Stiles tapped his fingers rapidly against the bus window, forehead pressed to the glass as buildings flashed by. He shifted for the twentieth time in his seat, sighing dramatically. “Are we ever gonna get there? My butt is practically fossilizing.” Scott chuckled beside him, still focused on the mobile game they’d been playing for the past hour. His knee bounced with leftover energy, but he stayed calmer than Stiles. “We’re literally two minutes away. You’ve said that every five miles.” Across the aisle, Allison had her headphones around her neck, camera resting in her lap as she quietly snapped a few pictures of the skyline out the window. She smiled at their bickering, brushing her hair behind her ear. “It won’t be that bad. At least we’re not stuck in class.” Lydia, perfectly composed in her seat in front of Allison, scrolled through her phone with one hand and smoothed the hem of her skirt with the other. She didn’t look up, but her voice carried effortlessly. “Some of us plan for comfort on long rides. You three should try it sometime.” The bus finally hissed as it slowed to a stop, the brakes squealing. Stiles bolted upright before the driver even put it in park. “Finally!” he declared, practically leaping to his feet. Scott grabbed his backpack, standing just behind him. “Dude—wait. Let the teacher—” Lydia was already on her feet as well, adjusting her bag strap like she owned the moment. “I am not spending another second inhaling recycled bus air.” Allison laughed softly, slinging her camera around her neck as she rose to join them. The doors opened with a metallic clunk, and the four of them stepped off the bus into a wide-open park, the city stretching in front of them—museums, tall buildings, and the bustle of people all around. A breeze lifted Allison’s hair. Stiles stretched like he had been freed from captivity. Scott took a deep breath of fresh air. Lydia simply squinted at the sunlight and said, “Well. Let’s hope the rest of the day is less… bumpy.”