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me!”
    The driver’s eyes darted from one point to another as if he couldn’t decide where he wanted to look—up at the ceiling, out to the street, or down to the floor. He’d stopped laughing, but now his cheek was twitching like crazy.
    â€œThis...this is the last straw!” he shouted, sputtering as he spoke. “The very very last. In all my life—and I’m not a young man—I have never ever met such a miserable bunch of kids. The word monsters isn’t bad enough to describe you. You’re demons. Demons!”
    His voice grew more shrill with every word, and his dark eyes flashed like the blade of a knife.
    â€œHey, don’t freak out on us, man!” Jake called out.
    â€œJust because you’re having a bad day doesn’t mean you should take it out on us!” Pierre added.
    Kelly bounced up from Jake’s lap.“Yeah, maybe you’re upset because your wife doesn’t love you anymore!”
    Now the driver’s chest and arms were shaking. He lumbered down the aisle, stopping only when he got to where Kelly and Jake were sitting. “How dare you?” he said, looking straight at Kelly. “How dare you say something like that?”
    Pierre made a snorting sound. “Maybe she’s right about you and your old lady!”
    The driver’s knuckles were white. I don’t think I’d ever seen anybody so angry. Kelly and Pierre shouldn’t have said anything about his wife. Maybe it was a sensitive subject.
    Somebody had to do something to calm this guy down. And it looked like that somebody was going to be me. Besides, hadn’t I sworn that my troublemaking days were through?
    â€œLook,” I said, getting up from my seat, “they were just kidding. They didn’t mean anything by it. Isn’t that true, you guys?”
    â€œIt’s true,” Jake said. “We were just kidding.”
    Kelly giggled.
    But her giggles set the driver off all over again. I guess he felt like she was laughing at him. “You’re monsters! You’re demons!” he shouted, even louder than before. “You have no respect! No respect at all!”
    Now Jewel Chu popped up from her seat. “Excuse me, sir,” she said, stopping to clear her throat, “but do you mind letting me off the bus? I’m feeling a little uncomfortable.”
    A couple of other kids at the front stood up too.
    But the driver ignored Jewel and her friends. Now he was yelling so hard that saliva was pooling in the corners of his mouth. “I suppose you learn a lot of things in that school of yours, but one thing you haven’t learned is respect. You demons have no respect for anybody!”
    Just as he said the word
anybody
, his voice cracked. It was probably from all the shouting. His mouth was still moving, but no sounds came out.
    Georgie was the first to laugh. But then other kids started laughing too. Not because anything was so funny, but morebecause they didn’t know what else to do. It wasn’t exactly your ordinary, everyday situation.
    Our bus driver was having a meltdown— and it was our fault.
    The laughter seemed to bother the driver even more than our bad behavior. The next thing he did took us all by surprise.
    He crumpled on the floor, his hands wrapped around his shoulders, hugging himself. Then he sat on the floor like that and wept. His barrel chest heaved up and down, but still, he made no sound.
    It was the most pathetic thing I’d ever seen.
    Jewel must have figured out how to use the door mechanism, because suddenly the front and back doors popped opened.
    â€œLet’s get the hell outta this insane asylum!” Jake shouted.
    Kids started stampeding out both sets of doors.
    So you’ll call me, right, Jakey?” Kelly shouted from the street.
    â€œDon’t forget the French dictée tomorrow!” someone else called out.
    More cars honked.
    Kids stepped around the driver,