The bus shuddered under Nova's feet as she smiled at the driver and swiped her oyster card. The doors hissed closed behind her, ruffling her shoulder-length curls. Nova fiddled with the strap of her bag and began to make her way to the back as the London bus pulled away from the curb.
A sudden jolt of the break sent the eighteen-year-old stumbling sideways, straight into the lap of a startled man. Her shoulder bag thumped to the floor, spilling various paperbacks across the aisle. Nova felt heat begin to flush her freckled cheeks as she righted herself.
"I am so sorry!" She muttered. Running a hand through her fringe, she knelt down to retrieve her bag, painted black fingernails scrabbling against the dirty floor.
"Here, let me help you-" a kind smile spread across the flustered young man's face as he bent down to retrieve a battered Harry Potter by his feet. "Quite a collection." He handed it back.
"Bit of an obsession." Nova grinned, stuffing the book back inside her bag and offering an awkward wave to the man before finally slipping her seat a couple of rows behind.
"Not the bad kind!" He called over his shoulder as the bus seemingly reached his stop and he hopped from the bottom step. Nova waved from the window as bus rattled past the kind man who now stood on the street.