HARMONY

Chapter 1 - 94 Days

Chapter 1 - 94 Days

94 days. Just a little over three months since that fateful day Melody Larkin collapsed on Dessert Rain's tour bus. 94 days since Harmony's life as she knew it, had imploded. Just 94 days. It felt like a lifetime ago and it felt like the blink of an eye. These were the thoughts running through Harmony's head as she surveyed her surroundings.

Unbelievably, she found herself seated on another bus, something that if up to her she would have avoided at all costs, but it was not up to her. All her choices had been taken away 94 days ago. She'd learned the hard way that her wishes were often wasted and rarely granted.

She was doing everything in her power to not think about that last horrific bus ride. As a cold sweat broke across her brow, she reminded herself this bus was nothing like their band bus. This was a minibus, which was half the size of a school bus, and only a tiny bit more comfortable. It had room for thirty passengers and one driver.

Harmony purposely boarded the bus early so she could pick a seat near the back. After much deliberation, she chose the worst seat possible. It was an uncomfortable seat located directly over the back left wheel-well. She hoped the lack of leg room would deter anyone else from sitting beside her.

As it turned out, her strategy failed. The bus ended up being completely full. How that many people could be headed to the boondog town of Waverley, she had no clue. For a few brief seconds Harmony thought she was in the clear, especially when the bus began to pull away from the station, but a desperate pounding on the front door brought the bus to an abrupt stop.

Sporting a broad smile, a curvaceous blonde scrambled on board carrying a ridiculous number of bags, each bag filled to the point of overflowing.

Harmony leaned into the isle to watch as the girl repeatedly thanked the driver for stopping. She even managed to bend down and hug him. She was so exuberant in her gratitude that a few items fell from her bags. The driver, who looked like he was in his late thirties, early forties, bent down to lend a helping hand.

Unfortunately, he didn't realize what he had picked up until it was too late. He held a vibrant pink brassiere between his fingertips which looked to be at least double D cups. Harmony could see the poor driver blushing all the way from the back of the bus.

The girl, however, didn't bat an eye. She laughed and told him not to hurt himself lifting something so heavy. Passengers laughed along with her as she carelessly tossed the lacy bra into the top of the closest bag. It dangled precariously half-in, half-out as she lifted the bag on to one shoulder, slung a bloated knapsack onto her other shoulder, and then still managed to push her biggest bag in front of her as she jostled her way down the aisle towards the last available seat on the bus.

After much effort, she shoved both her knapsack and her biggest bag onto the shelf above their seats. She offered a friendly smile as she plunked down in the seat next to Harmony. Then she spent the next few minutes squirming in her seat, as she finagled the final bag between her feet in front of her, a truly miraculous feat in itself.

Harmony pulled her hoody down over her eyes as she squeezed closer to the window. Still, she could feel the entire length of the body next to her pressing up against her side.

Before Harmony had a chance to wallow in self-pity or commiserate on how her day had gone from bad to worse, a plump hand plopped down in front of her face forcing an embarrassing gasp from her lips.

"Oh, so sorry," a high-pitched voice, giggled next to her ear. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to say, 'Hi' and introduce myself. I'm Jamie." The fleshy hand with bright pink and green nail polish appeared once more. Harmony awkwardly reached up and held the hand between her thumb and index finger and gave it a quick wiggle.