**Narration:**
When I was 20, I lived in a college hostel, far from my family As a student, my days and nights were filled with laughter and chaos, always surrounded by my friends. But that night... our last night together, everything felt different. There was an ache in my heart, a mix of excitement and sadness.
---
**[In the dim hostel room, four friends gather around, the air heavy with the weight of goodbye.]**
**Me (Lax):**
I can't believe it, guys. This is our last night here. Tomorrow, everything changes.
**Jing:**
Yeah… I'll miss this place. The noise, the food, even those cold showers.
**Bling:**
I'm just waiting to go home and eat my mom's cooking. I bet my family will throw a party when I get back!
**Jazz (smirking):**
Or maybe they forgot about you, Bling.
**[Everyone laughs, the mood lightening for a moment.]**
**Me:**
Of course they haven't! My family's probably counting the hours. Still… it's hard to spend this last night here. My heart feels heavy.
**Bling:**
Don't turn into a crybaby now, Lax.
**Me (grinning):**
Crybaby? Look who's talking. Weren't you the one whispering "I miss you, Mom" in your sleep last night?
**Bling (blushing):**
Hey! Don't make things up just because you can't handle your own feelings.
**Me:**
So you don't miss your family at all, huh?
**Bling:**
N-no, that's not what I— You always twist my words, you jerk!
**Jazz (interrupting loudly):**
Enough! Seriously. Stop fighting over nonsense. It makes us look like cheap street punks.
**Jing (smiling):**
Jazz is right. Why fight? Let's settle it with a game! Whoever wins gets the bragging rights for life.
**Bling:**
A challenge, huh? What kind of game?
**Me:**
Let me guess—Jing wants to bet money? I'm in!
**Jing (eyes shining):**
No, something better. Let's sneak out right now and surprise our families! Whoever gets home first, wins.
**Jazz:**
I love it. I'm in!
**Me and Bling (together):**
No way! That's insane!
**[30 minutes later...]**
**[Scene: Four friends walking along a lonely road, accepting the challenge.]**
**Narration:**
You might be wondering how we ended up agreeing to this crazy challenge.
The thing is, back in the room, when we all refused Jazz's idea and stood against it, he suddenly put on an emotional act. He said he didn't have anyone in his family except his bird (which he left with the neighbor) and us friends. He reminded us that soon, even we wouldn't be together anymore. He went on and on, sounding so sad (blah blah)—and, well, that's how we got caught up in this mess!
---
**[Lax thinking to himself as they walk:]**
Then me and my three friends were walking towards our hometown.
And let me tell you, the hills were so big and the roads were wide.
We were moving forward under the pitch-dark sky, with only the soft touch of moonlight helping me make out the shapes of my friends' bodies because of the long hills and the tall, endless trees.
The dim light almost turned into total darkness, but it was just enough for me to recognize the outline of a person's body and the surroundings and to see what was necessary for us to keep going.
**Jing (breaking the silence, voice low):**
You know... the locals say this road is haunted. Years ago, a school bus crashed right here. It was full of schoolgirls, and they were all sleeping when it happened. Ever since that night, people say strange things have happened at this exact spot. Cars just stop working for no reason whenever they cross this place.
**Bling:**
Don't start with the ghost stories again, Jing. I'm already regretting this walk.
**Jazz (trying to sound tough):**
Don't be babies. We're almost halfway. Anyway, walking together is better than sleeping alone in that stuffy hostel.
**Me (Lax, quietly):**
I just want to see my family. That's all I want tonight.
---
**Narration:**
We kept going. The road dipped into a thick forest. The silence was so deep, I could hear my own heart beating, and the sound of our footsteps echoed like we were trespassing in a sacred place.
---
**Jazz (grinning, cracks a joke):**
Let me guess, Jing. Was the driver sleeping too? What was he doing while the bus crashed?
**Jing (managing a weak smile):**
I don't know, Jazz. Maybe he was... That's what makes the story scarier.
**[A moment of uneasy laughter passes between them, but the darkness presses closer.]**
---
**[Suddenly, headlights flicker up ahead. An old man stands beside a broken-down car, waving weakly.]**
**Old Man (calling out, voice gruff but concerned):**
Hey guys, what are you all doing here? It's not good for youngsters like you to be wandering around here at night.
**Me (Lax, forcing a smile, making things up):**
We're lost, I guess! Haha.
**Old Man (raising his eyebrows, a hint of pity):**
Oh really? Poor things!
**Jing (stepping forward, a bit suspicious):**
What are you doing here, old man?
**Old Man (sighing, looking back at his car):**
I don't know, guys. I was just passing through this place, but suddenly my perfectly working new car stopped running out of nowhere—right when it crossed this spot.
**[Jing, thinking to himself:]**
Is this... the ghost's effect from that incident? Did the old man's car stop because of the curse?
---
**Me (Lax):**
Let's help him out, maybe we'll get a ride and reach home faster.
---
**[They take their positions: Bling and Jing behind the car, Jazz at the front, Lax inside trying the ignition. The old man crawls under the car, fiddling with something.]**
**Old Man (calling out):**
Someone hand me the screwdriver from the backseat!
*[A moment passes. The car finally starts successfully.]**
**Old Man (calling out cheerfully):**
Thanks for the screwdriver!
**[Everyone cheers, relieved.]**
**Old Man (smiling):**
Alright, hop in! I'll give you a ride so you're not stuck here all night.
**[They all pile into the car. Jazz sits up front with the old man. Lax, Bling, and Jing squeeze into the back seats. The car feels safer now, filled with the warm light and laughter of friends.]**
**[As the car drives away from the lonely road, the mood lightens. They chat with the old man. He asks their names, their ages, about their families. Bling and Jing slowly drift off to sleep. Lax rests his head, eyes closed, but can't sleep—he's missing his family, hearing the soft sounds of the forest and the wind outside, the vibration of the car, feeling a strange peacefulness.]**
---
**[Up front, Jazz and the old man are talking, voices blending quietly. Jazz, always curious, leans over and asks:]**
**Jazz:**
Hey, old man, do you know anything about the sleeping bus incident? The one where the school bus full of girls crashed from the hill? Is that story true?
**[The old man's face changes. For a full minute, he says nothing.]**
**Jazz (laughing it off):**
I know it sounds silly. Ghosts don't really exist, right?
**Old Man (voice suddenly serious):**
Oh, do you think that's all there is to it? That shouldn't have happened…
**[Suddenly, the car lurches and stops.]**
**Old Man (frustrated):**
Damn this... ahh, why now? We were almost there!
**[Bling and Jing wake up. Everyone gets out and returns to their earlier positions to try starting the car again.]**
**Old Man (calling):**
I need the screwdriver again!
**[Jazz goes to the backseat but can't find it.]**
**Jazz:**
Where's the screwdriver? Lax, where did you put it after handing it to the old man?
**Me (Lax):**
What do you mean? I didn't give him the screwdriver. You did!
**Jazz:**
I didn't! Don't mess around, bro. Sometimes your jokes aren't funny.
**[Jazz looks genuinely confused. Bling and Jing confirm they couldn't have passed it because they were busy at the back. Suddenly, the car starts up again by itself.]**
**Old Man (cheering):**
Bravo! It worked! Let's keep going—fast!
**[They all get back in, but this time Jazz switches seats with Bling and now sits next to Lax. As they settle in, Jazz whispers softly:]**
**Jazz (serious):**
Lax, I didn't pass him the screwdriver.
**Me (Lax, at first thinking it's a joke, then growing uneasy):**
Really? …Who the hell passed it, then? This is weird. I'm starting to feel it too.
---**[Jazz and Lax grow anxious about the old man. Suddenly, Jing leans in and whispers quietly to Lax:]**
**Jing (whispering to Lax):**
We need to get out of this car. Fast.
**[Lax (me) speaks up, forcing calmness:]**
Old man, can you pull over? I really need to pee.
**[The old man pulls the car over. The four of us get out, surrounding a tree with little bushes covering the ground, pretending to pee. The old man stands by his car, a bit away. Jing glances at us and in a low, urgent voice starts:]**
**Jing (in a low tone to everyone):**
Listen, we need to run from this old man.
**Bling (confused):**
Why are you starting to make jokes like Jazz?
**Jing (serious):**
Neither Jazz nor Lax passed the screwdriver when the old man asked for it!
**Jazz and Lax:**
Yeah, it's true. We didn't.
**Bling:**
We were at the back, holding up the car. We couldn't have done it either.
**Jing (voice trembling):**
When I was pulling up the car, I looked in the rearview mirror. I saw a hand—small, white, with blood—reach out from the backseat and pass the screwdriver to the old man. It looked like a girl's hand.
And I heard a rumor about that bus incident: when the bus with the sleeping schoolgirls and driver fell from the hill, there was a poor man under his car on this road, trying to repair it. His car kept stopping every ten minutes. Just as he finally figured out why his brand new car was stopping and realized he only needed a screwdriver to screw one nut and fix it permanently, he was almost happy, reaching to his backseat for the screwdriver—
then, at that exact moment, the bus crashed down, crushing both him and his car. That bus... that's the same one from the story.
**Bling (terrified):**
So you mean the old man could be...
**[Suddenly, the old man appears right next to us, also peeing, popping out of nowhere beside Jazz.]**
**Old Man (grinning, voice chilling):**
Am I a ghost, guys? Maybe we all died here. This is how it happened.
**[We all freeze in horror. The old man is right next to Jazz.]**
**Jazz (voice trembling but strong, tears in his eyes):**
Guys, run! I'm the one who got us into this situation for a stupid challenge, and you all have families to go back to. I don't have anyone waiting for me—but Lax, you take care of my bird, alright?
Go, guys! You're my friends—my best friends. Run! Runnnn!
**[Jazz turns to confront the ghostly old man, buying his friends time. With blood and tears in my eyes, I (Lax) force myself to run, dragging Bling and Jing with me. Before I run, I blast the old man's car with the grenade I made in science class.]**
**[We run, crying—scared, angry, regretful for leaving our friend. Hopeless, desperate, I keep us moving, saying, "We must survive."]**
**[It's 5am. Birds in the forest are chirping again. I feel we are almost home, but our legs can barely move from exhaustion.]**
**Bling (panting):**
It's almost time for the local bus—5:05am. The first bus will come and go to our village.
**[Still afraid of being chased by the ghost old man, we see the sky start to brighten. Finally, a bus appears. We rush inside as fast as we can.]**
**[Five office people with their bags are sitting quietly inside. Bling checks his watch.]**
**Bling (relieved):**
It's 5:03am and it's here, right on time… Thank God! We'll call the police when we reach the village.
**[The bus driver asks:]**
**Bus Driver:**
Where's your village located?
**[Jing points through the window in the direction of his village. Suddenly, the bus driver turns the steering wheel a full 90 degrees. The bus starts tumbling down the hill. In the chaos, I look around—]**
**[The bus driver is asleep. The seats behind us are suddenly full of sleeping schoolgirls in uniform.]**
**Me (Lax, horrified):**
A real bus should be here at 5:04am, not 5:03… This is the sleeping school bus!
But suddenly…
[To Be Continued...]