weather looked anonymous like it did not know whether to rain or shine. There were reports of a hurricane hitting during the week, but I did not take any notice of it, since it was not likely to hit the island.

I was 14 years old, brown-skinned, tall, slender, had eyes that changed from light to brown and short-cut brown hair. I did my usual routine of preparing myself for school. Before I left the house, my mother gave her daily pep talk.

"Stephanie, do you have your bus pass and keys,'' inquired my mother.

"Yes, how come you're always asking me. It gets on my nerves!'' I exclaimed irritatedly.

"I am just checking so you would not have to come saying you have them,'' replied my mom.

"Well, bye then,'' I said impatiently. I finally left in a hurry, and I was thinking to myself she seemed to push my red buttons.

While waiting for the bus, a chilly breeze seemed to sweep past me ruffling my hair a bit. Really I did not take notice. The bus eventually arrived. A few minutes later, while on my journey, something suddenly altered. The sky became gloomly dark with immense clouds hovering in it. Then the chilly breeze became a fierce intoxicating wind. It made the windows begin to shatter. I looked around and other people on board were quite perplexed as to what this was. The wind also made a perculiar noise like an owl howling. At this time I was definitely worried which made my heart hammer like thunder. Rain began to thrash down harder with hail stones slapping the bus.

I looked out and saw how violently trees were swaying and how the wind was making electric wires jingle. The bus stopped and unhesitatingly I stood to get off but the bus was trembling putting me off balance. I was hoping this was some sort of horrific nightmare but I had to come back to reality, it had to be the hurricane mentioned on the radio, I then saw the rain swirling on the road mixed with the treacherous wind.

At that time when I realised I was in the middle of a hurricane, I did not know what to do. I started to panic because we were fast approaching the eye of the hurricane which is the most dangerous part. Other people on the bus were panicking. I decided I had to act fast while I had the chance but it was too late. The eye struck throwing the bus off the road. This I thought had to be the end for me. We stopped against a tree. I had to do something before anything drastic happened. Was the tree falling on the bus? My thinking was delayed because the rain mixed with the wind beat against the bus harder.

This lasted for what seemed like eternity. Outside the scene looked as if it were a colourful washing machine with rain and wind circling on the road and green leaves of trees waving violently. I was trying to keep myself calm, think level-headed and pray. Finally the eye of the hurricane seemed to have passed and the weather died down a bit. I knew this was probably my only chance of seeking better shelter so I opened the emergency door and climbed out with the several people following. I battled the wind and rain bravely which was roughing up my face. When I found the nearest shelter, a post office, I was practically drenched to the bone and would probably later catch a bad cold. I stayed there and watched until the rain died down before leaving towards my long journey home. I did not leave my protected shelter until 1 p.m. On my journey back home I saw the devastating destruction of the aftermath with trees rooted up and some houses with their roofs off. I thought to myself how lucky I was to be alive. When I finally reached home exhausted and relieved, it took the worry off my mother's face. I learned a lesson or two that I would never underestimate the weather and would listen to reports more seriously.

STEPHANIE BAIN 3MJ Berkeley Institute