Strange Encounter

Oh boy, here we go again.  Another long day over, well, not quite over; I still have to ride the bus home.  I shift my heavy book bag unto my shoulder as I come to the bus stop.  Lord, how I hate the bus.  It’s dirty, loud, smells, the people are rude and worst of all; it takes the bus almost an hour to get home.  I dread this moment every time I have to come to campus.  Hopefully I don’t have to stand and I can at least get a seat.  Sometimes the bus is so crowded that we all have to stand like imbeciles.  You know, even if I do get a seat, it’ll probably be next to some ass.  Dammit all, I hate the bus.

Here it comes, I can see it in the distance, better get suited.  At least it’s not raining today.  A stiff overcast of clouds dim the day, but oh well.  Everyone goes about their loud and obnoxious business as usual.  The bus rolls up; I hoist my book bag up, and hop on.  The bus isn’t too packed; no one is standing, well at least not yet.  I look around, there are no seats available.  Dammit all to Hell, I’ll have to stand, like an idiot, for an hour.  Wait a second, there’s one seat in the back available!

I rush to the back and the two-seater is already filled on the window by a young lady.  She is gazing out the window, oblivious to me coming towards her.  She has jet black hair, almost certainly dyed.  Her hair isn’t too long, goes to her shoulders.  She has black, thick rimmed glasses that frame her pale face.  She has a lip piercing on the left side, nothing major, just a ring.  I get closer, she still doesn’t notice me.  I finally get up to the seat and to my shock, she is quite pregnant.  Just my luck, the one seat available, and for an hour, I have to spend it with a pregnant woman.  As I think about it, this is both good and bad.

“M-may I?” I ask the lady aloud.

“Yeah, go ahead.”  She replies with a faint smile, slowly shifting right, closer to the window.  

I sit down and I try desperately not to touch her.  I mean, I’m not avoiding her like she has the plague; I just…don’t want to intrude on anyone’s personal space, least of all someone as…pretty as her.  I put my heavy book bag on my lap, and open it up.  I reach for my iPod; hopefully it will keep me distracted.  Man, I don’t want to stare at this poor girl and creep her out.  

I can’t help it; I have to take a peek.  I act like I’m fixing my cap and turn in her general direction.  She’s listening to her MP3 player as well.  I quickly slide my gaze over her.  She’s wearing an unbuttoned black overcoat.  Underneath the coat is a black and white horizontal stripped shirt.  Her pregnant belly dominates her lap.  The large sphere is just so round.  I’ve never been this close to someone like her.  Oh boy, time to turn back away.

I go back to my music for a few minutes.  However, my paranoid mind begins to drift to her.  I bet she can read my thoughts.  I bet she knows I like her!  Ohhhh, not cool, she probably thinks I’m some deranged fetish-pervert.  Good Lord, I am sweating…she’s sure to notice.  I mean, yeah, it’s the middle of winter, who sweats on a cold bus?  Me, that’s who; Mr. Dumbass.  But this is madness, she can’t read my thoughts.  I just need to calm down, listen to my music, and I’ll be fine.

Time marches on slowly and curiosity forces me to take another look at her.  She has a small, black purse on her knees.  I notice the keychain on her zipper; it has a cute anime-like frog on it.  She lifts her hands to fix her glasses so I force myself to turn away.  I see her finishing in my peripheral vision.  She shifts up against the window, lifting her legs a bit.  She’s wearing an all-black skirt that appears to end near her knees.  I can’t tell for sure with her sitting down.  What I can tell is she’s wearing all black leggings and wearing little black shoes with a white bow on each.  They’re slip-ons.  I’d imagine it’s hard for her to tie shoe laces in her state.

Man, what I wouldn’t give for her to talk to me, for her to actually be interested in me.  Sometimes I feel like women don’t even see me, and when they do, they assume I’m some sort of freak or oddball.  I guess they’re right, I’m far from normal.  Wait, is she looking at me?  I focus my eyes a bit towards my periphery to check.  She is looking in my general direction, but that doesn’t mean she’s looking at me.  Ugh, best ignore it.  Time passes on a bit, until she shifts again, this time putting her purse on the top of her belly.  As she shifts I feel compelled to give her more room.

“Aw, thanks, but you don’t have to scoot over.”  She says to me out loud.

“Oh um, sorry, wasn’t sure.”  I reply with a faint smile.

“Don’t worry about it.”  She replies with a small, closed mouth smile.  I notice her eyes, a pale brown.  A nice shade, I guess.

Man, I wish I had the courage to talk to her.  I wish I had the courage to at least say a genuine hello, but no, I am a coward.  I lack the will and the decisiveness for such an action.  Besides, she’d probably think I’m a creep.  Oh woe is me.  Woe is the life of someone like me.  The bus nears my stop, time to leave this uncomfortable experience behind.  At least I didn’t make a total fool of myself.

I stand up, pull the cord to signal my stop and put my book bag over my shoulder.  She turns and looks at me, why is she looking at me?  She looks puzzled, almost like she wants to say something, but she doesn’t.  I turn back to her and give a small wave good-bye and march to the front of the bus.  There are two other people following behind me from the seats on the bus.  I pay my toll and hop off.

What a lousy day, what a long day.  I begin slowly walking towards my car.  I stop and fumble for my car keys in my pocket when someone says “Take me with you.”  I turn around and to my surprise; it is the pregnant girl I sat with.  She’s walking towards me.  She has her black overcoat wrapped around her.  It barely closes around her.  She has nice thick legs and stands about a head’s height shorter than me.  

“Uh, sorry, why would you want to come with me?”  I ask as I drop my keys.  I drop my book bag and kneel down to pick them up, she catches up to me and does the same.

“I saw you looking at me.  I’m not stupid.”  She says as she grabs my hand that is holding the keys.  Our eyes lock and I feel strange.  This is just odd.

“Oh?  What do you mean?”  I reply with a mild anxiety in my voice.  To tell you the truth, I’m exceptionally anxious inside, but I’m good at hiding it sometimes.  We both rise up together.

“Where are you off to?”  She replies putting her hands on her hips.

“Uh…I was heading home.”  I reply.

“Where’s home for you?”  She asks.

“Not too far, a few streets away.  A 10 minute ride at best.”  I respond gesturing to my car.

“Awesome, that gives me time to get know you.”  She replies as she walks towards my car.

“Um…”  I moan aloud as she slowly gets in front of me.  I can’t believe this.  Is this really happening?  I rush up to the car and open it.  I come to the side to open the door for her.

“Oh the gentlemanly type?”  She says with a big grin.

“I’d like to hope I am.”  I reply gazing down at her, deep into her pale eyes.

“Well, I’ll just have to test you on that.”  She says as she slowly climbs into my passenger seat.  I get into the car and start it; she puts her purse back on her belly and turns to me and says “Say, what’s your name anyways?”