Mafanya

A sleepless night spent working on a practical assignment for a university test had left only a shaky semblance of wakefulness. Now you were rushing around the apartment, gathering the necessary notebooks.

Throwing your makeup bag into your bag, you rushed out of the apartment. The bus was supposed to arrive any minute. The elevator was broken, so you ran down the stairs from the seventh floor. Rushing outside, you saw the bus getting ready to pull away. But the driver noticed you and waited. Jumping on, you sat at the very back, next to a very attractive guy.

I felt embarrassed at the thought of having to put on makeup in front of him. The decision came naturally: no makeup today. I could, of course, have changed seats, but there were still two more stops ahead where pensioners boarded.

The monotonous motion of the bus was drowsy, and the May sun was blinding. You lowered your head, covering your face with your hands. At the next stop, quite a few passengers boarded, and, overcoming your awkwardness, you turned to look at the person next to you.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I place the model at your feet? It'll get broken here, and you're sitting by the window."

The guy, not even bothering to look at you, merely nodded. You reached for the model, but a mother and child burst onto the bus through the front doors. The child rushed forward as the bus pulled away. The boy tripped and crashed right into your model, breaking it.

You sat up straight, tilted your head back, and closed your eyes. The guy sitting next to you realized the model hadn't been moved, so he turned his head. His heart sank at the sight of the tears streaming down your cheeks. It was awkward to ask, so he turned back to the window.

About 15 minutes later, your head rested on his shoulder. You fell asleep. Your heart was pounding, but an unprecedented warmth spread through your soul. He woke you only at the last stop. Both of you had arrived at a completely different destination than you had planned.

After getting off the bus, you threw away the remaining fragments of the model. There was nothing left to lose anyway.

"My name is Vlad," came a voice from behind. "I didn't think such beauties rode buses."