PSLE: A Bus Lost Control

Gillian was smiling like a blossoming lily. An exquisite seashell bracelet glinted brilliantly like shiny pearls, swirling round her wrist as she stroke it gently. It was Mother's Day and she planned to give it to her mother. The bracelet was her Art project and Gillian was definitely pleased with it.

The honking and spluttering of the peak hour rush outside school was a typical after-school scene. School had just ended and Gillian, my closest buddy, and I were making our way home, laden with elephantine schoolbags. The two of us launched into our usual chatter of school gossips, while waiting for our bus at the packed bus-stop.

A deafening cry suddenly sliced through the air. We looked up and spotted desperate commuters fanning out in all directions. This was followed by an ear-splitting honk. A double-decker bus, seemingly out of control, was whizzing towards us in a lightning speed. Chaos broke out. People were running helter-skelter. I followed suit.

"Run, Gillian!" I squalled anxiously, grabbing her tiny hand. Our hands locked in a death grip and we dashed off, away from the approaching vehicle. Out of the blue, Gillian loosened her grasp and ran in the opposite direction. "Gillian, what the hell are you doing?!" I yelled.

I whipped my body around. The scene that greeted my eyes set me dead in my tracks. Gillian was picking up the seashell bracelet that had slipped onto the tarmac ground. What a fool! As Gillian bent forward, the sinister cacophony of deafening screams and screeching tyres ricocheted everywhere.

Bang! Crash! Hair-raising sounds of metal scrapping reverberated deafeningly in the air as metal crunched and glass shards rained onto the ground. With the tremendous impact, Gillian collapsed as the monstrous bus tyre rolled over her.

Trepidation blanched my face and my heart dropped a beat. "Gillian!" I let out a ear-busting shriek and sprinted towards her. There, under the vehicle, was my best friend, crushed like an insignificant bug. Her schoolbag was caught right underneath the bumper of the bus. Was Gillian going to die?

Her limp body lay lifelessly as she heaved in weak bursts of air. Her school uniform was soaked with blood as glass shards cut her delicate skin deeply. I lifted her into my arms and pleaded with utmost despair, "Gillian! Please don't die!"

Gillian opened her eyes weakly and gave a faint smile. She then stuffed something into my hand.  It was the bracelet. "Pass it to my mother and tell her I love h...e...r...," she whispered and breathed her last.

Soon, sirens wailed down the street. The police cordoned off the area and the paramedics rendered medical aid expeditiously to all the other injured. Gillian's mother rushed to the scene and almost collapsed at the sight of her dead daughter. I placed the blood-stained bracelet into her trembling hand and told her Gillian's last words. At the instant, she knelt and wept hysterically. The rain started to pour as if it was crying too.

The next day, I made my way home alone. At the accident scene, I spotted a bouquet of lilies and some candles at the roadside. No lilies could ever be compared to the blossoming smile of my best friend — Gillian.