Virginia's Discovery

Virginia lifted her tattered, red sneaker up the first step of the bus. Mustering up her courage, she trudged up the last two steps to face the jeering, leering faces once again. The first day of school commenced another year of torture. "I don't want to go to school," she muttered to herself as she plopped down in the only empty seat which happened to be in the middle of the bus.

"Hey four-eyes!" A voice shouted from the back of the bus. Choosing to ignore her tormentors, Virginia settled down into the seat and pulled out her favorite mystery novel. Just as she was entering a world to escape her own, the bus lurched to a sudden stop and sent Virginia sprawling into the dirty aisle. Her face slightly grazed the gritty floor. Her thin, wire-rimmed glasses flew off her face somewhere into a sea of feet.

"Oh no! My glasses!" Virginia exclaimed, panicked. On her hands and knees, she groped along the aisle, all the while refusing to lift her humiliated face to the mocking crowd. Her hand suddenly struck something thick and white. Becoming curious, she looked at the blurry rectangle under her fingers. She picked it up and put it in her pocket, hoping that the white rectangle held some kind of mystery for her to untangle.

"Hey Virginia. Lose something?" A boy with thick, red, curly hair and a mischievous smile dangled Virginia's glasses in front of her nose. Snatching her precious spectacles form the bully, she precisely positioned them on her nose and made her way slowly back to her seat of refuge. Remember the bulge in her pocket, she pulled out the thick white envelope. Cautiously, she looked around to see if anyone was watching. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her tormentors were too busy picking on a little kindergartner to notice her anymore. The coat was clear. She pulled out the white rectangle which was an envelope. Her fingers began to tremble with the excitement of the unknown. Virginia slid her finger through the top of the envelope, relishing in the sound of tearing paper. She turned the envelope upside down, and two items dropped into her hands. Virginia's eyes bulged in disbelief. A one-hundred dollar bill and a yellow meal ticket sat in the palm of her hand. Smiling victoriously, Virginia quickly stuffed the contents of the envelope back into her pocket. Oh well, she thought. Finders, Keepers.