School Bus Horror Stories

Anyone who has ever ridden a school bus probably has similar stories to the ones I'm about to tell.  A school bus is the perfect setting for bullies to pick on weaker kids and bad situations to arise.  I personally have three horror stories about riding the school bus, all from a variety of times in my adolescence.

The first one occurred when I was in Kindergarten.  I remember I had to start riding the bus and ended up sitting near two boys who loved to terrorize me.  One would sit next to me and lay his head on my lap, while his friend sat behind me, poking me, pulling my hair, and saying awful things I didn't understand at the time.  From what I remember it was dirty things no little kid should even know about.  After several weeks of this torture, I finally told my parents.  They reported the harassment and I was questioned at school.  I'm guessing the boys got in trouble but I don't remember.  The one positive result was my Dad began driving me to school so I didn't have to endure the teasing any longer.

My next story is probably the worst because it wasn't a fellow student who was a bully, but the bus driver.  I was in 6th grade, which was no doubt the worst year of my life.  I was awkward looking and extremely shy, which made me the perfect target for bullies.  The bus driver was an intimidating heavy set woman with wild makeup, extremely long nails, and large, puffy hair.  The radio station she would play daily was the trashy, sex filled songs of the early 2000's.  I grew up very sheltered, so it was shocking for me to hear those lyrics every day.  To most kids I'm sure it wasn't a big deal, but it really bothered me.  I told my mom what I was hearing and she called the school and complained.  It wasn't my intention to get the bus driver in trouble, but that's what happened.  The next time I rode the bus, she called me and another very shy girl to the front.  She said someone is a tattle tale and now we can no longer listen to the radio station we always did.  Then, she made me and the other girl sit in the front near her.  I have no clue why she suspected either of us for telling, but she made a point to humiliate us.  After this incident, my mom started driving me to school.  Later, we found out this bus driver wasn't a woman at all, but a man dressing as one.

This last story isn't as horrific as it is uncomfortable.  The high school I went to was very overcrowded because they were in the process of building another one in the area that wasn't done yet.  So all the 9th and 10th graders who rode the bus were packed in like sardines.  Since I was one of the lucky kids towards the end of the route, I got to be the third person to a seat every morning.  I was a very tiny girl, but I was only able to fit one of my butt cheeks on that seat.  I had to hold the rest of my body up by holding the seat in front of me in order to withstand the twists and turns of the bus.  Not to mention the 40 pounds of books in my backpack I had to prevent from falling off my lap.  Needless to say, it was a huge relief to finally be able to drive myself junior year.

Those are my school bus horror stories.  I'd love to hear yours if you have any!