**The media below contains the opinion of an individual student and therefore does not represent or speak to the values of Vestavia Hills High School and Vestavia Hills City Schools**
With only four home games this season, everyone including football players, band members, cheerleaders, and students has had to travel far to watch some football. No matter how far away, the band spends long evenings supporting the football team and then getting back to the school around midnight. Traveling with a big group means there are bound to be delays or problems which was the case on Friday, August 30th. The buses broke. Since I was on the bus that broke, I’ll be recounting the story firsthand.
We were excited to start the ride to Auburn because we got to have charter buses. However, not even halfway there, the buses pulled over. To the side of the road. In the middle of nowhere. There were rumors that the bus in the very front had a flat tire. We were fourth in line, so we were very confused when the bus drivers started checking out the back of our bus.
Ella Taylor, a sophomore flute player, remembers all of a sudden being told to “leave all belongings on the bus” and “go at least 100 feet away.” The ‘100 feet away’ meant we had to hike up a hill on the side of the road. People on the other buses were confused, and no one knew what was going on. Corra Maddox, a junior in color guard, asked me over the phone, “Why aren’t we evacuating too? We’re right in front of your bus!” Was the bus about to explode? Did it overheat? No one was giving us any information.
After waiting on the hill, we moved into a different bus. Then, we waited some more. Finally, someone told us to grab our belongings from the dangerous bus and join a different one. Were we really going to grab our belongings from the bus we had just been cautioned to stay 100 feet away from? Ok, whatever the adults say. All the band directors would say was it was a “technical issue” and something to do with the fuel. Rumors say it was a fuel leak. Not only did our bus break down. One bus did actually get a flat tire too! With the night not off to a good start, it became even worse when we found out that we couldn’t buy food at the Auburn Mall as planned. Luckily, the band directors got us some last minute Chick-Fil-A to eat in the stands. Still, we were sad to miss the opportunity. We ended up making it on time to the football game, and everyone was greeted with a rainbow. A happy ending to a wild evening!
If you want any of your crazy school stories published in the newspaper, email me at placzekcn@vhcsk12.com. Thank you for reading, and go Rebels!
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