Longueuil RTL #83 (Sec. 5 English Short Story)

Hello, guys.

I want to share with you this short story I wrote when I was in my English class back in Fall 2010 as part of my final secondary level at Heritage Regional High School.

This is what was one of the things I had resulted from getting into freaky with the font used on the LED header of one of the buses that Reseau de Transport de Longueuil uses.

Enjoy!

LONGUEUIL RTL #83
By Gregory Desrosiers

Special Thanks to Ms. Parsons (Assignment Planning) and Michelle Steben (Proofreader).

            The morning sun of Friday. The fresh month of June. It is reminding me of Montreal as I stand at the corner. Perhaps when you’re a technical lover, you would prefer going to a city like Montreal. If I want to go to Montreal, I shall take one step ahead by any means necessary. Nothing will stop me.
            Anyway, a bus pulls up with its doors opening in front of me. It is 9:47 AM on my watch. I climb in and what I see is nothing but the front of a NovaBus low-floor bus, belonging to Line 83 of our transit firm, Longueuil RTL. “Bonjour, Monsieur Lapierre,” I said to my supervisor for today.
            “Allo, Monsieur Gary Perold,” said Mr. Lapierre. “Are you ready to take your final test? ‘Cause if you don’t, you won’t feel proud of yourself.” Chris laughs at it manically.
            I chuckled and said, “Of course I wouldn’t, but I’m ready.”
            “Okay, you know the drill,” said Mr. Lapierre. “Starting from the corner of Samuel-de-Champlain and Albanel, I want you to drive this bus, follow the schedule for the last leg of this line and get to Terminus Longueuil on time. Get there by 10:05.”
            “Even though Boucherville is quiet, you need to be tight,” I said.
            So, feeling easy-going and determined, I push my foot on the gas and start the test. I look at the rearview mirror for the first time and see myself and my blue shirt-and-shorts combo, along with my sunglasses. There is even my supervisor, with his driver’s uniform and black shorts.
Samuel-de-Champlain is straightforward as I stop once to pick up a businesswoman. When you are Samuel de Champlain, you would want to be proud of yourself. Who should I be? I should just be myself.
            The green trees give me a clean feel as I drive on Fort-St-Louis. 3 stops and it’s nothing but saying hello to the oncoming passengers where I smile. Humans give me a taste of pride, not to mention that I have volunteered in several campaigns. Whenever you make respect, you earn respect of yourself, because you trust in yourself. Can you see the difference? Respect influences you so much.
            Anyway, coming up on Marie-Victorin, the right side of that road is so quiet and calm that unfortunately, I can’t feel quite calm the same way as outside, because there are people on board, about 40 people. Aww. It’s a lot of noise. But there should be some noise for me to get the feeling of Montreal. It’s about vehicle horns. As I stop the bus to pick up more people, Mr. Lapierre tells me that I am doing good so far. Nothing worries him too much for now. Not to mention he told me earlier that he judges his trainees by his own eyes and his watch, not by the clipboard.
            Then, I prepare myself for the glory as I accelerate the bus down Route 132. Construction. Traffic. I take one step ahead to deal with them safely as I hold my speed. Veering out of the way of the construction site and flowing with the traffic, I am calm and believe that I will get my chance.
            I come off the exit, well two of them, and after a few turns and whatnot, I stop the bus at the debarking zone at Terminus Longueuil. “Congratulations, Gary. You were able to arrive at Terminus Longueuil just in time. You are now an official bus driver,” said Mr. Lapierre, as he hands me a new driver’s uniform.
            “Thank you, sir. I stayed forward so much,” I said.
            “Mmm, you seem to be proud of yourself. Anyway, your first work day is on Monday. Take care,” said Mr. Lapierre.
            My girlfriend is waiting for me outside, just near the doors, clapping. After shaking hands with Mr. Lapierre, I get off the bus. I stand in front of her and tell her that I now have the full-time job as a bus driver. Then, together, we reach out our arms and we hug and kiss each other as I have done my test well.

© 2010 Gregory Desrosiers. Longueuil RTL is of property of Reseau de Transport de Longueuil. Nova BUS is property of Nova Bus Inc.


Thanks for reading!