Joy by Storm M Grayson
Joy ran up the steps of the School Bus and down the aisle.
“I am going to sit next to YOU,” said Joy as she sat with some conviction on the seat next to Ian.
“If you must” Ian mumbled.
Joy always felt she had to take her place next to Ian on the school bus, even though she knew he would rather it was his friend Peter who joined at the next bus stop. They sat in silence for a while as the bus slipped through the small town towards Baytown Junior School. It was a mixed school of boys and girls from the surrounding area, there weren’t that many pupils maybe about a 100. The numbers varied from term to term because of a large power plant nearby, where they had short term staff, so some pupils were only there on a temporary basis.
As the bus came to a halt by the next stop, Joy was already sitting tight in her seat in case Peter tried to pull her from it, which, he had tried to do in the past. But to her and Ian’s surprise Peter wasn’t in the pack of children surging on to the bus.
“Where’s Peter?” Joy asked Ian.
“Dunno,”
“Is he sick?”
“Dunno,”
“you’re his best friend IAN you must know,”
“Dunno” Ian replied again.
Joy called out towards the back of the bus “does anyone know where Peter is this morning?”
“Gone fishing I expect” said a voice from the back and there was a lot of laughter.
Joy decided not to ask anymore, maybe he was sick there were lots of bugs about this time of year. She would get her mum to ring Mrs East, Peter’s mum, when she got back from school. The day was pretty much as it always was for Joy, she had a sunny character and lived up to her name finding joy and giving it wherever she went, but deep down that day she felt a sadness as one of their friends was missing and she couldn’t find out where he was.
As Joy came out of the school gates to catch the bus home, she saw her mother standing waiting for her. Running up to her Joy said, “Gosh mum is everything alright, you didn’t say you were coming to pick me up, I could have got the bus.”
“I was finished at work early Joy, so I thought I would give us both a treat and go for tea at Mrs Parker’s tea rooms.”
“Wow mum can I have a BIG cream cake?”
“Maybe,” she said with a smile on her face.
They walked down the road holding hands, Joy skipping along her pigtails bouncing on her shoulders.
“How was school today” her mum asked.
“It was pretty good, Mr Tarrant brought in some dead bugs for us to look at and we had to name them,” Joy said very seriously.
“Well granny has taught you lots about the countryside so you should have been able to be quite good at that, where you?”
Joy gave a big sigh “I did pretty well considering, Penelope didn’t know ANY of them!”
“Well done you, look here we are let’s go in and find a table.”
Joy and her mother went into the cosy tearoom which had been run by Mrs Parker and her sister for many years. There was always lots of homemade cakes and biscuits and ice cream.
Joy scrambled up into her chair saying, “PLEASE mummy can I have a cream cake?”
“Well, lets see, have you been extra good lately?”
“Yes, yes, yes! I have been doing all my homework and I helped daddy wash the car on Saturday.”
“So you did” said her mother laughing at the memory of Joy covered in soap suds.
Old Annie, the waitress, came over to take their order and then shuffled off talking under breath.
“She has been here for ages mummy, why don’t they get someone younger?” Joy said in a very grown-up voice.
“I expect she enjoys the company and something to do, she lives on her own and probably would get very lonely if she didn’t come to work.”
“Doesn’t she have a Mr Annie to look after?” Joy enquired.
Laughing her mother said, ” He would be Mr Johnson, but he died some years ago.”
“Oh that’s sad, perhaps we could think of something to do for her to make her happy?” said Joy wriggling in her seat.
“Maybe,” said her mother.
“Look! here comes tea and my cream cake, yummy.” Joy said excitedly.
Eating cakes and drinking their tea they didn’t notice Mrs East, Peter’s mum come into the tearoom. She walked over to the far corner and sat herself down, looking around as if she was waiting for someone. After a few minutes Joy spotted her and said. “Mummy, mummy look it’s Mrs East, Peter’s mum.”
“Oh yes so it is, I expect she is having a treat like us,” replied her mother.
“But you don’t understand, Peter wasn’t at school today and nobody knew where he was,” said Joy anxiously.
“Perhaps he was sick, I am sure he will be back in a couple of days,” replied her mother.
“Can’t you go and ask her?” Joy said imploringly.
“No, I don’t thinks so Joy, she is having a quiet cup of tea, if she notices us I expect she will come over,” her mother said.
“But, MUMMY!”
“No Joy, I won’t, now drink up your tea and finish your cake and we had better get home, so you can do your homework, and I can get tea ready for when daddy gets back from the office.”
With that they finished up and left the tearoom to walk the half a mile home.
Joy tried all evening to get her mother to telephone Mrs East to find out what had happened to Peter and why he wasn’t at school, but she had no luck.
The next morning Joy was up early and bouncing around singing and playing when her father said, “Joy by name and Joy by nature,” and laughed as she ran around him.
“Come on Joy hurry and get ready for school or you will miss the bus,” her mother called out.
“OK mum, be there in a minute.” Joy threw herself at her father and he bent down and gave her a big hug, “goodbye daddy see you later,” “bye honeybunch have a good day at school.” And with that she picked up her satchel ran through the kitchen calling out “bye mummy see you later” and she flew outside and ran down the path to wait for the bus.
She had quite forgotten about Peter until she was standing there waiting and then suddenly, she got worried that he wouldn’t be there again. As the bus pulled up, she turned and waved at her mother who was standing by the back door waving her teacloth like a flag. Running up the steps she called out “good morning, Mr Driver,” “good morning Missy, he replied.
She went to sit next to Ian and found he wasn’t there, she looked frantically around at all the other faces, and she couldn’t see him anywhere.
“Where’s Ian does anybody know?” she called out. The noise in the bus was always very loud with everyone talking and laughing all at once. But nobody answered so she sat where Ian usually sat and hoped that Peter was waiting at the next stop. But when they got there, he wasn’t. Joy was now really worried that her two friends were missing, where are they she thought, somebody must know.
At first break that morning Joy thought she would be very brave and go and ask the headmistress Mrs Cater, about her two friends. But when she got to her door, she noticed a sign saying, ‘Sorry girls and boys but I am not here today, please see Miss Little if you have a problem, signed Mrs Cater Headmistress’
Letting out a huge sigh, mostly of relief Joy walked back down the corridor to her next lesson. When she got there, she tried to ask her teacher Mrs Biggins where the boys were, but she waved at Joy to sit down and they got on with their lesson.
Feeling a bit sad and not her normal joyous self, Joy finished her day at school and went home.
When she got home, she told her mother that Ian hadn’t been at school either today and she was really worried because Mrs Cater hadn’t been there either. Her mother reassured her that she was sure there was a simple explanation and if they hadn’t heard anything by the weekend, she would go round to the East’s to find out what was happening.
The weekend arrived and Joy pestered her mother to go and see Mrs East or even Ian’s mum and could she go with her. It was decided she would help daddy in the garden and mummy would make the visit. It had occurred to her that the situation was a bit strange, but she was sure there was an easy answer to it all. Joy was always so happy, and this had made her sad, which, was not like her at all. But when her mother returned there had been no reply at the East’s when she tapped on their door.
Joy awoke on Monday morning, and she wondered whether her friends would be on the bus that morning. She was filled with hope, while busying herself with schoolbooks and putting on her uniform. After breakfast her mother said, “cheer up Joy it’s not like you to be so quiet.”
“I’m OK mum,” she replied. And with that she went out the back door and down to the road to catch the school bus.
“See you later Joy,” her mother called out after her.
When Joy boarded the bus, she saw with delight that Ian was sitting in his usual place. She hurried up and plonked herself down next to him.
“Where were you on Friday, I was really worried?” Joy said excitedly.
“I had a Dr’s appointment, so mum took me out of school for the day,” he replied.
“Oh! Golly are you alright?”
“I have to go into hospital for an operation,” he said, while looking out the window away from Joy.
“I hope it’s nothing serious?”
“Tonsils!”
“Tonsils!” she replied a little too loudly, “that’s alright then, I was really worried.”
Ian didn’t reply and they were just coming to a stop and to Joy’s delight Peter was waiting there. As he boarded the bus she moved out of her seat to the one across the aisle.
“Peter, Peter sit there in your usual seat.”
“Thanks Joy,” he replied and sat next to Ian not saying anything.
“Peter, where were you last week? I was worried, nobody knew where you were,” she replied questioningly.
“Dr’s,” he said grumpily.
Joy laughed and said “tonsils?”
“Yep,” he replied.
Joy started fits of giggles and the two boys turned and looked at her as though she was mad. Almost in unison the boys said, “it’s not funny!”
“I’m sorry but I was imagining all kinds of dreadful things, I am just glad it’s nothing serious.”
The boys looked at her in disbelief, to them it was serious, but they wouldn’t let on.
Later that day when Joy got off the bus at home, she ran into the kitchen with a big smile on her face, she threw her arms around her mother and said loudly “TONSILS!”