She then took her phone and put it into her pocket. When she entered the bus, she was surprised to see her friends looking frightened and pointing behind her. Lisa said, “scaredy pooks!” Even the happiest people, Smitha and Daniel, were doing the same.
Shruti jumped out of her seat and said “Lisa! Look behind you.” Lisa turned around and to her horror she saw the bus driver pointing a gun at her. His eyes glinted cruelly and he put a finger to his lips signalling her to keep quiet. She wondered if it was an April fool joke. She realised it was not, when he pushed her roughly to a seat and ordered her to sit down and keep quiet. The driver then locked the bus doors, and sped the bus in a direction away from the school. Lisa’s mind raced furiously. She remembered her mobile phone in her pocket and plucked up the courage to send an SOS to the police. The bus driver did not realise that the police were following the bus. Within a few minutes, the police broke open the door and jumped in. They pulled the bus driver out and arrested him. Lisa was praised for her courage. Lisa’s friends embraced her for her bravery. After that day, Lisa’s parents decided to drop her off at school before they went to work. The school also asked children to carry their mobiles in case of an emergency like this. But, they had to hand over their phones to their class teacher when they reached school.
Shruthi Karthik, V, Sishu Griha Montessori and High School, Bengaluru
