An expectantly unpleasant experience had occurred while on the bus from Lyon to Belgium.
Remembering the departure from Venezia. Cay and Judas met the stocky French Cyclist who was in hope of getting on the bus, as his first one did not allow him to board the transport due to his oversized luggage. He had a bicycle meant for long-distance travel, which the bus operator forbade him from boarding his intended ride unless he could somehow minimise the size of the load.
Samuel was the name of the man, his girlfriend was waiting for him to come back to Paris, who had happened to be travelling with him and managed to arrive in the French Capital without much of an issue. Cay offered him a cigarette as the man had been visibly worn out from repackaging his belongings and a few nights stay in a cheap Belgium hostel with almost nil money.
“Thank you.”, Samuel answered with a hint of gratitude as he lighted the cigarette.
Cay did not understand why he thought of the man when the two got on the bus, perhaps the midnight coldness that contrasted with Venezia’s evening heat somehow reminded him of the short encounter.
A man travelling from the same bus sat behind the two just before they departed. Cay could make out his appearance: oily dark skin, tall and lanky overall, and a Ghetto-like attire without gold chains around his neck but compensated with gold rings on his fingers. He had a cold look on his face, nobody sat next to him and he placed his backpack beside himself. Judas did not mind the people who got onboard of the transport as the two had been wearied from waiting for the bus outside in the cold.
Hours after dusk, a loud French rap music started playing just behind their seat. Cay was wakened up by the sound of it, the lyrics of the sound was so foreign and fast-paced made the gibberish music even more vulgar. Not entirely surprised by the sudden occurrence, Cay asked the man if he could have toned down the volume and mentioned that the passengers had been sleeping until he started his fiasco. The man with the black oily skin had a complexion that suggested ignorance and would not be swayed by Cay’s blunt suggestion.
The music went on for another hour, Judas had been woken up during that time and asked the co-operator to talk to the man. The latter resumed his music after the operator exchanged a few sentences in French with him and went back to his seat, which annoyed the two even more. Not long after Cay argued with the man with the black oily skin.
“Excuse me, could you turn down the bloody music? Me and my friend here are trying to sleep.”
The man showed no signs of interest, only his finger made a movement on his phone held on his right hand, resulting in the volume being turned to maximum. People at the further front row seat began stirring u from their slumber and turned their head towards the commotion.
“Listen, mate. Either you turned down the music or we’ll do something about it.”, Cay raised his voice, loud enough for almost everyone on the bus to hear but not enough to wake up the co-operator, who had gone back to sleep.
Upon hearing this, the man mouthed something foreign something to Cay, who took it as offensive and began calling the transportation company for a solution. The person behind the helpline suggest taking further actions by informing the operators on their current bus.
*
Meagre assessments were not a hindrance to Cay’s conquest in realising his worth in the virtual gaming world. A year has passed since meeting Jenna and Walking her to campus was an activity he had used to enjoy. He felt comfortable enough to be on his laptop for entertainment purposes when his girlfriend was around.
Left alone but in the same room, Jenna got on her phone and began watching her television series that she left accumulating, it had not occurred to her to watch Once Upon A Time when Cay used to be with her physically almost daily. She has attempted before to draw her boyfriend’s attention away from the monitor by means of coquettish gestures and seductive measures, only to yield minimum results. Hence, her only escape without compromising much of the physical intimation was to pass her time in his room.
It felt adequate to be binge-watching her show for the moment: the autumn weather today was a few degrees lower for venturing outside, the gloominess (happened almost every day, regardless of the seasons) only added to the English depression, and most importantly they had the heater on only in his room. Gordon, a Creative technology student from the same student hall from last year, had moved out with them and into suburban Twerton. The house was independently own by two young counples with the intention of building a better financial prospect, their old house had been let only to students since the start of the tenancy. Cold and mould-infested, at least the rooms were spacious.
It was a Saturday afternoon too late for lunch outside and too early for home-cooked dinner, the two have not been assigned to any work yet. Perhaps laying back was the best course action taken for the two financially-limited sophomores?
The two had fallen into a state of silent with only occasional brief conversations after Jenna gave up her attempt to win him back. A speechless comfort befallen on them without much awkwardness, they have not grown accustomed to the situation but were sure the other half would let him or her be.
Cay had recently applied for a position at a petrol station near Bath Central Bus Station and was accepted as a sales assistant. His first shift would start tomorrow, and he was keen to be on time for work, mainly to leave the best possible first impression to his employer, Mr Anapaly. Jenna had been proud not because he was landed a paid-position, he has been struggling since his first year at university due to tediously long classes and even more supplement classes intended for international students. He would come back late in the evening and leave for class the next day at ten in the morning.
For the reason, she let him do whatever he liked (with boundaries, of course.) before the start of his very first paid-job. Although a bit disappointed that her first love happened to be an enthusiastic gamer (he had tried hard not to show that side of himself), nevertheless the past year had been enjoyable with his company. She thought as she bit her slightly chafed nail secretly, hiding any signs of a let down towards him while planning short trips to nearby towns in her own mind.
“Honey, shall we make dinner now? I’m hungry.”, she finally said after finishing her latest episode.
Cay looked at the time displayed on the lower right corner of the monitor and back at her. He knew wiser not to deny the request from her and said “Alright, let me fix something for us.”.
“Shall we go somewhere outside to eat instead?”, she hinted further.
“No, it’s too cold to be walking outside now.”, Cay replied as he walked out from his bedroom.
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