Twelve

“She’s on the bus?” he’s confused.  “What’s the occasion?”

She isn’t even positive this is her bus until she sees his face half-way back. 

“No ride today?”

“Nope.  No rehearsal either.”

He isn’t even sure how she gets back and forth to school anymore.  No one he knows has their license yet.

He catches a glimpse of the nervous red-head kid a few seats in from of him awkwardly sliding closer to the window and casually sliding his bag to the floor as she approaches them.  “Is this guy thinking she’ll sit with him?” Laughable.  She doesn’t even notice.

She drops everything in her arms into the empty seat available between the two.  “Yellow twinkie it is!  At least until I find someone to take me home.”  She kneels on the bench backwards and rests her head on the seat back.  “Whatcha been up to?”

“Nothing really.”

They continue this way for the 15 minutes it takes to get to their stop.  Same intersection they waited at day after day in elementary school.  She smiles at this thought. 

Bus stops.  They get off.  3 of them.  The nervous red-head kid gets off, too.  She glances at him awkwardly.

“Hi,” initiates the awkward red-head kid.

“Hi,” she responds.  “Sorry, I never realized you lived this close.”

“My house is between stops.  You guys were getting off, so I figured I might as well.”

“What the fuck?!” he thinks to himself.  “This guy never gets on or off here.”  He’s for sure walking her all the way home today.  He underestimated the red-head.

She knows why he’s walking her home and not cutting up his own street.  Jealous moron.

She passes up rides home for weeks just to see what happens. She isn’t at all interested in the red-head but hopes the jealousy will get him to try something for once.  Perhaps one of their static-charged hugs before he runs up the hill will evolve into something more interesting?

It doesn’t.  She’s humiliated. She takes someone up on their offer to ride her home.

He’s not sure where she went.