Only Kids Greet Lonely School Bus Driver on His B-Day, Parents Demand Meeting With Him Later – Story of the Day

A group of school children devises a surprise to greet their lonely school bus driver on his birthday. The next day, their parents flock to the principal's office to meet him, and he has no clue what's in store for him.

When someone does something nice to you, it is only appropriate that you appreciate them in a similarly unique way. 53-year-old school bus driver David often took extra care to make the kids on his bus happy. He took his job so seriously that some children, like little Evan, said David is the kind of father he wishes to have.

One day, David did not look happy. He did not put on his peppy clown face or make his kids laugh. He didn't crack silly jokes or bother to say hi to anyone. The children on the bus grew worried and started bugging him...

"Hi, David! How are you today?" Evan asked. But David seemed lost as he focused on his route.

"Look, I made a card today. Do you like it?"

David didn't reply, but after moments of eerie silence, he slightly turned around and smiled.

"Hey, hi there. What have you got? ... Oh, that's lovely. For your mom?" David tried to sound cheerful to control the tears that threatened to spill as he thought about his late wife.

"Is he the driver? I still can't believe he did this to our kids," said one of the parents.

"No, it's for—" replied Evan, then paused.

"For who is it then?"

"I can't tell you now," replied the boy, who quickly returned to his seat.

David brushed it off and continued to drive, unaware of what was about to unfold just minutes later.

As usual, the kids flocked around David, waiting for him to tell them about the different historic buildings on their route. David had worked as a tour guide previously. He loved describing the region's history, monuments, and parks to the children. They loved how he explained things enthusiastically, inciting in them a thirst for more knowledge about their country's heritage.

"...And you see that park there? It was established here 200 years ago by—" David narrated as the kids listened in awe, pressing their faces to the glass windows and peeping outside.

The children were fascinated by David's narrations. Then they started to discuss something among themselves and giggled. A few minutes later, they returned to their seats and stopped talking. There was dead silence on the bus.

The first stop arrived, and David knew five children were getting off there...

"Aaron, Shaun, Rolson, Nick, Jake—Your stop has arrived! See you tomorrow, boys!" David turned around to bid them goodbye but saw that the kids weren't on their seats. In fact, all the seats were empty. David was startled and pulled over immediately.

"Where did everyone go?"

He stood from his seat, confused. The bus that was noisy just moments ago had turned grave silent, and there was not a single head popping out from the seats. "What's going on?" David thought.

Then all of a sudden, he heard a roar of laughter. The children jumped out from behind each seat, bursting confetti and screaming, "Happy Birthday, David!"

David was startled, and tears filled his eyes. Yes, it was his 54th birthday, and he was feeling the birthday blues earlier. He was an orphan and had nobody to celebrate his birthday with. But as it turned out, the kids on the bus made an effort to make it special for him.

"Oh my God! How did you—Kids, how did you know it's my birthday today?" he cried.

"We saw your date of birth on your ID last week!" spoke Evan, emerging from behind, holding a box of cake and a birthday card. "We teamed up and collected our daily allowance to surprise you!"

"Happy birthday, David!" said another student, handing over a present to the teary-eyed driver.

It was the best birthday David had ever celebrated all his life. He could not control his tears and was so happy. He dropped the kids off and returned home, shedding tears of joy.

The next day, he was startled when he was called to the principal's office to meet with the kids' parents.

"He's the bus driver. He has come...finally," David heard a parent say, pointing at him.

"Is he the driver? I still can't believe he did this to our kids," another said.

David was baffled. Did he do something wrong? The first thing that came to mind was his birthday the previous day. The children had spent their allowance on his cake and present. Were they there to reprimand him for that?

"I can explain...I didn't know they were going to throw a party for me—" Davis said, sweating.

Before he could finish talking, the principal walked over and patted him on the shoulder, and the parents were clapping their hands, startling David. "Wha-what's going on?" he asked.

"Mr. Turner, how did you do it? Our children used to spend hours on their gaming consoles and computer games. But now, they want to explore our country's history. We were shocked. When we asked them, they told us about you and your knowledge about historical places."

To David's surprise, it turned out the kids who rode his bus were overly fascinated by his descriptions of historical places that they've been urging their parents to take them on excursions to explore the regions. The parents decided to meet with David that day to invite him to be their kids' personal guide during such trips.

"We saw our kids breaking their piggy banks two days ago. They told us they wanted to throw you a little birthday party on the bus. We were moved and agreed. Belated birthday wishes, Mr. Turner!"

David was so touched. He was eventually promoted as the school's official tour guide, besides being their esteemed driver.

Until that day, David had always regretted that he had nobody who cared about him. But he was now in seventh heaven and decided to surprise the children who changed his life overnight.

A few weeks later, he organized an official school tour to a neighboring state and took the kids along for a mind-blowing historical adventure.

What can we learn from this story?

• Some surprises come to you when you least expect them. David was feeling the birthday blues, knowing he had no one to greet him or celebrate with him. But he was surprised when the children on the bus greeted him with streamers, a cake, and a small present, making his day unique and memorable.
• Appreciate someone who does good to you and your loved ones. The parents were surprised when their children began to harbor an unusual interest in historical places. They discovered that their bus driver was behind this passion and expressed their appreciation for him.

A brave bus driver saved 28 kids the day before his retirement. The following morning, he was awakened by a crowd screaming outside his house, and he had no idea what was about to happen. Click here to read the full story.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.