DAYS WE DANCED

VI

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It was so quiet. Everyone was asleep. The lights were turned off and life outside the bus was unseen due to the darkness.

 It was the middle of the night and Ophelia couldn't sleep at all. She might have gotten an hour of sleep and that's it. It drove her nuts, she was so freaking tired.

It was too quiet. Ophelia took her headphones off and listened to the pure nothingness. The only things that could be heard were the engine, the rain against the bus, and the occasional creak from the vehicle. No one spoke, not even moved. Ophelia now had time to think.

She first started to think about her friends, and she felt happy. Then her thoughts went south. She started thinking about her failed life, or at least how she saw it. She thought of ways to end her misery. Nothing came to mind. But then it hit her. Suicide was the best option.

No one would even notice she was gone. She was already a burden and without her life would still go on. Her parents would be happier, having two kids they actually liked. Her coach would save his voice and nerves. Just like her teachers.

After thinking too long she wrote her brilliant idea on her phone. She will research more when she comes back home. For now, she just wanted to relax a bit.

That was very hard because the bus was made for people who could fold their legs. There was no space for anything but who was she to complain?

After maybe an hour people started slowly waking up. Most were still asleep but you could hear a whispered conversation here and there.Ivy also woke up. Ophelia chatted with her. They were talking about food when all hell broke loose.

Demien lowered his seat so Ophelia had no space for her legs (even less space than before). He didn't even ask. Ophelia was pissed. She slapped the back of his head. He turned around.

"Did your parent ever teach you manners?" She said.
"Well, I now know yours haven't." He answered drily.
"I just treat others like they treat me. Oh shit, sorry, I'm not being harsh enough." She replied. Demien looked entertained.
He was obviously enjoying the conversation. At that moment Axel lowered his own seat. Ophelia was now fuming.

"Would you lot stop being full of shit and respect others personal space?" Ivy joined the conversation.
"Why would we? These are our seats." Axel looked at her with that weird smirk he does.
"Yeah, and this is our personal space. Oh sorry, you can't see it because you lot invaded it all." Ophelia said sharply.

Demien's smile dropped as he realized how angry she was. He returned his seat to its normal position.Axel stared at him in disbelief. Like they had a plan to irritate the girls and Demien just ruined it. Ophelia fought the look.

"Oh, did you plan to irritate us and go off the rails?" She said in a baby voice. Now Axel looked defeated. He returned his seat.

Their interactions didn't end there. The two boys kept bugging them the whole ride. They started making small talk about music and food. The girls only answered when needed trying to get rid of the boys. Trying to make themselves look boring. But it looked exactly the opposite.

It was already late morning when their guide spoke in the bus microphone. He explained what they were going to do that day and started to talk about history. No one listened but that didn't stop him.

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They arrived in Vancouver at noon. The weather looked good throughout the window.

Mostly no one slept well and everyone pretty much looked like shit. They were leaving the bus soon and Ophelia realized that meant walking around. The last time she walked was 5 hours ago when she went to the toilet at a gas station. So she was pretty glued to her seat.

They stopped. Students were making their way out of the bus and onto a rather cold street. A man was handing devices used to hear the guide better. They began to walk.

Suddenly the muscles in Ophelia's body awakened and it hurt much more than it should.

 They walked around listening to the history of places they were seeing. Soon the tour was over and free time began. They were given two hours of free time for lunch and personal exploring.

Ophelia and Ivy both had sandwiches brought from home and wanted to explore a bit more. So they did. Having a nice walk around the meeting point just so they don't get lost.

"So, that are their real names?" Ivy started.
"Yes. I send you their accounts. With full names." Ophelia looked in her friend's direction.
"I didn't think his name was Axel. Doesn't fit him at all."
"I agree. Demien kinda fits, but Axel is just a big no." Ophelia agreed.
"They are so annoying. And have zero manners" Ivy said.
"Oh yes. Like how can you just invade someone's personal space without even asking? That's just plain rude."
"And we have to look at those faces for the rest of the week. Ophelia, they will not leave us alone. We're look interesting."
"Yeah, I'm aware. We're like their new toys." Ophelia compared the two.
"Uh, I can't believe this." Ivy said and the girls changed the topic.

After walking some more and buying some souvenirs they made it to the meeting point. Soon other students arrived and everyone slowly made back to the bus.
As soon as everyone was in the bus the two older boys turned around.

"So, what did you lot do in free time?" Axel started the conversation. Ivy looked irritated. Ophelia stared at him.
"We took a nice walk." She answered not looking away.
"What did you do?" Ivy said.
"Ah, nothing much. Went to eat. You know?" Axel answered.
"What did you eat?" Demien joined the conversation.
"Our sandwiches." said Ophelia.

"You still have those?" Demien asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, my dad makes tons of them." Ophelia answered feeling kind of guilty at the amount of sandwiches in her bag. She liked them but didn't eat much. She will probably have to throw the rest.
"Mine don't really care." Axel said making Demien break eye contact with Ophelia.

The bus started moving and the boys looked at each other. It was obvious they wanted to talk more but they turned around. Ivy and Ophelia continued with their own conversation.