The bus wasn’t in the best condition but it wasn’t like it was a garbage can with wheels either. It had had odd odor to it that wasn’t particularly terrible though it’d make any normal person cringe a little. It wasn’t coming from any particular area either; it was just the smell of the bus. Barret found his seat somewhere near the back and on the right side, taking a window seat. When he sat down, the old worn out maroon cushion let out a small sigh of air, showing just how the bus was actually deteriorating. He shifted in his seat, looking out the window; the Plexiglas pane speckled in dust, grime and various sorts of graffiti some vandals had probably carved in with a pocketknife. Barret continued to stare out the window, noticing that the man who had given him the pass had gone, the boulevard parallel to the bus empty.

The engine from the bus chortled a little before it began to pull away from the bus stop, chugging loudly, revving and then accelerating; the noise it made while doing so making it sound like it would break down at any given point. Barret watched the street carefully as it drove, knowing that he might not ever see any of the buildings and houses he drove past again. It just seemed surreal. He had dreamed about leaving one day and growing up to be successful though he had never followed through. Even though he had no friends, hated school, and hated his father even more, it was saddening to drive past so many memories.

The playground that brought him what little solace anything ever could when he was young whizzed past. The corner he had played his guitar during the summer to earn some cash before it was sold. The bakery he spent his spare change on when he wanted something sweet for himself. All the little things that he could remember, the little things that had made him happy now only brought him remorse that for the past couple years, they had only brought him misery.

After watching everything as he went by with his sad, heavy looking eyes, the bus eventually reached the city limits and onto a road that led into the distance. And with his finally materialized dreams, here he was, driving out of the small urban town, the grey huddle of squares and blocks shrinking and shrinking. The good times and the bad times would be forgotten at some point… his childhood finally gone.