Bus

I headed to the bus stop and was left to wait, alone thankfully, for about 15 minutes before my bus showed up. I took the time to send my boss an email letting him know what happened. Safer to do that than call and risk him giving me an order that I couldn't help but obey. To my surprise, he answered a few minutes later, wishing me well and telling me I could have a month off to adjust. That made me feel better.

When the bus arrived, I took the first empty seat I found and focused on the sights out the window. I was acutely aware of the looks I had gotten, mostly from guys, as I stepped onto the bus. I looked at the map of the route, seeing that I only had two stops until I got home, fortunately. The bus stopped at the one stop between me and my destination, and a few people climbed on.

One was a guy who looked to be a few years younger than me. Probably close to graduating college, based on his sweatshirt. He scanned the bus and grinned slightly as his eyes settled on me. He made his way over and took the seat next to mine. I turned away, looking to the window again and hoping to ignore him.

The bus pulled away from the stop and rejoined traffic. A few seconds after we were moving, the guy spoke. "Hey, I'm Todd." he said.

I ignored him, trying to let the conversation die. The interaction was a minefield that I wanted to avoid at all costs.

"Hey, come on. Don't be like that. Just tell me your name."

I turned to him and smiled. "I'm Riley," I said. The smile stayed on my lips, apparently my body's interpretation of 'not being that way'.

"Nice to meet you, Riley. Have I seen you around campus, or...?"

"Oh, no. I'm not in college. Graduated a few years ago."

"Really? Coulda fooled me. I would have thought you were a sophomore or junior," Todd said, looking me up and down. Each moment that passed, I hoped he would just let the conversation die.