Page 13 of A Highland Gargoyle's Lucky Star
I blink.
Duh.
That’s what we should have done from the start.
“The driver’s stuck and his foot’s still on the gas pedal from what I can tell. I can’t really move him and keep us from crashing at the same time. Also, I’m not sure that it’s even safe to move him right now. We should maybe leave that to the medics. Doyou think you could squeeze down there and just remove his foot from the gas? Hopefully, we can then slow down naturally.”
She gets a determined look in her eyes. “I’ll try.”
While I continue to steer the bus on our perpetual loop of Piccadilly Circus, she crouches to the floor and crawls between me and the driver’s legs.
I have to admit, I’m feeling a little bit of motion sickness by this point. How many times have we gone around in this fountain thing now?
“Got it!” a muffled but triumphant cry shouts from below.
I glance at the gauge on the dashboard and see our speed slowly start to go down.
“Do you know which one’s the brake?” I ask.
“I think so.”
I gulp. “Should we give it a try?”
“Let’s do it.”
“Okay, tap it gently.”
The bus lurches awkwardly.
“Ease up,” I say with a wince.
“Sorry,” she mutters from the floor. “Just nervous.”
“You’re doing great.”
She presses the brake again more gently, and we slow down even further.
Finally, a few moments later, I’m able to guide the bus out of the roundabout and up along the sidewalk, albeit at a somewhat haphazard angle.
Once we come to a full stop, I miraculously figure out how to put it in park, and my trusty helper pops back up, relief written all over her now flushed face.
Everyone on the bus cheers.
Before we can switch gears and check on the driver, the bus is swarmed by police officers who quickly take charge of the scene.In moments, they have poor Tom out on the sidewalk where medics begin performing CPR on him.
After that, the rest of us are allowed to get off the bus, and many of the other passengers come over and pat me on the back. A few give me hugs.
“You saved the day,” one of them says.
“You were a real hero,” another offers.
They’re much more appreciative now that we’re safe, but I get it.
Honestly, I was just trying not to die. And I like to think my movie knowledge might have helped a bit.
Thank you for teaching me how to stay cool under pressure, Ms. Bullock!
Anyway, no dying anytime soon for me. After all, I have to make it to Scotland and see a sexy man in a kilt, dammit.
