UNshackled

 Voices sounded at different corners of the bus, condemning the boy's behavior and upbringing. 

 The level of embarrassment he felt right now was titanic, with so many eyes gazing at him in disdain. Seeing no way out, he could only stare at the girl with resentment, forgetting he was the one who brought the shame upon himself.

 " You could do so if it pleases you, Sir " The girl spoke, replying to his earlier threat without backing down. 

 " You ... " Stammered the arrogant boy who wanted to speak but couldn't find the right words.

 Seeing he had no replies, the female attendant walked away without letting out a single more word. Though she acted tough just now, she didn't really want to lose her job, so all she wished for at that moment was for the drama to die down before it caused severe consequences.

 She walked to the staff-reserved area of the bus, which was right after the drivers' seats. 

 Not long after she walked in, a feminine voice resounded from the speakers atop every seat on the bus.

 This voice sounded feminine and exactly like the attendant's voice, so everyone could tell it was her.

 " Hello Everyone. Please, I am here to address everyone who received a glass cup from me. Could you take a look at the back of the seat in your front? If you have, you will find two things there. A red button covered with a transparent plastic material shielding it, and then beneath, a glass cup handle that properly fits the glass cups in your hands. Please, you are expected to drop the cup in that handle during and after usage to prevent it from breaking or acquiring any form of damage. I will be back in a while to retrieve all the glass cups so you don't have to worry about having them on you for too long. Thank you all for your time " The girl concluded her speech and then no one heard her voice anymore.

 The words of the female attendant were well downloaded by many, except for the arrogant boy who only viewed her voice as a catalyst fueling his anger.

 He fumed inside with no one to let it out on. Looking at the glass cup in his hands, he raised it up in an attempt to smash it when a voice suddenly sounded by his side.

 " I would advise you to drop that idea. Anything you break here must be paid, and they will definitely hype the price to teach you a lesson. Beware " .

 The voice belonged to the tranquil boy sitting beside the arrogant boy. 

 The arrogant boy immediately dropped the idea. But then, instead of being thankful, he decided to pass on his aggression to the calm boy.

 " Who do you think you are to tell me what to do ", the arrogant boy shouted.

 " ... " There was no reply.

 " Hahahahaha " A few people on the bus sprang out into laughter without caring for the arrogant boy's emotions. 

 The shame which had died down previously immediately returned and this time at a higher level. He solemnly said to himself to avoid entering this bus ever again, knowing the memory would definitely haunt him if he ever did.

 Suddenly, he remembered a person. He turned to his right side, staring at James.

 James just happened to be smiling at the moment, and so he thought he was being mocked.

 " Damn it, even he looks down on me now " The arrogant boy thought.

 James, on the other hand, had a different thought on his mind. 

 ' How does she live like this? Having to be polite to someone like this scoundrel. Just when one thinks he's seen the worst and then sees something worse. 

 Does she even have parents? If so, how could they allow this?

Mind you, buses like this one that constantly travel through states are on a long and difficult-to-predict journey. Numerous incidents could occur, starting with robbery and other serious cases.

 Even situations like traffic and the bus damaging on the way could lead to a disruption in their plans for the journey, leaving them stranded at places they aren't that familiar with. They might even have to sleep overnight on the bus if they are unable to find a hotel nearby at night.

 " Sigh ... " With a sigh, James threw behind the thoughts and closed his eyes to take a nap. He knew thinking about it was useless as he currently had no means to help her. 

 ' If I could help her someday, I would definitely do it ' he thought as his eyes slowly fell closed.

 As time flew by with James fast asleep, " Hello Everyone, we are currently headed to our garage at Bayelsa State. If you are going to alight the bus, then please signify by pressing the alight button. The alight button is the red button above the glass cup handles. That is the handle addressed by my fellow attendant a while ago. " Please open up the plastic cover by sliding it sideways and click on the red button to signify now ", an attendant's voice echoed from the speakers.

 James, though fast asleep, was drawn out of the dreamland by the loud voice of the attendant echoing on the speaker.

" Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm " yawned dizzy James, who had just woken up. " What was the announcement? " He muttered. Though the sound of the speaker did wake him, he was too dizzy to understand what was announced.

 ' I need to ask somebody ' he thought. He turned to the closest person, who was the arrogant boy. On seeing his face, James immediately shook his head. He knew better than to invite trouble.

 Having no choice, he stood up a bit, stretching his body to the seat at the front.

 " Good afternoon ma " James greeted. The person being greeted was a middle-aged woman seated on the seat at James's front.

 " Good afternoon, how may I help you? " She asked.

 " Ma, it seems an announcement was made just now. The thing is, I was asleep when it was made. "Please could you brief me on what the announcement was? " replied James.

 " Ohhhh, that. They announced that they would soon arrive at their bus park at Bayelsa, so those who would like to alight the bus should click on the alight button. "The alight button is the red button above your glass cup handle. '' The woman explained in detail.

 " Thank you, Ma " he said as he retreated.

 After taking his seat, James opened up the plastic cover, the one shielding the red button, and pressed the button.

 Not long after, James could feel the car quit its motion. An attendant walked out of their reserve and opened the exit door of the bus, after which a few other attendants went down the bus.

 After the few attendants left, a new set of attendants walked out, moving to various seats through the tracking device on their hands. The device used was basically for tracking seats where the red buttons were pressed. The sophisticated level of the bus brand was the main reason why a lot of people love traveling on it. 

 The receipts of the passengers who pressed the red button were rechecked and after confirmation of no problems, the passengers were allowed to alight the bus.

 They were also told to take the receipts to the boot of the bus and pass them on to the attendants there. That was the only way their luggage would be released to them.

 James did exactly as he was told, went off the bus and then went to the boot.

 There was a slightly long queue there, so James had no choice but to join the queue from the back.

 Thankfully, the queue didn't last long since every passenger coordinated themselves well. Not long after, it was James' turn, and he too followed the procedures. 

 One of the attendants, out of goodwill, asked the passengers where they were headed before they left, and directed them to where they would see vehicles headed in that direction. 

 James' load was fairly heavy, being only a single box and a bag carried on his back,thence, this brought a sense of joy to him as the place the attendant directed him to was a bit far.

 He strolled to the park at neither too quick nor too slow pace, to avoid getting tired quickly, and soon, he got to the vicinity. 

 On reaching the place, he could hear different voices shouting the names of different locations to lure passengers to their bus.

 " Otuoke, Otuoke, Otuoke " James finally heard the name he was waiting to hear. He immediately walked in that direction and found its source. 

 The voice belonged to a slightly aged man who was still very vibrant since he could continuously run to people he saw with luggage on the road to lure them into entering his bus.

 The man caught sight of James, and on seeing that James was walking directly towards him, he was assured he was a passenger, and so even though James was a few steps away, he still ran towards him. 

 He quickly snatched James' box from his hands in an attempt to take it to the boot while directing him to the seat beside the driver's seat, but James forcefully stopped and requested his box back. He claimed he would rather hold it.

 Seeing James' firm reaction, the man knew he wouldn't be able to convince James otherwise, and so he let him be.

 " Never mind, just get on the bus " he said.