Fool's Gold

Chapter 6

Laura has always been a front of the bus kind of girl. It’s easy, convenient and not to mention that Mr. Samual - their bus driver - actually has some fairly entertaining stories about the time he spent living in Poland when he was a child. It used to be the perfect set-up for a comfortable ride to school until it was brought to her attention that not everyone sees the appeal of upper bus seating.

(And by ‘everyone’ she not-so-secretly means Carmilla.)

On Monday morning, Laura waves at Carmilla from the bus window as she watches her approach the bus. She has her earphones in and Will is trailing about 6 feet behind her.

(Laura doesn’t understand why they are so adamant about not being associated with each other. If she had a sibling she would probably make sure they were the best of friends.)

She smiles at Carmilla as she gets on the bus, moving her bag so that she’ll have somewhere to sit. This is all done in vain because Carmilla walks past her without a bat of her eyes.

On Tuesday, Laura makes sure the seat next to her is already empty so there is no confusion on Carmilla’s end when she gets on the bus. Apparently this is not clear enough because all Laura gets is a slightly raised hand in greeting as Carmilla plows towards the back of the bus.

By Wednesday, Laura has a better plan of action. She sits exactly six seats behind her usual spot and waits for Carmilla to show up. It’s not the back of the bus, but it is certainly a long stretch from the front. It’s the perfect compromise.

(Obviously it is not perfect enough, because Carmilla gets on the bus and with a quick heyand a smile she walks to the very end.)

On Thursday morning Laura wakes up determined to sit next to Carmilla. Or at the very least near her.

(She’s not completely unreasonable.)

She frowns as she waits for the bus to get to Carmilla’s stop. After the night they had last weekend she was hoping that maybe they would get to spend more time together this week, but with only one shared class and Carmilla’s obvious dedication to sitting at the back of the bus, they haven’t had the chance.

They pull up to Carmilla’s stop and Laura sits up a bit straighter. She makes sure to wave at Carmilla from the window and takes the smile she receives as a good sign.

Carmilla walks on the bus and Laura motions towards the seat beside her. She chose a seat almost near the back of the bus today and if Carmilla does not take this offer she vows to give up on the whole operation.

(Okay, maybe not, but she needs something to motivate her to succeed today.)

Carmilla finally takes a hint and pulls out one of her earbuds, “Morning, cutie.”

“Good morning,” Laura smiles and motions to the seat beside her, “Wanna sit?”

Carmilla glances towards the back of the bus and before she has a chance Laura pulls her down. Carmilla raises her eyebrows and Laura winces, “Uh, sorry. The bus was about to start and I didn’t want you to fall down and hurt yourself.”

Carmilla doesn’t look convinced but before Laura has a chance to ask her about her week, Carmilla puts the earbud in and stares at the front of the bus the entire time. When they arrive, there’s barely enough time for Carmilla to say bye, cupcake before she’s rushing off to class.

(Laura quickly realizes that sitting adjacent to each other just won’t do.)

Once Friday rolls around, Laura takes desperate action. She sits as far back as possible without being at the absolute back - she refuses to be the only one making compromises in this arrangement - and pulls out her phone.