Wishing

Run

Malena

"Fuck." I say through gritted teeth, uttering to myself, struggling to keep my composure. "Fucking fuck, fuck, fuck." I repeat so a couple of times, feeling my shoes fill up with cold water from the poring rain. I hate the feeling of wet socks.

I try to walk faster, because the bus is almost at the stop and I don't want to miss it... yet I think I'm kinda early, so there's no point in running from the rain since I'm already soaking wet and freezing. Great.

I see people around me running around trying to not get wet. Some use trash bags to shield themselves from the rain and some people's umbrellas broke so they run to find shelter from the strong wind.

The smell of the rain that lands on the asphalt below me fills my nose. I look around me, at the cloudy sky and at the greenery that smothers the entirety of the whole street. Trees and bushes are thriving this season, enjoying the rain.

Lucky them.

I continue seeing people coming and going, most have somewhere to go. They look like they know where to go and seem confident about it. I walk around the sidewalk, hoping the bus doesn't leave me stranded and alone in the rain.

When I manage to get to the bus stop, I hear the bus itself stop at the stop light I just crossed and then it appears at my feet. The doors open and I walk in. I hand the driver the exact amount of money for my ride and I collect the ticket before finding myself a seat.

It's crowded.

As I walk down the hall, the driver steps on the gas. I lose balance and fall over someone. They grunt as their stomach hits the edge of a seat and I'm on top of him. I quickly take a step back and hold onto a pole from my right side. The guy puts his hand on the seat and looks over his shoulder and our eyes meet.

I feel my heart race fast and I look away from him to look out the window instead. I hear him curse out loud, and mumble 'fuck me' when the bus stops. Half of the passengers inside rush out. I see from my peripheral view the guy which I bumped into slide into the only row of seats available and I sit next to him fast.

I hear a slight groan vibrate its way out from his throat. I look at him and he's angrily looking out the window. He starts mumbling something, I can't hear what it is, though. Then, he starts speaking louder, now I understand what he's saying.

"If I'd known I'd be a punching bag today, I'd never gotten in this fucking bus." I giggle and he turns to see me. "What the fuck are you laughing about?" I keep laughing at his bitchy attitude and angry tone.

"I mean... you're on a bus... if you're standing and it's crowded inside, you might accidentally bump into someone. You can't just get mad over things like that. If you don't want to be in 'this fucking bus', then why don't you get yourself a car and drive your ass where you need to be?"

His angry look fades and he bites his lip. Instead of arguing any further like I expected him to, he shut his mouth and looked out the window, turning his body away from me.

I clutch my purse against my stomach and sigh. I turn to see him again and see this time he's looking at me from the corner of his eye.

"What?" I snap. "Wanna argue more? I've got time." He sighs and turns to see me.

"No... I'm good."

"You're gonna be nice now?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm a toddler."

"Well, stop acting like one."

"Fine, stop it."

"Stop what."

"Shhh." He whispers and leans forward, looking at me, examining my face, staring hard. I furrow my brows and wait to see what he's gonna do now.

"What, you're gonna kiss me?"

"You think you're that lucky?"

"Look at me." I raise my hands and then smile. "I just got fired from my job, got caught out in the rain, I'm soaking wet... My socks are wet and my hair is ruined."

"Your makeup too."

"I also got to see you today, so..." I throw him a playful stank face.

"Doesn't sound like you're lucky to me."

"What you're telling me is that I am lucky."

"Lucky?"

"Yeah."

"That your morning got ruined?"

"That I got to live the best morning ever, duh. Why do you think getting soaked by the rain is a bad thing?" He shrugs.

"Depends. Had a bad morning?"

"Nope."

"Then you're somewhat lucky."

"Somewhat?"

"Your socks are wet. Those are the worst things to happen to someone. The feeling of the sock against your skin when it's wet is like having sandpaper in a pole if you're a stripper. You know, it's uncomfortable."

"You're right, I do hate the feeling of wet socks." We laugh and then he quiets down, still leaning over me. "What?"

"You sure you feel lucky?"

"I'm lucky I'm in the bus, away from the rain."

"For now."

"For now." I nod and laugh. "How's your morning?"

"Not bad... heading home, spent the night with some friends. I'm starving, though."

"Wanna go eat?"

"What?"

"I'm hungry too. We can go eat. I know a place around here."

"Hmmm." He mumbles, thinking, looking away from me.

"C'mon! I'll pay."

"Sure. Let's go eat." He laughs and then the bus stops. I look outside and notice this is where the place is at... well, it's around. I jump up from my seat and I grab his coat into my fist before dragging him out of his seat and to walk with me.

"Thank you!" I yell to the driver before we jumped out of the bus. The rain had not calmed at all.