Hop-On Hop-Off

Acht.

The doors of the bus hissed achingly before they folded and tucked safely, following their hinges. I chirped brightly, "Rise and shine, Devil of the night!" 

Without glancing away from the two coffee containers in my hands so as to not let my clumsiness take over, I continued, "You've literally no idea what I saw on my way this morning, Carter."

I carefully placed my Latte on my sort-of-small-table in front of my seat before placing Felix's Cappuccino order I had endlessly teased him about after knowing that he liked it with whipped cream and cookie crumbles. "Fine, I take your silence as a 'Yes Thea, I'm dying to know about your escapades in the early morning and absolutely cannot contain my excitement-"

My best impression of his posh British accent died as soon as my eyes finally settled on Not-so-recognisable-Carter on the driver's seat.

Heat rushed to my cheeks but I trampled down the humiliating rage rushing through me, "I see you're exactly how Felix described you to me."

"And you're so not Felix talking to me right now." I frowned.

My confusion came to an abrupt halt as I registered moustache guy's words- Wait, what? Carter talked about me to others? And what exactly had he said to this random guy about me? I made a mental note to confront him about this later on, that is, if my mind remembered given I'd a fish memory. 

He sighed dramatically, "Aha, our dear friend Carter won't be joining us today unfortunately, coffee girl. He has somewhere to be." 

"Okay," I replied skeptically before raising a brow, "And who are you again?" 

Moustache guy brought his hand forward with a charming smile, "Max Doug, a pleasure to meet you." 

I gave him an awkward smile, "Since you already know who I am, I'll just say this: The pleasure is not mine at all."

Oh God, where was this sassy attitude coming from? This wasn't me, what the hell? 

Surprisingly, Max burst out laughing. I spared a look behind us to see the queue of tourists waiting in line and rolled my eyes internally at this day which I had a feeling was gonna be hella long.

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Me: where are you? and how DARE you bail on me? that too, with this parrot of a guy 😵

Delulu Cartier 💎: aww, i've been gone for a few hrs and you're missing me already? it's okay, i've that effect on people.

I scoffed at the notification that popped on my phone as I got myself a bagel from a nearby stall. Carter's name on my phone did really portray his personality accurately. I mentally patted myself for judging a person correctly for once as I took a bite of my delicious baked goods. 

Just one single job, that too at a bus touring company like mine, didn't really leave any crumbs for strugglers like me to enjoy the other half of my life. We had to look out for every cent that came out of our pockets, keep the electricity and water bill to minimum as much as possible and whatnot. 

It certainly doesn't make anyone feel better about themselves knowing the fact that all their failed attempts to get better at life were leading them nowhere besides a shithole of poverty. Feeling depressed and pity about my pathetic self, my gaze went towards a billboard hung a few feet away across the street.

"When no one could, I did it myself." 

A blonde woman's dazzling picture rested beside the quote who possibly seemed in her late twenties and held a book in her hands titled 'Now or Never'.  

"Huh," Confusion sprawled over my face for the rest of my walk back to the bus. It died as soon as I saw none other than Felix- Delusional -Carter sitting on his usual driver's seat and my mouth stopped mid-chew. 

At my raised brow, he answered with a smirk, "Since my absence took such a toll on you Thea, I decided to do half-day instead of taking a full day off." 

Something fluttered inside me because of his words but I kept my face carefully blank as I resumed chewing my last bagel, "How flattering." 

He pouted at my lack of enthusiasm, "What? No other words of affirmation? At least a declaration of love? C'mon, even a proposal would work at this point."

Goosebumps scattered over my skin and suddenly I wished I'd wore something warmer even though I was already nestled in a woolen sweater. The thought of the l-worded feeling let alone with someone like Carter flipped something in me. I didn't believe in love. Period. 

But I couldn't decipher whether that flip was a good or bad kind. 

Anxiety slowly crept out of its hole over my skin but I ignored it as I said, "You're like a five year old trapped inside an adult body."

Felix tossed a wink across my way, "A very hot adult body." 

I snorted but didn't disagree as tourists began entering the bus once again.

I casted a side glance his way as I scanned one's ticket, "Where were you anyway?"

A dark look sucked away any earlier humour he had on his face as he replied tightly, "Nowhere important."

Alright, clearly it was bad territory to make any small talk. We spent the rest of the ride in dead silence.

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I gently sipped my hot chocolate from an old ceramic as one of my fingers scrolled down till I reached the link I thought was best suitable. 

My search history from the past hour contained of only two things; 'Now or Never' and 'Now or Never blonde woman'. I couldn't explain why I felt this need to search her up ever since I saw her billboard but there was this gut feeling in me which was determined to prove me that this could help in some way.

My eyes squinted as I read the words on my screen which had a recent interview of Laura Monett- the woman from the billboard- with a very famous magazine.

Qs: What made you pursue writing as a career?

Laura: I don't know actually. I was working fine at this corporate job but ever since I was a kid, I had been told many times by a lot of people that my imagination is wild. So, one day I was just staring at these drafts I've had since my teenage years and thought 'There's no one to stop me from doing anything now. Then why should I not just do it?' and now here we are.

Qs: How long did it take for you to be finished with the publishing process?

Laura: Oh, that question has a complicated answer. I approached so many publishing houses and each one of them rejected my piece of work I offered to the point I overthought about how I was told back to back that I'm good at this yet why is it not getting an opportunity? It took me countless of sleepless nights and self deprecating thoughts about my work and myself until one day I was told by my special someone that the very first thought which brought me here in the first place, why was I not doing it?

I didn't particularly understand her words at that moment. But later on, it clicked me. If no one wanted to give my book a chance, then why can't I give it on my own? From then on I researched about self-publishing a book and after a year of hardwork, here I am, with my own published book.

My eyes ran over her last answer again and again, till they became bleary but her words were engraved in my very soul that night. 

With a sense of finality, I opened a new tab of Chrome and typed the words:

Self-publishing in Prague

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okay, so i know this update was late but i was on a detox of sorts from the entirety of internet and i needed it very badly. it does wonders frrrr

ANYWAY, HERE'S ANOTHER CH AND I HOPE YALL LIKED IT BECAUSE I SURE DID

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