Inseparable

Chapter 1 - Gold

"Marcus!!!! You forgot your packed lunch!" Marcus's mum, Sylvia,  awkwardly jogged over to him at the bus stop, lunch in hand.

"Thanks mum, I just wouldn't have survived without my lunch." I rolled my eyes.

"Don't you behave like that young man! Now be on your best behavior for Nana!" She gave me a stern look.

As I was about to reply, a sound that could only be described as a tiger roaring with hiccups was heard behind them. "That's my bus mum, you should go to the car,"

Sylvia rolled her eyes. "I know you just want to get rid of me, but if you insist." She gave him a peck on the cheek. "Enjoy your holiday sweetie."

I gave it a good 3 seconds after mum left before wiping the kiss off. The bus came into view as I finished; White and green, it was single decked and was relatively full.
"7 hours of sitting quietly whilst surrounded by random strangers, how fun," I thought to myself.

I checked my suitcase was tagged for his destination and straightened my shirt out. As the bus's doors hissed open, A small, pot-bellied man with taped glasses came out. "What's your name kid?" He had his passenger list on a clipboard and tutted like he was an important celebrity. "Marcus Henson, umm, to Sonnel." The driver squinted at his clipboard for a solid minute, making Marcus nervous.  Mum was already long gone and I didn't have reception.

"Ah yes, here you are Master. Henson." I breathed a sign of relief as I handed his baggage to the driver and took his backpack onto the bus. I passed a sign stating that there was free WiFi on the bus. The trip might not be so bad after all.

I looked down the aisle for an available seat and looked at all the people on the bus as I started walking down the aisle. An old Asian couple were holding hands to my left and a boy with golden skin was on his right by himself. Luckily there was a spare double seat behind him, so I took the window seat behind him.

I plonked my bag down on the seat next to him to avoid having anyone sitring there and avoid conversation and then pulled out my original iPod. It was a gift from my dad when I was little, just before he left. It has all his music on it and it made me think about home everytime I put it on shuffle. I plugged my headphones in and looked out the window.

After half an hour, I was getting very bored. I had seen nothing but barren landscape for the past ten minutes as we passed through Desert Road, a notorious road known for its crashes, weather and bad road conditions. I saw that Golden Boy had been looking out the window the whole time as well.

"It's such a lovely view, the barren and desolate nature compliments the sky." I looked to find that Golden Boy was talking to me.
"Uhhh, yeah it's lovely." I managed to spit out some words.
"I'm Rio," Rio stuck out his hand through the space the seats.
"Umm, I'm Marcus." I replied and shook Rio's hand.
"Nice to meet you, Marcus." Rio smiled. "Nice to meet you too Rio." Marcus smiled back. Rio had surprisingly soft hands. I put my iPod down and tried to make coversation. "So, uhhh, where are you heading?" I stammered.
"Well anywhere that's not home, but I have some family in Mandel that I'm staying with for a bit, how about you?" Rio explained.

"I have a Nana in Sonnel so I'm going to visit her, she's lovely and she has WiFi so I love going there." I laughed, "Why do you want to get away from home so badly?"

"I don't know, just want a change of scenery I guess," Rio said sheepishly. I inferred that it's a touchy subject and backed off. "So...do you ride the bus often?" I asked.
"Not really, but I haven't seen the family I'm going to visit in a while and bussing there was the most cost-effective method of transport." Rio replied, "Do you use the bus often?"
"I use it 2 or 3 times a year which I guess is a lot for a 7 hour bus." I stated. Rio nodded and opened his mouth to speak as the bus intercom came on. "Welcome to our CityConnect services today. This bus goes right through to Sonnel and stops through Mischa, Potau and Mandel respectively before ending at Sonnel. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask me. Thank you for travelling with CityConnect today." By the time the bus driver had finished Rio was asleep. I looked at the clock and rolled my eyes. It's 11:03am and he's already freaking asleep.

My playlist finished just as the bus arrived in Mischa with a jolt. The bus shook and you could hear the driver apologising to the old couple as it was a problem with the braking system. It also shook Rio and woke him up. "Uhhhh, mum, leave me alone," He moaned. I tapped Rio. "It's not your mother silly goose it's Marcus, the bus has arrived in Mischa." I rolled my eyes and laughed as Rio picked himself up and sat correctly in his chair. "Sorry you had to see that," Laughed Rio, "I don't generally turn into a mess on the floor of a bus."
"I'll take your word for it." I smiled. There was something unspoken about Rio that just made him special; he was being completely original to a stranger he met 3 hours ago. I pondering it as the bus roared to life and smiled at Rio, who smiled back. As they left Mischa the scenery opened up as showed pastel colours across the landscape. I looked out the window; the reflection showed my own smile and it couldn't be erased.