Jamie looked up at the coach bus. It was still dark outside and only about 1 degree. The Sprits were going to a dance competition in Williams Lake. Mme. Malten had already taken attendance and now everyone was loading their luggage into the coach bus and getting on. Mark, Gina, Alex, Leah and Zack had come to wish her, Madison and Justin good bye and good luck.

“No phone calls from Ashley since Monday! That’s 4 days!” mentioned Mark when he saw her.

“That’s great!” she said back.

Jamie went and hugged everyone, but hugged Mark last. He kissed her and Jamie kissed back. She wasn’t really into P.D.A; but she loved being with Mark. Then they hugged again.

“I love you.” She whispered in his ear.

“I love you too.” He whispered back.

“Bye!” Jamie called and walked to the bus. Madison and Justin followed. The bus had a bathroom in the back and TVs with DVD players. All of the seats were grey with blue stripes; there were two seats, then the aisle, then two more seats. Jamie sat with Madison in the middle of the bus and Justin sat behind them with another dancer named Jamison. The sun was just starting to rise and the sky was turning a faint pinkish colour.

“Pink at night is sailors delight. Pink in the morning is sailors warning.” Warned Madison.

“It’s pink every morning, Maddie.” Replied Jamie.


The rest of the dancers got onto the bus, Mme. Malten did a head count and then they were on there way. Madison and Jamie watched and waved to their friends as they left the school. Jamie was excited but nervous. It was her first competition, and she wanted to do well. She had all the group dances plus the jazz trio. She’d rehearsed everyday for the past week for about two hours and she was pretty sure she was ready.


“So, how was your first day at work?” asked Madison.

“Pretty good. It was really easy. Leonarda is a great boss.”

“Well that’s good.”


Madison and Jamie talked for a while with other people, but them Mme. Malten put on a movie so then they watched a movie. The weather was getting worse and worse outside and the road conditions were bad. The bus stopped at a coffee shop for lunch and they all ate. Then they were back on the bus, once again travailing.


There was freezing rain outside and the bus was slipping all over the road. It was pretty scary at times. All of a sudden, the bus turned a sharp corner on the highway, but it was too much for the bus. It started to roll onto the right ditch. People screamed. Jamie felt pain in her neck and head.


But then it all went black.

Madison woke up and opened her eyes.

“Where am I?” she asked.


She was in a room with all white sheets. Both of her parents were at the bed’s side. A doctor was there too. She looked down. She was wearing a white and blue gown.


“Madison, what’s your birthday?” asked the doctor.

“July 26th, 1994.”

“How many fingers am I holding up?” he held up two fingers.

“Two.”

“And what’s your name?”

“Madison Cecelia McGregor.”

“All correct. Good job.”

“Where am I?” Madison repeated.

“The hospital, honey.” Replied her Mom, who looked like she’d been crying.

“Why am I here?” asked Madison. She was confused, at first she was on the coach bus going to Williams Lake, then they stopped for lunch, and then she fell asleep and woke up here.

“You were in a bus accident.” Her Dad said.

“Really? Is everyone okay?”

“Well, there were a lot of broken bones…” her Mom started, but then she looked to her husband for help.

“I’m really sorry to tell you this, but Jamie went into a coma.”

“What?” Madison could feel hot tears swelling up in her eyes, making it hard to see.

“I’m sorry Love, most of the young seniors team is in the hospital. Most of them have broken bones and are staying the night just to be sure.”

“Are her parents here?” asked Madison.

“Yes, they’re in Jamie’s room. Gina and Mark are there too.”

“Can you ask them to come and see me when they get a chance?”

“Sure honey.”

Madison started crying. It was so unfair. Jamie might not even live to see her first dance competition. After she calmed down a bit, she asked:
“How did this happen?”

“The bus slipped on the freezing rain and rolled into a ditch. You have a concussion. When the bus rolled, Jamie hit her head and went into a coma.”

Just then the doctor came back in. He propped the bed up and Madison went into a sitting position. He took her blood pressure, temperature and listened to her heart.

“What about the dance competition? Is it canceled?”

“Yes, and classes are canceled at your school, too. There are counselors there for the students.”

“Excuse me, Doctor? Would I be able to go to Jamie Miller’s room, in a wheel chair?”

“Yes, but don’t move around too much. And don’t get up.”

Madison’s Mom wheeled a wheel chair to the side of the bed and the Doctor and her Dad lifted Madison into it. Then they wheeled her to the room Jamie was staying in. She almost expected to see Jamie alive and well, but in reality she wasn’t. There was a crowd of people around her bed, including Jamie’s parents and other family, Gina, Mark and some people from B.C.S.A; some were on the dance team and visiting on wheel chairs, some were people who knew Jamie and wanted to console the family. There were also lots of nurses, and one doctor.


“What hospital is this, Mom?” asked Madison.

“Vancouver General Hospital. The whole team was air lifted here.”


Then Gina turned around, her mascara was running down her face and she’d been crying. All of them had been, Even Mark and Mr. Miller. Gina and Mark came over and gave her a hug. Then Madison saw Jamie. She looked dead. There were needles hooked up to her arms and a heart monitor was set up beside her bed. She was bandaged, they all were. Madison couldn’t believe something so horrible could happen to such a wonderful person.
Justin walked down the hospital hallway. His arm was in a sling; thank God it wasn’t any worse. Madison had a concussion and Jamie was in a coma. He was just going to go and see her and her family. Mark was there too. It was so sad. Justin was one of the only ones who had heard Jamie’s last words to him. They were “I love you.” He turned a corner. He passed another TV that was on the news channel. It was reporting the bus accident. He walked into Jamie’s room in the ICU. It was a private room, and filled with Jamie’s friends and family. Madison was sitting in a wheel chair, talking to Mark and Gina. They were all crying. He came up and gave Madison a hug, then Gina, then Mark. He didn’t care if it was uncool to hug a guy, Mark was his best friend. And his best friend’s girlfriend was in a coma. It was horrible.

“When did you guys get here?” he asked Gina and Mark.

“As soon as we found out, my parents phoned me and I went and told Mark and we came down here as fast as we can. Nick’s coming too, but his cell phone was turned off because he was in a test. He just called me back and told me that he’d be on his way, A.S.A.P.”

“Hey Mark and Gina, I’m sorry about Jamie.” Jamison rolled over. He was also in a wheelchair, but he had a broken rib and a fractured leg. In response, Mark looked down at his feet and Gina went over and hugged Jamison.

“Is there anyone who didn’t get hurt?” asked Madison.

“I don’t know, I know a few people got cuts and bruises. But the coach bus was totaled. I don’t think we’re going to be dancing any time soon.” Replied Justin.

“Oh,” sighed Madison “Was anyone killed?”

“No, that was the only lucky part to this accident. Here, why don’t we go into the hall and watch the news?”

“Okay.” Justin pushed Madison out into the hall. She could’ve wheeled herself, but Justin insisted. Jamison, Gina and Mark followed them. They went out into a lounge area and switched the TV to the news station.

“And now to our top story, a coach bus carrying about 25 people has rolled over. The bus was on its way to William’s Lake for a dance competition, on highway 21 to skidded and rolled into the ditch. It was carrying part of the British Columbia Specialty Academy’s dance students. No deaths are reported, but there are life threatening injuries, including one person in a coma. The dance competition and the all classes at the school have been canceled. That’s all for now, but we’ll keep you updated.” After that Madison’s doctor told her to go back to her room and rest. Mark, Justin and Jamison went and followed her, leaving Gina alone. But it was okay Gina wanted to be alone.



Gina started crying again. Her own sister could die at any minute. She was still in shock from the news, and everyone had tried to comfort her, but it made no difference. She had been extremely close to her sister, and now she was on Death’s doorstep. The Doctors had told her family and Mark that they were reasonably sure she would survive, as she was responding well to the medicine, but coma were dangerous things to be in.



“Hey I got here as soon as I could. Are you okay?”

Gina looked up. It was Nick. “No, I’m not okay. But im glad you’re here.” She got up, it was harder to these days, and hugged him. He cupped his hands around her face and made her look up at him.

“She’s going to be okay. The whole school has rallied together for you guys. There’s a huge stack of flowers outside your dorm. And I just saw Leah and Alex go into Jamie’s room. Do you want to go and see them?”

“Not right now. Its weird, I want to stay with Jamie, but I don’t want to see her like that. I’m so confused.”

“That’s perfectly normal. Jamie’s a fighter. I knew that as soon as I saw her on the first day you guys came here. She’s going to be fine.”


Gina remembered that day. They’d both gotten up three hours early to get ready. They wanted to make a good impression on the students of their new school. When their parents were finally up and ready, they drove to B.C.S.A. They arrived eventually, and to Gina it felt like an eternity. The first person she met there was Nick, come to think of it. She remembered the conversation like it was yesterday…


“Do you need any help carrying your bags?” asked 12-year-old Nick.

“Actually, I think I will.” Smiled Gina. “What course do you take here?”

“The advanced one, you know, for geniuses. Or at least that’s what my old principal called it. I wouldn’t exactly call myself a genius.”

“Really? Me too!”

“Cool. So what’s you name?”

“Gina Miller and you?”

“Nick Wilson.”

Nick grabbed Gina’s neon orange suitcase from the trunk of the car. Normally Mr. Miller would have helped her with them, but he could see that she had found her own help. Gina and Jamie kissed their parents goodbye and then they drove off. Gina grabbed her other suitcase and they started to walk up to her room. Jamie had gotten some guy named Zack to help her with her stuff.


“What dormitory are you staying in?” asked Nick.

“Lalonde 412. My sister’s staying there too.”

“Cool, do you know if you have any other roommates?”

“I think there’s one more girl.”


They took the elevator up to the fourth floor. It was the beginning of the year, and there were boxes everywhere. Gina was glad she’s shipped everything else up a week ago. Her book collection alone was five boxes big. They found the room and went in. Jamie was already there, with the Zack guy. There was also another girl with blonde ringlet hair. She introduced herself as Leah Linkin. It was her first year there too. Zack and Nick said that they needed to go and check out their rooms, but gave them their cell phone numbers incase they needed anything. It was Nick’s second year here, so he knew where everything was. After the girls had unpacked, they went to the auditorium for the welcoming and rules assembly. Gina loved B.C.S.A. already.


Gina flashed back to real time. She went and hugged Nick and cried. Nick sensed that she needed to get away from the hospital’s dreariness.


“Hey, want to go and get something to eat? Anywhere you want. It’s my treat.”

“Okay, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get through dinner without crying.”

“Who cares? Everyone who knows you well knows why you’re crying.”

“Okay. I don’t know why I’m saying this, but let’s go to McDonalds. I have a craving for a burger.”

“Let’s walk; it’s just down the road.”

“Sound’s good.”

Gina and Nick went into Jamie’s room. Her heart rate was up and she was breathing normally. It was like she was asleep. They told Mr. and Mrs. Miller that they were going to McDonalds and they gave them some money. Gina took it anyway, even though Nick said he would pay. It would be an investment on a couple of new books.