REM // Van McCann

4. Lasting Impression

I was her first and only friend in the UK but it was all by accident. For her, she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing terrible happened to her—that's her way of thinking. Some people see the glass half full. She sees the glass half empty. She thought something terrible would happen when she made a friend. She thought she'd scare me off and that I wouldn't stay but I did. I've never met anyone like her and I was intrigued.

When I opened my eyes, I was stood outside the corner shop having a cigarette and instantly remembered this day. There was a downpour outside and I found refuge under a covered area. My hair was wet and my clothes soaked but all that mattered to me was having my cigarette. It was the end of the work day and my supervisor caught me on the way out. I was hoping the buses were delayed because of the rain but they weren't. When I went down to the bus stop, I found no one standing there and instantly knew I missed it. It was lightly raining and then it started to pour. I had to wait thirty minutes for the next bus so I decided to have a ciggy outside the corner shop. There was no use moping around. You have to make the most of it.

That was when I saw her walk to the bus stop. She wasn't dressed for the weather. She had no coat and was soaked yet she insisted on standing there reading the bus schedule. Having lived in this area for years, I knew only one bus served this stop and she would have to wait for the next one just like me. She finished reading the bus schedule and stood there. Are you mad?

"The bus won't be here for another twenty minutes. Why don't you stand here where it's dry?" I shouted. She turned to face me wondering if I was talking to her. "You're gonna get sick."

For a moment, I thought she was going to ignore me but she made her way towards me standing as far away as possible. At first, I was a bit hurt but remembered I was smoking. Maybe she wasn't keen on the smell of smoke. I quickly finished my cigarette to put her out of her misery and stole glances at her. Her jumper stuck to her body weighed down by the rain and her hair was soaked. I began chuckling at our predicament and she turned to me.

"What's so funny?"

The first thing I noticed was her American accent as I wasn't expecting it here of all places.

"Nowt," I replied. She stared at me so I went on. "Of course it's pissing down rain when we're not dressed for the weather. Where are you from?"

"I'm from Chicago," she answered.

"Are you on holiday?" Finding tourists in this part of the city wasn't common.

"No, I just moved here a few weeks ago. My dad makes good money but his work relocates him all the time. We're only here for a year and then we're off to the next country."

The thought of traveling for work intrigued me. I hate being stuck here. If you want to be something, you have to leave. As soon as I'm done with uni, I'm packing my bags and leaving.

"That sounds lovely," I commented. "I'd love to pack my bags and start somewhere new." She shook her head in disagreement.

"It's not what it seems. It's exhilarating at first but after a while, it gets tiring. As soon as you get comfortable, make friends, and finally feel like you belong, it's time to move again."

She stared straight ahead and I took the opportunity to get a good look at her. She seemed to be around my age so she's capable of living on her own if she found a place she liked.