. He never has seen her so worried before, but he reassured her multiple times that he was going to be alright. To his surprise he wasn't bothered by any of his normal bullies that day, Nathan seemed preoccupied talking to his friends. He thought if he could go throughout the day without bumping into any of them, the better it'll be.

Everyone gathered around the parking lot, paper permission slips in hand as they waited to board onto the buses, teachers being bombarded with papers in their face as they tried their best to grab as many as they can and marking down who was entering the buses. Gwen felt relieved when Hana interlocked her arms on his, reassuring his anxieties. No one was actually excited to be going to live in the dorms, but they all figured it beats from having to stay home and deal with their parents for the weekend.

"You ready to go, partner?" She giggled, her blonde hair dancing in the faint glow of the morning sun.

"Yup!" Gwen beamed as they entered the bus together and was fortunate enough to find an empty seat.

"It's at the back of the bus, are you sure you want to sit here?" Gwen asked.

"It's here or we be separated." Hana cringed, knowing what Gwen was emphasizing.

"I don't think I'm ready to deal with an early morning headache."

"Neither do I..."

As expected, all the rowdy jocks sat at the back of the bus. Their loud and obnoxious behavior amplified throughout the bus the moment they were on the roads. The smell of food started to fill up the bus as everyone began to turn their heads to see who had brought food.