Greyhound Buses
She looked around her as the large buses moved in and out of the depot. Her dark red hair was pulled back from her face as she watched everyone going to and from the large vehicles. She had to make sure she got the right one. The bench on which she sat gave way as another body added its weight to the weathered wood.
"Where you headed?" a portly man questioned.
"Virginia," she answered, her hands fishing around in the pockets of the large coat she'd stolen from a homeless man.
"That's the bus coming in right there," he said, pointing at the large bus pulling into the depot as if she were a small child.
"Thanks," she said, flashing him a sugar-sweet smile.
She wasn't a small child by any stretch of the imagination. She was five feet seven inches and was at the very ripe age of seventeen. Her sharp blue eyes followed the people getting onto the bus bound for Virginia. She took a deep breath and stood up, making her way towards it. She had managed to scrape up enough money for a ticket and held it out to the driver as she boarded. The 17-year-old wandered to the very back of the bus and sat in the only single seat. Her head rested against the window as the bus began to pull out and start on its long journey.
Her head banged violently against the glass and woke her. The bus was no longer moving. She looked confusedly around her and saw people getting off the bus. She knew they couldn't be there yet. She stood on aching legs and moved towards the front of the bus.
"Where are we?" she asked the driver.
"North Dakota for a rest stop," he answered gruffly.
"Oh," she muttered and returned to her seat. She had no intention of getting off the bus unless it was in Virginia. She didn't know if they would leave her behind. It was a possibility and she couldn't risk it. She needed to get to Virginia. Everything depended on it. The bus filled back up and rolled onto the highway. Shortly after the sky went completely dark, the driver dimmed the lights on the bus and she curled up, drifting off to sleep, dreams filled with seeing him and all the things they would do together. She wondered if he was waiting for her at the bus station, anxious to see her. She woke several more times when the bus stopped and each time she approached the driver, the answer was some other state than Virginia.
"Look…I'm gonna announce when we get there so just sit tight," he finally ground out after the sixth time she'd asked.
Slightly taken aback she returned to her seat and resolved to not ask him any more questions. She reached into the bag she'd brought with her and pulled out some cracker s and a warm can of soda. It wasn't the best dinner but it would do. Shortly the bus began moving again and this time the driver spoke through the intercom system.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached our final destination of Quantico, Virginia," he said and opened the doors. She waited impatiently while the rest of the bus passengers disembarked. She rushed off the bus and pulled the picture from her pocket, looking at every face to see if he was there. He wasn't.