Tara stays on the bus too long

The Black man smiled as the bus doors closed, and the bus began to move, throwing Tara into a heap on the seat in front of him. "Looks like you missed your stop" he said.

Tara looked frantically up to the front of the bus, and yelled "Wait!" at the top of her lungs, but the driver was now too busy driving with headphones on to hear her. He had made his last stop for the morning run, and he was off to the shed to park the bus until later that afternoon. She sank back into her seat, feeling dejected. She wanted to shoot for perfect attendance this year, but that was not meant to be. She gathered her books and gym bag and put them on the seat next to her.

"Why do you wanna go to school any way, girl? It's a beautiful day out here. Why spend a day like this in a stuffy old school, when you can spend it with someone like me, and make yourself some money?" He held up his fingers and rubbed them together for effect.

"Exactly how would I do that?" she asked. "That is, assuming I'm interested."

"See, I do all kinds of things. I knew you was something special, so that's why I started filming you. You're very pretty, especially with that long, curly dark red hair of yours."" He smiled slyly at her. "Now someone like you I can put to work right away. Especially where this bus is heading. So what do you say?"

"What would I be doing?" she asked. The man had Tara curious.

"That depends on you" he quickly answered. "You could pose for some pictures for me, or maybe make a film, and we could party a little after and have a good time. Or, if you prefer, I can get you an easier gig that'll pay you lotsa money, and all you gotta do is hang out with some friends of mine for a while, and keep them company."

It sounded simple enough to Tara. "How much for pictures?" she asked.

"I'll give you a hundred bucks if you give me some nice poses. I even have outfits for you to wear. If you do a film for me, I'll give you two hundred." He held up two fingers and smiled. "You're worth every penny to me. So what do you say?"

"And we party afterwards?" She thought for sure this guy had to be loaded the way he was talking. She could imagine him taking her to some nice place after he got her on film. "Okay, I'll do it. I've got nothing better to do."

The man smiled again. This was easier than he thought it would be. He held out his hand for Tara to shake. "Charles Day, at your service."

Tara had never been on the bus past the school to know exactly what part of town it was going to after the driver's morning run. It all became too apparent, and much too late once Tara looked out the window to see where they were. They were on the bad side of town. Gangs fought turf wars here, and her dad, the policeman, warned her to stay away from it if she ever went out by herself. "Oh no!" Tara exclaimed.

"Hey, just calm down" said Charles. "You're with me. Ain't nobody gonna bother you."