Traffic (Complete two-hundred pages) (Moving to Kindle Vella in 30 Days! )

30

KID

THE KID WASN'T TALKING but he seemed to have composed himself. So Jack thought he might try to make the kid laugh. "Can I keep your phone?"

"What? No," the kid dropped his hand and tried to swipe his phone away from him. But Jack held it away.

"Alright, alright," Jack laughed. "Can I at least play a game on it?"

The kid calmed down. He returned to his natural sullen pose with his face turned to the window and his arms crossed. "Sure. Just do whatever you want."

Jack pretended not to notice the kid's attitude. "Thanks!" He checked the phone. "You got chess on here?"

The kid turned his face like Jack was an old fart. "I've got Temple Run. And Angry Birds."

Immediately Jack lost interest. "Jesus." Jack handed the phone back to the kid.

"What?"

"That's not a phone."

"Why do you say that?" The kid was fully engaged now that Jack insulted his phone.

"It doesn't have chess on it."

"And that doesn't make it a phone?!"

"Exactly."

"Cabrón." The kid stuffed the phone in his pocket. He looked back at the window but this time there was a smile on the side of his face.

Jack was enjoying himself. Under his breath he said, "Pendejo."

This made the kid fall forward and laugh.

Jack pretended not to notice and looked around the bus. "So where do you sleep?"

The kid gestured to the bus. "Here," he said, matter-of-factly.

"And no one comes on here to kick you off?"

"No one comes on here at night, really. There's no driver so the bus doesn't have to sleep. It just goes to the station to charge once a night."

Makes sense. "The new buses are cool. So this is basically your house."

The kid nodded. Neutral to the subject.

"So why don't you decorate the place?"

Decorate the place? said the kid's face. "With what?"

"I don't know," Jack pointed to the corner, "a lamp?"

The kid laughed. "You expect me to put a lamp there?"

"It's your house, bro. Decorate your pad."

"The maintenance people would never let me."

Jack scoffed. "Alright." The kid had a point. But just to make sure, "Do you need money or something, I can buy you the lamp."

The kid laughed. Enough already. "No, I don't need a lamp."

"Alright," said Jack. But then he turned slightly more serious. "Besides a lamp, do you need anything? Food or something?"

The kid looked at the window again and looked to him. "A pillow."

"A pillow?" Jack asked. He wasn't expecting that. "For your head?"

"No," said the kid, seriously. But then he couldn't help but give a slick smile. "For my ass--" he laughed and then Jack laughed. Jack laughed because it was such a terrible joke. But at least the kid made a joke. The whole point was to be positive.

"I'll tell you what."

"What?"

"Next time I see you I'll have a pillow for your ass. Okay?"

The kid chuckled. His face was heartwarmingly red. "Okay."

After forty minutes Jack stood to get off at the bus stop. The kid looked out the watery window and his eyes opened wide. Impressive. "It's a hotel."