"Stop complaining and get on the bus!" snapped the cheerleading coach.

I looked down the crowded aisle and felt my heart flutter. We are on the way to a shared event, an important football game out of state and a cheerleading competition in the same area. The cheer team's bus had broken down thirty miles outside of an known town and even more miles over a hilly pass to our destination.

My teammate behind me prodded me at my back, trying to move me along. "Just go to the back."

"Everyone will have to squeeze in," said the coach. "It's just another hour or so of discomfort and then we...