Verlin Buckley is a shy & lonely eighth grader whose parents are going through a divorce. While playing his favorite city-building video game, he finds bizarre hidden messages. But it's not a prank: The messages are actually a test put there by Twin River Transit Bus #13. It's the dawn of a true artificial intelligence. And it wants to be Verlin's friend?! Can they figure out how to relate to each other before politics tear apart their small midwestern city's transit system? And what does this mean for 13's favorite driver, Jasontae Hooper, aiming to advance his career? Or will this newly self-aware bus get destroyed by accident before they figure out how to save it?