approval lightened his heavy step ever so slightly.
He made his way to the bus station on Main Street
and went inside a tiny office, where a man sat
behind a very messy desk. Nick asked for a one way
ticket to Boston.
“In a hurry, eh?” asked the man, his pudgy face
cracking into a broad grin as he stamped a ticket.
“No luggage?”
“No.”
“Get into a row with the police or your girlfriend?”
the man queried, with an insight only found in
men who see every kind of person on a daily basis.
“That’s none of your business,” Nick retorted,
his face growing dark. Only the remembrance of
how Jade hated him fighting stopped him from
punching the man’s face.
“Don’t worry, son,” the man said, handing him the
ticket and stuffing his money into a drawer. “If it’s
the police, you’ll be safe in Boston. Don’t tell ‘em I
said so, but it’s true. And if it’s your girlfriend then
hey, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. Your
bus leaves in two hours. Good luck.”
Nick went out and found an empty bench to sit on.
If only he knew,
he thought bitterly.
You don’t
just pick Jades off of trees. I was lucky enough to
find and love the only one. There’s no one like her.
He groaned and buried his face in his hands.
Thoughts of despair began crowding in his brain,
stamping out any little seed of hope. He began
to seriously consider dropping his ticket in a
trashcan and running away from the station, back
to the gang. The whole idea of going away was
rapidly becoming a terrible idea. What if they
tracked him down? What if…?
A gentle touch on his knee made him lift his head.
He found himself staring into the big blue eyes of a
very little girl. Short golden hair fell in ringlets to
her shoulders.
“Does your head hurt?” she asked, with a sweet
lisp.
“Oh, come, Angela; don’t bother him.” Nick looked
up to find a woman – evidently the little girl’s
mother – trying to hold a wriggling, whining baby
while keeping track of another young child by her
side. She looked tired.
“But does it?” Angela demanded, ignoring her
mother.
“Yes,” answered Nick, honestly. The little girl
gazed at him for a moment and her mother ran
after her little son who had escaped.
“Maybe if I kiss it you’ll feel better,” she
suggested, in a very grave tone. “That’s what
Mama always does when my head hurts.”
Nick hid a smile and said: “Perhaps.”
Angela went on tiptoe and kissed his forehead.
“There!” she beamed, climbing on the seat beside
him. “Do you know what I’m gonna be when I
get real big?” Without waiting for an answer, she
continued: “I’m gonna be a doctor. And you know
how I’m gonna fix everyone? I’m just gonna go
around and give them all big kisses. Frankie says
that’s silly. Do you think that’s silly?”
“Angela, please come,” begged her mother, who
had finally retrieved the little boy. Angela tripped
after her mother to another bench without saying
good bye.
Nick let his head fall back into his hands. The little
girl had prodded a memory into his thoughts. Jade,
her green eyes sparkling like stars, was speaking of
It’s Not Cowardly to Run | Katelyn Daniels | Grade 12
What if they tracked him down?
What if…?
10
BAYLEY BULLETIN, MAR-MAY 2016
