The Bus Ride Home

part 1

it was the september holidays, a week before the finals, and you were in a library not far from your home, about 30 minutes on the road. that morning, you slipped on a comfortable top and joggers and silenced your joy of putting on those flip-flops you had just bought recently. while trying your best to cram as much of a chapter of Chemistry as you could before the clock hit 1730, you desperately tried to end the passionate discussion with the two classmates you happened to be with. 1727 - your phone read, as you took a breather to check the time. "i better get going", you thought, as if some past experience you hadn't yet recalled compelled you to leave three minutes early.

your mother had texted you an hour ago partially demanding a favour from you to be back home by 1800. she wanted you to receive this month's delivery of groceries. of course you weren't very pleased about that as it meant cutting short your revision time in order to take a lonely bus ride back home. nevertheless, you didn't have much of a choice as the delivery was usually punctual. you packed your stationery and books, got up reluctantly and bid farewell to your classmates.

on the way down to the ground floor of the library, a sudden eureka moment reminded you about that book you grabbed from the shelves a few hours ago. thankful that you remembered, you clumsily grabbed the Collins Language Dictionary out of your haversack, scanned the barcode, paid for your overdue books and dashed out of the library only to be halted by a traffic lamp.