Catches the bus

Joanna saw the bus coming round the corner and quickly jolted, just making it to the stop in time. She was already running late for class, and was stressed out. She had a presentation to give, and at this rate was barely going to make it in time.

She liked to sit in the back seats, but they were taken by two teenage girls, and so settled instead for the seat in front. She hurriedly pulled out her notebook and began to go over her them to prepare. Behind her, the two girls were chattering away, making all sorts of noise. Joanna gritted her teeth and shook her head. Those stupid girls, she thought, don’t they know I’ve got work to do?

Then there came a blast of music from behind her. The girls were watching a video on their phone. Loud dance music filled the bus, and Joanna felt her fists clenching in frustration. Was no one going to say anything to them? She looked around, and to her dismay saw that the bus was empty apart from herself and the two girls. She considered moving seats, but why should she?

And so Joanna made a decision that she would come to regret. She turned to the girls and huffed, “Do you mind? I’m trying to study here!"

The girls looked Joanna in the face for several seconds, looked back at each other, before dissolving in fits of giggles. “Shut up, you dumb skank.” one of them snarked.

Joanna was furious. Not only had this girl told her to shut up, but she had called her a skank! Joanna was anything but skanky. Tall, tanned and with long dark hair, a pretty face and a curvy body, Joanna was anyone’s idea of gorgeous. She was about to come back with a witty reply, when one of the girls snatched her notebook away from her.

“Hey, give that back!”

The girls just laughed. The girl who had taken it, Sarah, put it under her butt sitting on it.

“Come and get it, skank!” Her accomplice, Lisa, joined in.

Joanna reached to the seat behind her and Sarah swatted her hand away. She shook her head at Joanna, grinning the whole time. Joanna than stood up.

“Right, I’m telling the driver." she spoke confidently, before turning to march all the way down the bus. Sarah pulled the notebook out and read the name on the cover. “Joanna Bynes! You keep walking and your notebook goes out the window!”

Joanna turned and saw Sarah holding all her hard work up to the open window. Weeks of work and entire presentation with ideas for the rest of the semester lied within there.

“Don’t!” cried Joanna, “Please don’t!” She instantly felt a little ashamed of herself, begging these two girls. A sophomore university student, suddenly felt like she was back in high school.

“Okay”, said Sarah. “But sit down here, between us." Lisa moved a little and patted the space on the seat she had created. Joanna was annoyed, but she needed her notebook back. She needed it if she wanted to be stress free this semester. And so she sat herself down between the girls, who must have been 17 or 18 years old.

“Okay, give me it back.” said Joanna.

Sarah was still holding it out the window. Joanna thought she could try and grab it, but didn’t think she’d be fast enough to stop Sarah dropping it. 6 months of hard work, would be out the window because of two bratty teens.

Sarah smiled. “Sure thing. For a price."