The bus ride home was strangely freeing for Annika. With no job to wake up to tomorrow, she felt a day of flower picking and cloud spotting. The man next to her was spreading his legs so violently, Annika felt her knees knocking into the wall. Her eyes followed her pain up to the advertisement frame. Inside the clear frame were different ads for yoga or pottery. There were one or two life insurance ones, but all for people over the age of fifty. 'Damn, looks like a twenty-two-year-old can't get insurance yet' Annika thought to herself. The bus ground around the corners, its wheels crunching into the thin tarmac, eliminating ten pounds worth of tax with each spin. The man, if possible, extended his legs further until he was basically in the splits. The girl on the other side of him was clutching her bag anxiously.
"What's wrong sugar? Think I'm gonna rob ya?" The man slurred, leaning closer to her. She shivered. He chuckled darkly "I'm kiddin'. Maybe..."
"Excuse me," Annika said flatly.
"What sweetness? Feeling left out?" He swung his head around to face her.
"No," Annika replied calmly "But I think my massive dick is".
"Wha.. wHAT" The man sputtered, his legs retracting slightly.
"Yeah" Annika continued "My bulging cock is missing you. Won't you give it some attention? Please" She grabbed his hand "Just a quick hand-job Luv, come on" She added a wink.
"Jesus Christ you're a psycho." He growled, standing up and shifting to another seat.
"Nuh-uh" The old lady he went to sit next to slapped his back "Don't you dare sit next to me"
"Get away from me" Another person pushed him away. The man stumbled forward. He tried to take a bar from the roof, but another passenger bumped into him. "Sorry sir, didn't see you there".
"Fuck you all dude..." He spat. He then pushed the bell. The entire bus watched him jump off at the next stop and dash into the darkness. The girl on the other seat exhaled loudly.
"Are you okay?" Annika asked awkwardly, looking out the window.
"Um... yes. Thank you" The girl smiled. Annika's eyes darted between the girl and the ceiling.
"By the way..." She added, "I don't actually have a cock...". The girl suddenly burst into a laugh, ending in a giggle. Annika laughed too, scratching her neck awkwardly. Then, the girl leaned over to Annika and slid a piece of paper from her fingers into Annika's collar.
"Call me" She breathed into Annika's ear, before jumping up and skipping from the bus. Annika sat in shock for a moment, the sensation of the girl's breath still resonating in her ear. The old lady on the bus began to chuckle happily. Annika on the other hand bolted upright in her seat, her face flushed pink. Gradually, her left hand lifted up to her collar and extracted the small piece of paper. Unfolding it carefully, she began to realize something odd. Instead of only a small set of numbers appearing, several paragraphs unfurled from the paper, until a sizable piece of A4 paper sat in her arms. On it was a letter. The letter was typed in a squarish font, with no capitalization. It read:
Dear lucky reader
congratulations! If you are reading this it means one of our esteemed scientists has deemed you worthy of a new career prospect! Hit rock bottom? Life beating you down? We've got the career path for you. Gravity Limited is a new and explosive movement that is renovating the way science is preserved and renovated. You, a lucky reader, are being given the opportunity to become a registered tester and experimenter for our new discoveries and findings! You'll have early access to dozens of new and exciting projects, plus pay of £700 a week is nothing to sneeze at! So come on down to the address below at the following date to join us at Gravity Limited. Being weighed down is a thing of the past!
Love and kisses
E. Newton xx
The letter ended with a dozen kisses that extended onto the back. Annika held it in her hands, and was so drawn in by it she almost forgot her stop. She apologized to the driver as she exited the bus, swinging her bag over her back, clutching the letter in her hand.
A set of tired legs dragged her into the field next to the bus stop, helping her through a hidden path in the hedge, and a secret shortcut through a dead woman's garden. Annika knew she was dead because the woman hadn't left her seat by the window since she first came here six years ago. Plus, the body was always smaller than when she last saw it. Annika slipped through a final gate to see it. Nestled between a set of towering oaks, with sprinkles of primroses dotted around it and a rope swing to the right, was the caravan. Its rusted wheels meant piles of mossy bricks were now its legs, and a slithering cascade of poison ivy blocked the right side out entirely. Annika grinned at the old thing, swinging her keys around her fingers as she bounded up the stairs. It unlocked with a tinkling sound as the bell Annika had hung over the door frame announced her arrival. She instantly threw her bag onto the bed to the right and headed to her desk. The caravan wasn't big. When entering, a small wooden kitchen with a tiny fridge and a tiny stove sat next to the door. To the left of that opposite, the door was an old writer's desk with a pom-pom beanbag underneath it. Then, taking up the entirety of the caravan's right side was a massive bed. It could probably fit three people lying side by side easily, but it was all for Annika. Hundreds of pillows and blankets littered it, and a basket for storage hung over it. Inside was also three different sets of fairy light that provided almost all the light at night, along with a gas lamp for emergencies. Three small succulents sat passively on a set of shelves next to the door, along with three books and a goblin statue. On the shelf below was a single photo with three pringles in front of it on a plate that read "Offerings".
Annika sunk into the bean bag and took out a list of jobs. She followed the list down the tenth and crossed off 'A coffee with two sugars' from the jobs list. She also set down the letter from the strange girl on the bus. It looked uncomfortably natural on the desk. Trying to distract herself, Annika jumped up onto her bed and lay down. Looking up through the ceiling window, she could see a small blue tit sat on the glass. It ruffled its feather grumpily, annoyed by the cold weather. The setting sun was throwing peaches and pink blossom across the sky in coordinated streaks, highlighting the clouds' insecurities that they'd hidden the rest of the day. The oaks above dropped their leaves pitifully onto the window, allowing speckled shadows to fall onto the bed. Annika's right hand lent up to the window sill and flipped on the radio. Instantly 'Cool hip-hop and Jazz Lofi for ten hours' started to play from the local station. The station was run by three teenage girls in their attic and was only on throughout the night as the girls had school the rest of the day. But it was welcome freedom from the deafening silence night usually brought.
Annika sat up slightly and looked at her desk. The date on the letter was three days from now. Three days to either get a minimum wage job for the next three years or earn twice the amount she'd get there in three weeks at some dodgy lab. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a two-pence piece. It was slightly rusted and came out with a button as well by accident. Annika settled it onto her curled thumb. "Heads, I get an interview at..." She looked at her jobs list "Charlie and sons oils testing agencies. Tails, I go to the creepy lab"
She flipped the coin.
YOU ARE READING
The Alien on my caravan roof
Science Fiction"What happened?" "..." The creature cocked its head to one side. "Are you okay?" "..." "Let's go home" I smiled, taking one of his blue hands. "...!" The creature whistles happily and gripped my fingers tightly, his long tail slithering along the fl...
