an opening chapter before the bomb

The experts say that I am entirely completly legally sane, but as I satnd here I know I am not. As I satir at the boy before me, I know I am not. As I see the boys eyes widen, I know I am entirely utterly mad.



The sign read clearly, Road works. I groaned as the bus slowly came to a stop. It was crowded and stuffy, filled with the usual rush on the way home from school. I sat in the window seat, getting more stressed by the second. Around the bus, life moved on. People scurried from pavement to pavement, sorting through papers or chatting on mobiles, all in a rush to get home. Cars stood like bricks covering the road in a sea of red yellow and silver. Above the people stood the giant like skyscrapers, gazing down, as if in disgust. I shifted uneasily in my seat, vigorously chewing the gum. I could taste the mint, carried by saliva. I chewed in till the taste went, and then still more, on and on. I could smell the stench of sweat from as gaggle of adolescents in the corner, all of which were chatting away as if nothing was happening. It felt as if the walls of the bus had stepped in, pointing and laughing, mocking me. Then there were the horns, honking, trying to make the cars go faster, but nothing was moving. Nothing was and nothing could. The honking continued, on and on, the other passengers talked away. They didn’t get it. To them, nothing was happening. I chewed faster, the gum now tasteless. And then there was the constant drilling, never starting, never stopping, on and on and on…

"Tom? Tom, are you ok?"

"Shut Up!!"

I yelled it before I relised my mouth was open. The entire bus spun around to see what was going on. A fight, they thought. No, it was just the looney kid shouting again. Nothing new, nothing interesting. As the bus began to move again, the ussal talk resumes.

"Sorry" I mumble to Jude, who was sat next to me, glued to his seat.