CHAPTER 1 WINDY CITY Ben Tajima couldn’t believe people sometimes About halfway through their five-and-a-half-hour bus ride from Columbus Ohio to Chicago Illinois he saw something he didn’t expect The middle-aged guy across the aisle from him had taken his shoes and socks off It was bad enough seeing the man’s grungy bare feet and toenails Even worse They could have used a trim maybe a month or two ago Even worse than that He was picking the lint from between his toes and dropping what he found on the ground Gross Lola his younger sister said aloud She was looking over at the man from the seat next to Ben Her voice was loud enough for the man to look up from his
work As the man started to turn his head Ben elbowed Lola then pretended to be engrossed in his book again What Lola whispered Ben leaned forward to cut off her view of the man His heart thumped in his chest He didn’t know if the guy was staring at them with his bare feet hanging out or not but it sure felt like it
He Can Hear You Ben mouthed to Lola his eyes burning into hers Well it’s disgusting Lola said back at normal volume Please just watch your videos Ben said Please don’t act like you’re the boss of me Lola replied mocking her older brother Ben groaned It was his parents idea to send the two of them to Chicago to visit their grandparents Their grandparents had moved there a few months ago But their parents didn’t want to pay for an expensive plane ticket or drive them back and forth themselves so they had decided to send them on a bus Seeing that Ben was almost fifteen years old and Lola was pretty much thirteen they were old enough to make the trip themselves It’ll be a good experience for you Dad had said Besides Grandma and Grandpa will pick you up Seemed simple enough but no one took
into account how difficult Lola could be sometimes Where Ben was quiet and kept to himself Lola didn’t really care what anyone else thought Being stuck in a metal tube on wheels for over five hours with his little sister wasn’t his idea of a good time Ben was thankfully looking forward to seeing his grandparents When he felt the coast was clear Ben looked over to see the man across the aisle had replaced his socks and shoes and was scrolling through something on his phone He wondered if the man’s phone smelled like feet The last few hours of the bus ride were fine Lola only had to get up two more times to use the restroom and each time she complained about how bumpy it was and how much it stank in there As they got closer to the city a baby began to cry I’m ready to get off this bus too kid Ben thought
