Dad Notices Daughter Stays in School Bus Longer than Others Kids and Gets Suspicious — Story of the Day

A father was worried because his daughter stayed on the school bus after everyone else got off. He wanted to know why. What he discovered surprised him.

Benjamin Bruce was a single dad. He had to fill both roles after his wife died. Emily was only six when it happened.

Ben loved Emily deeply. She was the only connection he had left to his wife. He had promised to always take good care of her. To keep that promise, he balanced his job while being present for her. He had no other family he trusted, so he managed everything on his own.

The first few years were tough. Just as Ben got used to parenting, Emily reached puberty, and things got even harder.

She began changing physically, and Ben knew it meant boys would soon be interested in her. His daughter had her mother’s red hair and green eyes, which were very captivating. Even Ben couldn’t resist them and often gave in to her demands.

When Emily turned 12, she started noticing boys. She spent more time on her hair and appearance because she wanted to look good for her crush at school. Ben was ready to protect her from boys, but he wasn’t prepared to handle her beauty routine. Emily had no one to teach her, and she struggled with taking care of her hair.

Ben used to keep her hair short because he didn’t know much about hair care, but Emily wanted to grow it out.

To help, Ben started brushing her hair, though sometimes he pulled it by mistake. “Ouch!” she cried once. “Sorry, sweetheart,” he apologized. “You need to be more gentle, Daddy,” she would tell him. Sometimes, she stayed quiet, not wanting to make him feel bad.

Ben felt guilty each time he hurt her, and he suggested cutting her hair again. “Just cut it all off,” he’d say during arguments. “Your mom looked great with short hair.” “Dad, I’m not cutting it. It grows so slowly because you cut it all the time,” she would reply. Ben always lost the argument, but soon they stopped arguing about it.

Later, Ben noticed Emily was getting tardy slips from her teacher, Mrs. Flynn. He called to find out more. “Yes, Mr. Bruce, she has five tardies just this week. Is something wrong?” she asked. “No, everything’s fine at home. I make sure she gets on the bus early,” he explained. “Have you noticed anything unusual?” he asked.

“Well, once I saw her get off the bus late. Maybe the driver knows more,” Mrs. Flynn suggested. “Thank you. I’ll look into it,” Ben said.

The next day, Ben followed the bus to school. Just like Mrs. Flynn said, everyone got off the bus—except Emily. Ben rushed onto the bus, fearing the worst, but he saw a kind woman brushing his daughter’s hair. The woman was Madeline, the bus driver. “Mr. Bruce?” she said, startled. Emily looked up, surprised. “Dad? Why are you here?”

“Hi, ma’am,” Ben said. “I heard my daughter was getting tardy notices, and I wanted to find out why.” “Oh, well, here’s why,” Madeline said, pointing to Emily’s hair. “I noticed she was struggling with it, so I offered to help her brush it before class. She said it made her feel bad when it was messy.”

“Honey,” Ben said to Emily. “Why didn’t you tell me?” “I didn’t want to worry you,” she replied.

Later that day, Ben invited Madeline for coffee. When she learned about his wife, she cried. Madeline was a cancer survivor. She knew how lucky she was to still be alive and there for her own kids. She felt she had survived to help kids like Emily. She asked Ben to find a way to support Emily without the tardy slips.

Ben talked to Mrs. Flynn, and after explaining the situation, Emily no longer received tardy notices. He was thankful to Madeline, and they stayed good friends for a long time.