Chapter 3

At some point, one of the school bus windows had been opened.

Vivian was already halfway out the window.

Ms. Watson practically threw herself across the bus and grabbed Vivian by the legs, yanking her back inside.

But Vivian only whined in protest.

“Let me go! The teacher in white said if I jump, I’ll be able to float through the air just like her!”

Ms. Watson and I both went pale.

“Listen to me, Vivian. There is no teacher in white...”

Before she could finish, the children immediately protested.

“That’s not true! She’s flying right outside the bus! It’s so cool! I’m going to do what she says and jump out so I can fly too!”

“Me too! Me too!”

The children all started shouting at once as they rushed toward the windows.

They gritted their teeth and pushed at the windows with all their strength, trying desperately to open them.

Then something even more terrifying happened.

The camera started moving.

David was heading straight for the window too.

“Driver, stop the bus! Stop the bus!”

“David, stop! It’s Mommy! Pick up the phone and listen to me!”

I screamed so hard my voice cracked.

Thankfully, David picked up the phone from the floor.

He sounded thrilled.

“Mommy, the teacher in white said if I do what she says, I can fly like Superman!”

I was terrified of frightening him, so I forced myself to stay calm.

“Sweetheart, listen to Mommy. Sit down in your seat and don’t move. If you jump out, you’ll never see Mommy again.”

“Is that what you want?”

David hesitated. When he answered, he sounded hurt and confused.

“Why wouldn’t I see Mommy again? I don’t want that.”

I was just about to respond when Ms. Watson suddenly screamed.

A second later, the shriek of tires filled the phone.

Then came a chorus of terrified screams.

“David!”

Someone must have accidentally ended the call in the chaos.

The camera tumbled into the narrow gap beneath one of the seats.

My heart nearly stopped.

I slammed my foot down on the gas.

As I raced after the bus, I sent the footage from the hidden camera to the class group chat so the other parents could hurry to the scene too.

Then I immediately called my husband, Luther.

“Something happened to David. I think he encountered something... something supernatural. Don’t you always have someone come check the site before your construction projects start? Get that spiritual master to come to the house and take a look at David.”

But Luther’s voice came through the phone, low and irritated.

“Honey, you’re having another episode.”

I froze.

“What do you mean, another?”

I rushed to explain.

“I’m not making this up. Yesterday when I picked David up from school, he told me he saw a teacher during naptime who wasn’t actually there...”

Luther cut me off before I could finish.

“And now you’re going to tell me every parent in the class said their child saw the same strange teacher, and all their stories matched perfectly.”

My grip tightened around the phone.

He continued.

“Then you’re going to tell me that on the bus today, all seven kids froze for exactly three minutes. After that, they tried to jump out the windows, and eventually you couldn’t get in touch with Ms. Watson.”

He was practically shouting by the end.

I stared blankly ahead.

“How... how do you know that?”

Luther, who had sounded furious just seconds ago, suddenly let out a long, exhausted sigh.

“Honey, please. Just listen to me, okay?

“I’m already exhausted from work every day. If you’re sick, we’ll get you help.

“I really don’t have the energy to go through this with you again.”