The Girl in The Green Scarf

E i g h t e e n

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SEBASTIAN

Ofcourse we end up missing the bus. We actually do make it on time, but it turns out I forgot my wallet at the loft and we have to double back to get it.

The ticket stand is manned by an aging man with the palest skin I've ever seen in my life.

I greet him and ask for two bus tickets to the borders. He hands me the tickets, suspiciously eyeing Hamsa who's lurking behind me. I have to admit she does look suspicious and anxious. She keeps shifting her weight from foot to the other and tugging at the sleeves of the hoodie, covering her hands.

"Have a safe ride," the man says and I nod at him curtly, vaguely noting how the skin beside his eyes wrinkles when he smiles.

I turn to Hamsa and nod toward the benches. "Sit?"

Once we're seated, I notice her stiff back relaxing and think she must be freaking out. In my head, I'm actually just as nervous as she probably is, playing all the ways this plan can go wrong. I just hope Alex doesn't stand me up, or arrive late. The guy is never on time, I mean he even arrived late to this world, poor Aunt Ellie had to endure him for an extra week.

I know that if it comes down to us being caught, nothing will harm me, but I can't say the same for Hamsa. And for some other worldly reason, I feel like I owe it to her to get her home safely; she deserves that much. That and the fact that I don't want to go through all the security measures and ish, is why, for everyone's sake, I want things to go smoothly.

The bus station is relatively empty and by the time the bus comes around, there are only four passengers, besides me and Hamsa. She chooses a seat at the back of the bus, sitting by the window, and I trail behind her, not caring much about where we sit. I rest my forehead on the back of the seat ahead of me and close my eyes. We ride in silence, the bus stopping every now and then to drop off people until finally; Hamsa and I are the only ones left. People in Residential hate crossing over, it's like the land beyond the border is infected with a terrible disease, and they should steer as far away from it as possible.

"So... You called for backup?" Hamsa asks after a while, breaking my train of thoughts.

I tip my head to look at her. "Yeah."

"So?"

"Let's keep things on need to know basis," I say, looking outside the window on my side. The building are clearing, meaning we're at the edge of the province and soon we'll reach the border.

"Don't I need to know anything?" She asks, pressing the matter.

"No," I say with an aggravated sigh. "Just leave everything to me."

After that she sinks back into silent mode, and drops the subject, finally figuring out that I'm not saying anything more.

In the distance, I start to make out the all too familiar border gates and just beyond them are the cargo boxes and the factories buildings. I slip my cap into place and get ready as the bus comes to a stop and the driver calls out,

"Last stop."

Hamsa gets up, pacing down the bus lane and I rush to stop her.

"Hamsa," I say, hoping she senses the seriousness and urgency in my tone.

She pauses on the bus steps, looking at me questioningly. I can tell she is in a rush to get this over with, because so am I, but I have witnessed her, first hand, being reckless. And this is not the place for her to go bold and brave.

"Follow my lead, lay low and please... don't do anything stupid."

I wait for her nod of conformation and then brush by her, going down the steps as the automatic door slides shut after us. The wind is chilly today, but I refrain from pulling my jacket tighter around my chest, not to make it look like I'm self-conscious. We go down a sidewalk and head across a short paved road, me walking in front of Hamsa like I'm leading her on some kind of official business. The place is different than the last time I was here, but the basics remain the same; the metal detectors, the x-ray scans - the whole shebang.