Wheels on the Bus (ToriJ)

[Alex]

Alexis opened up her briefcase and began packing her belongings from inside her home. Clean clothes, food, drinks and of course her trusty pen which she kept on her person at all times. After slamming the briefcase shut Alexis departed her home and walked down the streets just a couple of blocks to the High School, walking up along the side and into the school bus parking lot where several difference buses were set up in a row. She stopped at the middle of the row and went over to the side entrance overriding the electric mechanism on the door opening them and taking a step inside closing the doors behind her with a lever inside. The windows of the bus were foggy making it difficult for anyone on the outside to see through it. Once inside the bus Alexis waited for her students to arrive.

[Ayen]

Tori, Shinta, Lily, Nex and Mary received the professor's message and headed down to the school bus parking lot as quickly as they could. It was all rather short notice but over the years the gang had grown to respect the professor so if there was something important she wished to discuss they would take the time to see her. They arrived at the bus parking lot and began looking around for any signs of her.

“Professor?” called out Tori. “Professor, where are you?”

“What do you think this is about?” asked Shinta.

“I don't know,” replied Tori.

“Whatever it is she wouldn't have dragged us out here without good reason,” said Mary. “I'm worried.”

“Isn't it a sin to worry?” asked Lily.

“Can you ever go a day without giving me a hard time?”

“Can you ever go a day without mentioning God?”

“I didn't even mention God!”

“You were thinking it.”

“Guys!”

Lily and Mary stopped arguing.

“Thank you.”

“Does she expect us to go looking for her in the buses?” asked Nex.

“Let's just look around. Professor? Professor, are you there?”

[Alex]

"Here!"

The back of the school bus opened up and Alexis stepped out dressed in a brown suit jacket and matching pants, a white shirt on underneath and black dress shoes covering her feet. The back of the school bus soon closed behind her as she approached the group at the middle of the school bus parking lot and silently counted the five.

"Good morning class. I'm glad to see you all are doing well. Is everybody ready?"

[Ayen]

"Here!"

The five turned around and saw the professor step out the back of the bus and walk over to them.

"Good morning class. I'm glad to see you all are doing well. Is everybody ready?"

“Ready?” asked Mary. “Ready for what?”

“What is this about, Professor?” asked Tori.

[Alex]

"We're going on a field trip, silly. What, did you think I brought you all out here to look at buses?"

Alex liked buses as much as the next person as evident by her once dedicated an entire history lesson on the old public bus line known as the "Carriage" back in 1662 but for once this had nothing to do with buses. The bus they would be riding on was just an enjoyable bonus to the overall experience of the trip. She motioned for them to follow her to the back of the bus but didn't take two steps before turning back around to look at the group.

"Oh, and uh... You have to promise not to scream."

[Ayen]

"We're going on a field trip, silly. What, did you think I brought you all out here to look at buses?"

“I wouldn't put it pass you,” said Nex.

“A field trip?” repeated Mary.

“All of this for a field trip?” asked Lily.

“You do know most of Moon Valley is still in the process of being rebuilt, right?” asked Shinta. “Unless we're going to Kari.”

“I wouldn't mind a field trip into Kari personally. I hear there are a LOT of attractive women there.”

“Are you saying there are no attractive women here?”

“I never said that.”

“A field trip where?” asked Tori.

"Oh, and uh... You have to promise not to scream."

The five only stared at the professor in total silence.

[Alex]

"Not where, when."

Alexis stopped in front of the rear of the bus pulling out her black pen from her inside suit pocket and bringing it down over the back doors as a small white light lit up the tip and in the moments to pass the back doors automatically came open and The Professor stepped off to the side, smoke coming out of the back of the bus before clearing up to reveal...

A bigger room on the inside.

"I am going to need to ask you to please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times," said The Professor while putting her pen back inside her suit jacket pocket.

[Ayen]

"Not where, when."

“What?”

The gang followed the professor to the back of the bus and watched confused as she moved a pen over the back of the bus. They were caught off guard by the smoke that came out of the back, they stood in place and watched the smoke eventually clear up to reveal the much larger room inside. All five of them were in awe at what they saw, Mary and Nex rubbing their eyes to make sure they were seeing right while the other three examined it more closely from their position their jaws on the floor.

"I am going to need to ask you to please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times."

“What is that? What are we looking at?”

[Alex]

"A TT capsule. The room you're looking at is the control room."

Alexis stepped up to the back entrance of the capsule and went inside, turning back around to face her students to show them everything was perfectly safe and motioned the five to follow her inside. Once they were all in the back doors closed and anyone to come by would be none the wiser to the space ship hiding among the other school buses.

"Now, I realize this must come as quite a shock to you all, but to help you process all of this feel free to ask me any questions you may have and I will do my best to explain everything as clearly as possible."

[Ayen]

"A TT capsule. The room you're looking at is the control room."

Tori and the gang watched Alexis stepped inside the TT capsule and then followed her inside cautiously, their eyes scanning around the interior in a mix of fear and excitement as they spun around to see the doors close after entering before looking back to the professor.

"Now, I realize this must come as quite a shock to you all, but to help you process all of this feel free to ask me any questions you may have and I will do my best to explain everything as clearly as possible."

“Are you an alien?” asked Nex.

“Are those tree branches?” asked Mary.

“How is it even possible to fit all of this inside a bus?” asked Lily.

“Is this a clown car? I feel like I'm in a clown car.”

“Is that a warp core?” asked Shinta pointing to the green tube.

“Who are you?” asked Tori.

[Alex]

As expected all five of them were quick to ask their questions and of course Nex was always one to speak out of turn.

"Yes. No. Different dimensions. No and you spoke out of turn. That's a time rotor it's connected to the lower engines and signifies the TT capsule's movement. You know who I am. I never lied about who I was, Ms. Jacobs."

[Ayen]

"Yes."

“Holy crap!”

"No."

“Then what are they?”

"Different dimensions."

“Different dimensions?”

"No and you spoke out of turn."

“Sorry...”

"That's a time rotor it's connected to the lower engines and signifies the TT capsule's movement."

“I don't understand.”

"You know who I am. I never lied about who I was, Ms. Jacobs."

“I must have missed the part about you being an alien.”

[Alex]

“Holy crap!”

"Language!"

“Then what are they?”

"Pillars. The TT capsule is composed of an organic substance known as coral. TT capsules are grown, not built."

“Different dimensions?”

"Yes."

“I don't understand.”

"It's a time machine. The rotor let's us know when we've arrived at our designation after plotting a course and stops if there's something wrong with the machine."

“I must have missed the part about you being an alien.”

"I'm not the first alien you've ever met and I won't be the last."

Alexis went around the central controls and gestured for the others to follow.

"A TT capsule requires six pilots to operate it. One, two, three, four, five..."

Alexis started counting her students pointing to each one before ending with herself.

"Six. For this to work I need to get you all familiar with the capsule's components."

[Ayen]

"Language!"

“Sorry.”

"Pillars. The TT capsule is composed of an organic substance known as coral. TT capsules are grown, not built."

“Grown? You grew this?”

"Yes."

“You're saying we stepped into another dimension? How is that possible?”

"It's a time machine. The rotor let's us know when we've arrived at our designation after plotting a course and stops if there's something wrong with the machine."

“Time machine? Of course TT stands for “time travel.”

"I'm not the first alien you've ever met and I won't be the last."

“What does that mean?”

"A TT capsule requires six pilots to operate it. One, two, three, four, five... Six. For this to work I need to get you all familiar with the capsule's components."

“What makes you think we're coming with you? We have lives to lead here. I have a mayoral bid to see through. We can't just run off on some time machine with an alien!”

[Alex]

“Grown? You grew this?”

"Not me. My people. It takes thousands of years for a piece of coral to grow into a capsule. I'm nowhere close to being that old."

“You're saying we stepped into another dimension? How is that possible?”

"Transcendental engineering, Ms. Mayweather. We're standing in a dimensionally transcendental object. A key discovery of my people. It allows us to create objects that enters into another dimension. So basically, bigger on the inside."

“Time machine? Of course TT stands for “time travel.”

"Very good, Mr. Greenaway."

“What does that mean?”

"It means we'll be seeing a lot of alien life where we're going. Whether we realize it or not."

“What makes you think we're coming with you? We have lives to lead here. I have a mayoral bid to see through. We can't just run off on some time machine with an alien!”

"That's the great thing about time travel, Ms. Jacobs. We can travel from the beginning to the end and I can bring you back at exactly the same point as when we left and it would be like you were never gone at all. You won't miss a thing. But you're right, I can't force you to do anything you're not comfortable with so make your choice."