The crisp white sign up sheet newly posted to also new un-pocked cork board said 7 buses needed. A few of the buses would be picking up from the fraternities on campus and a few off campus. I quickly added my name and was curious how many others drivers from this bizarre yard would also scratch their names down. They blow a gasket if some other bus takes there parking space. I was wondering how they would react to 40 or 50 slightly to increasingly intoxicated college kids would affect their day.
Well part of my answer was having to outsource one of the buses from another yard. Guess we weren't teeming with excitement lol. I got to the yard early and had to remove a car seat another driver had left on my bus. I hadn't been driving my own since my run was customize-able and tis the season to be short on good running buses. I used my battery operated leaf blower to clean the crap out they left. After adorning my blue air filter mask, i'm not a big fan of bus dirt sinus infections. It kinda makes me look like Sub Zero..."finish him!" That took a good 15 mins then I started the precautions. I duct tape scented small garbage bags to the backs of all the seats. When the kids get on I set the radio, flash the dome lights rave style so I have their attention. Then my announcement goes something like this: " Hey guys! I hope you have lots of fun tonight however, if you have too much FUN please deposit it into the bags provided and tie them off! thank you!" This generally gets applause, fist pumps and screams.
I was tasked with meeting the out of town driver and having her follow me to the house. We were part of the group picking up on campus. We pulled up at 6:30 behind the other two drivers already there. I have done lots of these trips, even to this house and the campus cops and frat heads addressed me my name. As I was explaining how things usually go to the out of town driver ( who recently got her CDL and wasn't even broken in yet) The first two buses loaded and took off! This is a trip no-no. Groups are supposed to stay together if for nothing else piece of mind to the slightly intoxicated frat planers who take attendance and grab stragglers. Lucky for me I knew the venue and had no issues taking myself and my shadow. Two of the buses entered the venue from the wrong side. Three buses were unloading at the correct spot when one of the buses jumped the curb and almost rubbed the building while grazing the mirror of the other bus! Geez! We waited for them all to unload then we rolled in. The coordinator, this was for her birthday, told me the venue closes at 11 so to be there a little before then.
I didn't see any other drivers in sight so the other driver and I went to Chinese. We got back a little before 10 and parked where we could see the door to the venue. There was some radio chatter but it was coming in spurts and I couldn't get what was being said. Then a driver new to our yard gets on and says "can anyone hear me?" All the other drivers answer in turn. She says that she has our kids and they want to go home. I couldn't cut in on the radio because everyone else wouldn't shut up! Mind you she drove for the off campus kids. One of the other drivers pulled around and started yelling at me that the pick up was for 9:45. I told him he may have been but we were scheduled originally way closer to 11. We rolled around the building with me on the radio constantly telling the dumb new driver to not load my kids. That she had her own kids to load from a completely different area. Too late, when I pulled behind her she already had my kids loaded! She got on the radio and sayes " o well I guess I'll just return these guys to campus then". I was super pissed and frustrated. I didn't even have the address to drop these guys off! So after several minutes of deciphering drunken slur I had the GPS programmed and we were ready to roll. Only the other bus behind me was completely empty!
Everyone got home, no one puked or pissed on the bus. Hooray! I can't wait to see how the new driver's career unfolds lol. Maybe she'll bring one school to the museum and load and deliver a whole other school to an entirely different venue! lol DEE DEE DEE