‘Bye Joe,’ called the small girl as she stepped from the school bus to be met by her mother. Little Jenny was the last to be dropped off and his shift was nearly over. Joe gave a wave, closed the doors and set off for the depot.
After driving service buses all day he really looked forward to the afternoon school run. The other drivers thought he was mad; most of them hated driving a bus full of noisy screaming kids. But Joe loved Kids, where the others saw bad behaviour; he saw only high spirits and happiness. Occasional one or other of the kids would overstep the mark and take advantage of his kind nature, but on the whole they sensed that he cared for them and felt safe in his hands.
But this kind caring man had a darker side. A secret addiction so vile that had he declared it on his job application form would have prevented him from holding a position that had any contact with the general public let alone innocent children.
Reaching the depot he parked up and signed off. By now his hands were shaking so badly that he had difficulty buttoning up his coat. He needed a fix and he needed it soon before he became a gibbering wreck. Slipping out of the side door into the welcoming winter darkness he made his way down the alley to bin area, squeezed between the bins and sat on an upturned crate. He used to meet Charlie here but he had been arrested by undercover police three weeks ago and was now serving 15 years for possession. Now Joe was the only one left.
The need gnawing at him he ripped off his right shoe, removed the package from the false heel, opened it and took out one of the white cylinders. Fumbling in his pocket he withdrew a lighter cunningly disguised as a fountain pen. Placing the contraband cigarette between his lips, he lit up and sucked the smoke deep into his lungs.
