She was standing at the new bus stop, a breeze idly playing its fingers through her hair. It was a brisk October, a month or more into her new school year. A spurt of resentment and anger flamed into being, dimmed as she watched a cluster of chattering sparrows go about their daily rounds. Her movements were slow and measured as she buttoned her neat leather gloves. She paused, pulling a crocheted cloche out of her backpack. A note was pinned on it that read, ‘To my dear little sister. Go get `em, tiger!’ She smiled, cramming it on her head.
Leaves rattled as they skittered across the asphalt, a bus creeping up behind it. It rolled to a smooth stop. A grizzled man stuck his head out. “Hey girlie,” he smiled, “Sure you going to Tybolt Hall? I haven’t seen you here so far this year,” She stepped lightly up the stairs.
“Yes, positive. I was simply held up a bit so I couldn`t begin on time. I hope you`ll take care of me,” she threw a dazzling smile at him. He blushed the faintest of pinks, then waved at the back.
She stepped forward, scanning her peers. There were few seats left, though plenty of curious looks. One girl stood out, waving desperately at her from the only seat left. “Hi, I`m Jacqueline!” They smiled at each other. They settled themselves in the seat, shuffling bags and gloves across their knees. A rowdy group of boys in the seat at the back suddenly fell in silence. The other passengers looked around at their neighbors and the group, and a hush fell over the whole bus. The tall boy with dark hair and a sturdy build looked at his compatriots. He jerked his thumb at the two next to him, and they abruptly stood up. He shooed them away, and they moved forward to squeeze into seats ahead that already had two rather squished occupants, as the rest of the bus was already full to the brim.
“I want her to sit back here.”
One calm statement, and the other passengers were abuzz. Jackie grimaced, but she still pushed her new friend out of the seat. “Wha-?”
“You have to go. Shoo, shoo!”
Alyss sighed, blowing her bangs off her face. “Eck.” Eyes closed, she breathed in deeply, then she walked to the back, much of her earlier elegance now eclipsed by her stomping. All eyes followed her procession, then snapped forward at his slightest of growls.
She sat on the new bench seat, sitting on the far side of him. “Hey there. I`m Aeron.” She faced forward in stony silence. Her scooted a little to the left, and she moved further away. He squished up against her, and she moved herself as far left as she could, staring at the scenery flashing by outside. A finger curled the ends of a strand of her chestnut locks.
She snapped to face him with a sneer. She grabbed the questing hand, squeezing until his skin became an interesting mixture of red and blue spots. “Do. Not. Touch. Me.” She flung his hand away. “Understand?”
He simply looked at her, soft lashes occasionally shielding his eyes. He turned then, digging through his bag. “Ah hah!” He pulled out a brown bag with a green oak leaf label, handing her the bag. She peeked inside, handing it back in disgust. “What? It`s the best apple donut I`ve ever eaten. You`ll like it,” he cajoled.
“How pathetic. First you enter some he-man contest to bully all the people on the bus, and now you are indulging in animal abuse. You think those eggs were happy with their death before they even had a chance to live? And what about that oil? That is not vegetable oil, it smells all wrong for that.”
He pursued his lips in deep thought. “Of course she`s a vegan, I should have remembered,” he mumbled.
“Excuse me?” She replied. “I could have sworn you said you remember me from somewhere? If you are planning to use that pick up line, I must tell you that I would definitely remember someone like you without prompting.” His eyes were shining in excitement at that. “Don`t get me wrong, I would remember you so that I would be able to avoid you in the future, I would not remember you with any feelings approaching warm nor fuzzy.”
He pouted a little at the harsh rejoinder. “How do you know you would dislike me in the past, if you don`t remember when we knew each other anyways? For all you know, we could have been in love in a past life.”
She stared at him. “Really? A past life? I`m sorry, I`m not superstitious.”
He snorted. At her dire stare, he hastily added, “Well, I`m sorry for insensitively offering such an offending breakfast food. I`ll be sure not to be nice in the future, just for your comfort.”
“Rather than donuts, I think replacing the serial killer glare with a simple smile would more than suffice.”
“Eh? I am smiling right now. See?” His straight face expression broke with a crazy smile that almost reached
