On the Bus
written by: Don Tassone
Martha and her best friend Ella slowly made their way up the steps of the school bus. It was their first day of school. They had seen school buses but never been on one.
“Good morning,” the bus driver said warmly.
He was a pleasant-looking man with gray hair and an easy smile. He gave Martha and Ella the impression he’d driven a bus for a while, and this made them a little more comfortable.
They spotted some friends in the back of the bus and made their way back there. Kids, mostly one per seat, stared up at them as they passed by.
When Martha and Ella reached the back, their friends were giggling, and this made them giggle too. They could hardly sit still. The group of friends chatted loudly. They were the only ones on the bus whose voices could be heard. The kids up front kept looking back at them.
Then things settled down, and Martha heard someone crying. It was coming from a few seats up. Martha and Ella looked at each other. When the bus made a stop, Martha got up and carefully made her way up to the crying child, a little girl. She was sitting alone.
“I miss my mommy,” she said, looking up at Martha.
Martha sat down beside her, put her arm around the girl and said, “You’ll be okay.”
Then Martha heard someone else crying. It was a boy two seats ahead of her. She turned around and motioned to Ella, who came up, sat next to the boy and comforted him.
From then on, Martha, Ella and their friends sat with the kids on the bus, not by themselves in the back. After all, they were all grandmothers. They might not have had the chance to go to school until now, but they knew how to take care of children.
- On the Bus - June 1, 2026
