It was late - later than I'd meant to be out.
I checked my watch, knowing I'd get the lecture of a lifetime when I got home. Why shouldn't I? It was ten o'clock on a school night, and I was still an hour from home.
The bus should have been here by now. I'd been waiting here for half an hour already. If my parents had gotten me a cell phone, I'd've been able to call for a ride.
No such luck.
A bus stops on the street perpendicular to the one I'm on. It was headed westbound from the college. I had ridden that bus line from beyond that point to get here. As I watched, a guy not much older than me got off the bus and made his way across the street - toward the bus stop where I sat. I immediately pulled one of the headphones out of my ear - he was kinda cute. Maybe he'd wanna talk.
No such luck.
He stood a bit away from the bus stop. Disappointed, I went back to using my music to keep my mind off the ass-chewing I was going to get when I got home. I must have started singing loud enough for him to hear it, because he moved closer.
About ten minutes later, a bus finally pulled up. I swiped my bus pass and headed for a seat in the back, which was emptier (and better for me singing). The guy from the stop - dark hair, thin face, medium height, friendly smile, hazel eyes - quickly looked away from me as I made eye contact.
Suddenly, all I could hear was love songs. A few stops down the road, the guy got up from his seat and moved toward the back. The bus was almost empty now. He sat in the seat right in front of me, and I kept singing. He turned and smiled at me again - friendly, but a little mischievous. I suddenly realized that my luck was better than I thought.
I smiled back at him. He got up and moved back another row to sit with me. He leaned into me and whispered in my ear, "My stop is the next one." I wanted to groan - there was no way I could get off with this guy and make it home before midnight.
No such luck? Ha. It was my stop, too. So I got off the bus when he did, which made him smile more.