Four

Stitches and Chris had left already, so I got my jacket out of my locker and walked to the bus stop alone. It wasn’t that cold, but the wind was messing my hair around and blowing it into my eyes. At the bus shelter, I dug out some change and my iPod, and plugged my headphones into my ears. I turned the volume up to near max, and stood quietly by myself, waiting for the bus and listening to The Kills.

That’s why I didn’t hear her when she ran up behind me and screamed my name.

“Elliot!”

And then I was rather rudely forced forward by two hands pushing on my shoulders. I turned around. It was Ruth.

“Oh. Hey.” I said, taking a couple tentative steps backwards, in case she tried to push me again. This wasn’t as effective as I had hoped, because she just stepped forward and ended up in front of me again. I tried to retreat yet again, but I was up against the wall of the tiny bus shelter.

Staring into her blazing blue eyes, I think it’s safe to say that I have never been more terrified in my life.

“What’s up!?”

She sounded much too excited for someone just asking someone else what was up.

“Uh.. are you okay, Ruth?” I asked. She leered at me, and I tried to make myself smaller and hide in my jacket. I was not successful, because she just grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled be back up again.

“I’m great! I’m amazing! I’ve never been better!” she now looked slightly manic, as her long hair was thrown all over the place and getting wilder and wilder with each word she said. I flattened myself across the wall of the tiny shelter and prayed that the bus would come soon.

“Really?” I asked. “Why, uh... why’s that?”

She chose not to answer that question and instead asked me where I was going.

“I’m going to pick up the weed for you and myself.”

“Can I come?!”

Please, please, please let the bus come now.

“Uh... I don’t know if that would be advisable, given your current state and the delicacy of such an operation.”

She suddenly reverted back to seriousness.

“You just don’t want me there, do you?”

What? “What?”

She didn’t even give me a proper chance to answer.

“Fine. Whatever. I totally get it. You’re cool, I’m weird, and you need to protect your reputation.”

She stepped back from me, but I still held back and didn’t remove myself from the surface of the shelter’s wall. Behind her, I could see a bus coming from a fair distance away. At this point, I didn’t even care if it was my bus or not, I just wanted to get on it and drive as far away from Crazy Ruth as I possibly could.

“Listen, come if you want. But don’t make some stupid scene like you did just now.” I said hurriedly. “There’s my bus now. I’m getting on it.” I walked out of the bus shelter, and turned to see if she was following. She wasn’t. She just stood by herself in the little shelter, head down and hands playing with her phone or her iPod or whatever.

“Hey... Ruth...” I said, and walked a bit closer to her. She raised her head, fixed me with the most penetrating stare that I have ever been on the receiving end of, and screamed.

At that exact moment, the bus came, and I ran onto it, not looking back.

 

Reviews

[SpiritedTales]

Oh my, Ruth is certainly an interesting character indeed.