“Fuck a curfew,” he grumbled to himself after a short while. “I’m getting out of here.”
Elias wandered into the night using only his memory of the last time he had been in town—up two blocks, right at the last sweetgum tree, then another three blocks until he reached a rusted bench, behind which was the bus station.
Hm, maybe I should check on Nia,he thought.
“What do you want?” Nia asked, not bothering to move the phone so he could see her entire face. He was stuck looking up her nose while she continued playing video games.
“I don’t want nothing from you, big head,” he replied. “I’m going to a concert, and it’s creepy as hell at this bus stop.”
“You scared?”
“Mind your business,” Elias retorted, puffing out his chest. “How are Mom and Dad?”
“Your mother is getting on my last nerve. She keeps crying, talking about ‘my baby’ this and ‘my baby’ that.”
“Who is she talking about?”
“You!” Nia said, like it was supposed to be obvious. “You know good and well she doesn’t call me or Will her baby. You’re her favorite.”
Elias expressed his disapproval with a tongue click. “If this is how she treats her favorite, how the hell does she treat you?”
“Better than you treat Will.” Elias fell silent as Nia continued, “Why are you even asking about them? I thought you’d be having the time of your life out there.”
Nia’s voice was grating on his ears, but he didn’t want it to stop, because the silence would be too loud. “I miss home,” he breathed.
“You don’t sound like you. You good?”
“I’m good. Just don’t tell Mom and Dad we spoke, okay?” he said. “My bus is here, so get off my phone. Behave yourself.”
“Who are you talking to?Youbehave. And talk to Will. He misses you. We all do.”
“I’ll…think about it. Love you.”
“Love you too,” Nia replied.
Elias hung up. He clenched and unclenched his fists.
In line with his bus ticket, Elias waited impatiently for it to be scanned on his phone, then he boarded the mostly empty bus. It shook violently as it sat idle, its engine churning like a growling stomach awaiting its fill of passengers. He went all the way to the rear and stretched out in one of the rows, leaning his head against the window and propping his feet up on the seats next to him. He pulled his black bucket hat down over his eyes and then put his AirPods in.
If we kiss once, we can’t take it back
But if we kiss this once, I can kiss you again
Let’s make another mistake
The first mistake is already made
Elias would be tired for work the next day.Whatever. I’ll just ditch tomorrow,Elias thought.Why do I even care?If Moodie was going to judge him so harshly anyway, then he might as well fill the role of the villain.
With only about ten minutes left of the drive, Elias checked his email containing his ticket so he could enter the address into GPS. Seeing as he was already late for the concert, he didn’t want to waste any more time. He only hoped that the opening act would run long. As he scrolled through the email, his eyes happened to fall on the bag policy.
Clear Plastic, Vinyl, or PVC Bags Not Exceeding 12” X 6” X 12” Are Allowed.
Elias eyed his black leather messenger bag, which was decidedly not very clear. If it were, everyone would be able to see his Swiss Army knife key chain and his outside food and drink, two things that were also not permitted in the venue.
He rented a locker at the bus station. He took inventory of his bag before leaving it behind—keys, some snacks for his return trip, a book to pass the time, and a few other odds and ends. The only things he really needed for the concert were his wallet and phone.
On the way to the venue, people kept smiling at him. And it wasn’t those polite tight-lipped smiles that people sometimes gave in New York when you accidentally made eye contact, but they were genuine smiles like they were actually happy or something. He would have to get used to that. He had never had somany people greet him in his life; he was starting to feel like Siri.
