Zippy climbed aboard the yellow school bus and the double doors swung shut behind him. The engine rumbled and shuddered, then the bus lurched backward through a tunnel of swirling green light. It landed with a soft thud on damp moss beneath a canopy of giant ferns.
The bus doors creaked open and Zippy stepped out into warm, humid air thick with the smell of crushed leaves and wet earth. He blinked against the golden-green light and whispered, 'Where on Earth did we go?'
A sauropod towered ahead, its long neck stretching up to strip leaves from a towering tree. Each bite made a soft crunching sound that echoed through the clearing. Zippy froze. 'It's huge,' he thought. 'Bigger than the school gym.'
Zippy crept closer, his sneakers sinking into the damp moss. The sauropod lowered its massive head until its enormous eye peered down at him. Warm breath washed over his face, smelling of sweet green plants. 'Don't move,' he told himself. 'Just don't move.'
Zippy reached out a trembling hand toward the damp moss, half-expecting the ground to shake. The sauropod's low rumbling hum vibrated through his sneakers, and he thought, 'It's not scary. It's just… curious.' The great neck leaned in a little closer.
The bus horn blared suddenly, startling Zippy as the engine sputtered back to life. He dove through the open doors just as the sauropod let out a deep echoing call that shook the leaves above. 'Better safe than sorry,' he thought, scrambling inside.
The bus rocketed backward through swirling green light and slammed to a halt. Zippy tumbled across the aisle and landed hard on the familiar cracked vinyl seat. Sunlight streamed through the windows and the schoolyard came into view.
He pressed his palm against the warm vinyl seat where he'd been sitting and a small grin spread across his face. 'I went to the dinosaur age,' he whispered. 'And I came back.' The bus sat quiet and still in the parking lot.