The next days, Melissa got through with half a brain it seemed. She was hazily aware that it had got cooler, that the boys intermittently tried to get her with gross jokes and suggestions, and that for a day and a half Richard and Robert had concentrated their attentions on Caroline, a slightly chunky girl who was almost mentally retarded. They'd convinced her that Richard wanted to date her and had had her blushing and giggling about some very gross things. It was possible that she hadn't even known what they were implying at first. Mel hadn't paid a lot of attention.

Friday afternoon though, there was an explosion when Caroline had realized she was the butt of their jokes, not their friend. She crashed over a desk as she charged out of the room sobbing "I won't love you anymore. I won't love you anymore!" It was that harsh reality that brought the half of Melissa's mind that had been away thinking about Trevor back to her real life again.

On the bus, Richard and Robert were behind her and Selena again. They'd been calling Selena Pocahontas and Richard had been fooling around with Mel's hair til she had thrust her body forward to try to get clear of him. Big mistake. She wasn't sure which one it was, but one of the boys had grabbed a fistful of the back of her blouse and that fistful included the entire back of her bra. She felt the pressure against her chest as he hauled on her like a man might haul on a horse's harness. She was afraid it would tear.

"Selena!"

"Won't you tell me dear..."
"Let her go, you freak!"

Mel could tell Selena was trying to grab at the boy's wrist. It was Richard. That she knew because she saw Robert reaching for Selena's thin arms.

Then she was free and she heard a surprised squawk from behind her. Someone was standing beside their seat.

"Hey. Sit down. You're not supposed to stand while the bus is running you know."

"Would you like to trade seats?"

It was Trevor, asking Selena to trade seats.

"Siddown Moore. No changing seats."

He ignored the stupid goof.

"You sit where I was, okay?"
Selena turned to look at her. "I'm going to."

"Okay."

And then she had slipped away and Trevor was sliding into the seat.

The hammering of Melissa's heart made her feel sick, but through her distress the thought that this could be a chance to really start a relationship with Trevor brought her stomach a flutter of hope. Richard had been loudly mouthing off to Trevor and now Trevor jerked violently around to face the creep. Mel heard only a few words of what the boy beside her said. The words were "good" and "quiet".

But Richard was going to be neither because he was already loudly asking Trevor if he was hoping to have sex with Melissa or something. Only he didn't use the term "have sex." Mel's face burned in embarrasment. Then she was forced hard against the side of the bus as Trevor swung a vicious punch at the boy behind them. She saw his fist fly up and drive back down into the back seat again and realized she had screamed.

The bus was braking swiftly and she heard the click of the signal lights tapping rhythmically.

Richard was making sounds that were a mixture of blowing bubbles through a straw and a dog whining. Trevor turned around to face the front and Melissa saw there was blood on his knuckles.

Everybody else was staring soundlessly and then Mr. Oswald, the driver, was coming hurridly down the aisle.

Melissa was confused, overwhelmed by her feelings. For a moment, she felt she wouldn't be able to breathe. She was almost blacking out, and from the haze of her emotions came one clear and strong fact. Trevor had been beside her and she wanted, more than anything, more than another breath of air even, she wanted him to sit down beside her again. But he was standing in the aisle, and with dismay Melissa understood that Mr. Oswald was ordering both boys in the fight off the bus.

She heard the roar of the bus's diesel engine again and was staring blankly at a dark red drop of blood on the black rubber tread of the aisle when Selena slipped back into the empty seat beside her.

"What happened?"

"Melissa! That's what I was going to ask you. You were the closest. Tell me all the details Woman!"

"It was too close. I didn't see anything, but I felt like there was an earthquake going on beside me."

"For a moment, I thought Trevor was just going to sit beside you to protect you. Then the creepo must have said something, because he just jammed himself around and punched into his chest or throat or something. Then he hit him again. Right in the nose. Did you get any blood on you?"

"I don't think so." Mel inspected herself, down her front and on her right sleeve and shoulder. She didn't see any blood. Nothing on her leg either.

"Well Richard was sure agushin'. See all the little kids up front leaning over to find the drops?"

"How will Trevor get home?"

"He'll be alright. It wasn't all that long before his stop."

"Oh. His stop's gone by. Maybe I should have gotten off there to tell his folks what happened."

"That would have been so perfect. So cool." She paused for a moment with an excited stare. "It is absolutely imperative that you phone his house as soon as you get home. This was about you and this is your big chance to be a part of Trevor's life. Let him know right away that you care and appreciate his sticking up for you." Selena looked at her seriously. "You know, he is probably afraid that you thought he was a jerk or something."

"A jerk? How could I?"

"He can't be that sure of himself. Walking home, he'd worry that you thought he was a troublemaker."

"Selena, how could I ever think that when..."

"That's what you've got to tell him. Let him know he is appreciated. He might get kicked off the bus for good for fighting.

Our stop is coming up."

"If he's not allowed on the bus, there's no way I'm getting on."

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