All Aboard

Part Sixteen

Kimberly

Lazlo pulled himself up and held on to the handrails on the front seats. He wasn't standing as straight and his eyes weren't as rich with colour as they were before. He let go of the rails and straightened out his jacket, picking off some invisible bits of fluff from the fabric, then got out his notepad and quill, frowning at the page as he wrote something down. Kimberly could feel the entire bus on pause as they waited for him to speak.

Kimberly cleared her throat, and looked at Lazlo. Could she do it? Could she speak out loud in front of everyone? In front of Barney? She cleared her throat again and thought of the warm feeling she got in her tummy when she was chatting with Andre. She willed her voice to just please co-operate.

'Lazlo?' Louder, she thought. Come on, Kimberly, you want him to hear you. 'Um, Lazlo?'

Lazlo turned to her, his face softening and his eyes doing a little foxtrot as they rested on her face. 'Yes, Kimberly?'

'Are you okay?' she asked.

'Am I okay?' Lazlo placed a slender hand over his heart, and frowned at Kimberly. 'You're asking if I'm okay?'

'Um.....yes,' said Kimberly.

Lazlo smiled at Kimberly, and put his hand on her shoulder. 'I'm fine, sweet girl, I'm just fine. Now,' he turned and rang the bell. 'It's time for another stop. Your stop if I'm not mistaken.'

'Oh,' Kimberly blinked. She'd almost forgotten why they were on the bus. 'Oh.'

'Yes. Oh,' Lazlo smiled, 'Do you want someone to go with you?'

A surge of heat ran up Kimberly's body resulting in flushed cheeks and a shiny forehead. She felt like she was in PE, looking into the faces of people as they averted their eyes, even if they were in need of a partner. She wondered whether she could hide under her seat instead of getting off at her stop, although she doubted that would be an option.

'I'll go with you if you want, Kimberly?' offered Mikaela.

Kimberly's heart blossomed with gratitude and she turned to check that Mikaela wasn't making a joke. Mikaela offered her a wide smile, and Kimberly's heart grew a little warmer until Barney snorted a puff of frozen air onto it.

'What's your problem?' Mikaela said, looking at Barney.

'I don't have a problem; you won prize bitch of the year and now you're overcompensating by offering to be Meatloaf's escort. Although....hold on,' Kimberly stared with wide eyes as she watched a thought ripple across Barney's face, 'have you got a thing for Meatloaf? This lesbian thing, are you into fat girls or something? Are you going to seduce her in the bus shelter?'

Kimberly sank down in her seat and stared at her hands as if a map showing a secret escape route might materialise in her palms.

'Look, I'll go with her,' Dan said. Kimberly looked up at him with wide eyes. Why was he offering to go with her? Was it a joke? Did he think she had some cannabis in her bag? 'And before you start, Barney, I know your tiny brain will find it hard to comprehend, but it is actually possible to just do a nice thing for someone who deserves it.'

'Alright, Mother Theresa, calm yourself down,' said Barney.

Dan rolled his eyes and stood up, gesturing for Mikaela to move out of the way.

'Just give us all a break from that caustic voice of yours, yeah?' said Dan, 'Look it up. I'll spell it for you. C, a, u....'

Mikaela put her hand on Dan's arm. 'Dan,' she said quietly.