Skipping School in the Second Grade

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My cousin Debby and I had missed the school bus and because we didn't have a way to school it was decided that we could walk together. Afterall, we didn't live far from the school. We promised that we would watch for cars and not to get into a car with a stranger. With lunch bags in hand we gleefully headed down the steps of the house, past the two huge blue spruce trees that stood on either side of the walkway and out to the road. As we walked along we would move to the shoulder of the road as a car passed by us. My cousin then came up with an idea. We should skip school. Where would we go? What would we do? My cousin said we could walk to our Uncle Harry's house and we could play with our cousins all day. We decided it was a good plan. When rounded the corner and the school came into view, we crouched down low so that nobody would see us. The school sat on a hill so we knew nobody would be able to see us as we crouched low to the ground and made our way up the street past the school. We thought we were on our way to a free day from school when suddenly a school bus was heard coming down the road just behind us. Where to hide? We ran down the steep enbankment that led to a babbling brook and as we heard the school bus brakes squeal just beside where we thought we were hidden, we held our breaths. The bus driver told us to get on the bus. We crawled back up the hill and brushed off the leaves that clung to our clothes. The bus driver asked us where we were going. My cousin said that we were going to our Aunt's house for the day. She then told the bus driver that our Aunt was a teacher and she was going to teach us just for that day. The bus driver told us to get on the bus. We did as ordered. She drove up the road for a short distance and for a minute we thought that she was actually going to bring us to our Aunt's house. That was until she pulled into a driveway, turned the bus around and headed in the direction of the school. As luck would have it, my teacher was also the principal of the school. She was a crotchity old geezer. As I recall, I was always afraid of her. She sent my cousin to her classroom and I was brought into her office. She asked me where my note was for being tardy. She then asked for my home phone number and told me to go to my seat in the classroom. At the end of the school day we boarded the school bus and headed for home. Laughter filled the bus and my cousin and I never thought about what would be waiting for us when we arrived home. The bus came to a halt in front of the house with the giant spruce trees in front. As we rounded the front of the bus and headed up the walkway, we noticed my Mother standing on the porch. There wasn't a smile on her face. That was the day I realized my Mother was a wise woman. I didn't have to defend myself when my cousin said it was my idea to skip school. My Mother knew better.