Morning Rollout

I pushed past the bottom edge of the screen door and marched right out onto the rough concrete porch. Down at the curb, the massive yellow school bus was idling, its pneumatic brakes letting out a sharp hiss of air as the red stop sign swung out on automated hinges. I scrambled onto an overturned terracotta saucer beside the iron railing to get a clear view of the whole operation. Kids filed into the accordion doors in a clean, steady line while the twin tailpipes puffed faint morning vapor. I tapped my tiny phone against my leg, tracking every single second of their boarding schedule. Damn right, that transport unit runs like clockwork.