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Clara moved for the fifth time in her seat. She was beyond bored. The tight bus was extremely filled with people today, or so she thought. She wouldn't know because it was her first time taking the bus to work. She waited patiently for the bus to kick off, but it kept moving in such an unusually slow way that she began to think there was something wrong with the bus. And the fact that her phone turned off an hour ago while she was watching a dance video online, didn't seem to help matters. 

Now she had nothing to do. There was nothing to scroll through or browse through and most of all listen to. She looked out through the window, counting every second that passed by in a bid to pass time but it was more frustrating. She was beyond frustrated. The bus moved so slowly, the snail was far much faster than this ride, she thought.

She took a long breath in and relaxed her head against the cold glass window. "What torture" she said to herself.


The young man sitting next to her looked at her grinning


"You're bored, huh?" he asked 

![IMG-20250826-WA0011.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/perfect20/AKCFepuQKVFasuXoZTae5nhcxr8uUjfGv5EqWBcpaavG3KvXpYCaUPxHys3g2jQ.jpg)
GENERATED USING META AI


She turned towards him, taking in his appearance. He held an old paperback book. He was a young man, about her age, despite the light beard that covered his chin. He had full eyes that were filled with excitement, and a casual and easygoing personality that could be very addicting

“Yeah,” she found herself saying.

 “I think this bus is faulty or something… I mean, can't it go any faster? “ She asked frustratedly.

The young man smiled widely at her.

“I take it this is your first time taking the bus,” he said.

“Well, it's usually like that. Bus rides are way much slower.

“ Oh! It's just that I hate long rides, especially when my phone's down.

“Same,” he replied. “That’s why I bring this.” He lifted his book. “Though I admit, staring at words on a page isn’t always exciting either.”

Clara laughed. “At least it’s better than counting every second that passes.”

The conversation took off from there. She got to know that his name was Daniel. He often takes the bus every morning to work. And he was quite familiar with everything that transpired on the bus, from the boredom, to the loud cries of the baby at the back who was being held by the mother, the constant snoring from the old man seated behind them who couldn't help but snore a little too loudly. The giggles from two school girls who laughed the entire way through the ride seriously engrossed in their phones and social media, down to the old security man who always wore an orange and black uniform with a weird facial cap and a face that screamed “I’m old and grumpy, avoid me”.

Clara laughed,

“Wow! "You've really become an expert at watching people,” she exclaimed.

“Well,” he said, glancing around, 

“When you're bored you tend to find new hobbies” 

“ For instance, see that man over there, he always dozes off. The woman near the door knits the same scarf every week. I swear it never ends. And there’s usually one person fighting with their headphones.”

Clara smiled. “That’s not bad entertainment.”

“I believe today’s more interesting,” Daniel said, giving her a playful look.


Her smiled shyly, looking out the window, to hide the small blush that crept on.

The bus continued on its path, still moving slowly but they were too far gone in themselves to notice. Busy talking and joking together and guessing about people’s activities, boredom had long been forgotten. 
Throughout the trip, they busied themselves, making up silly back up stories about each passengers, guessing where the other passengers were from and where they were going. And cracking funny jokes about them.

When the bus did finally arrive at Clara’s destination, she was surprised by how fast time passed. For once, the trip didn't feel boring.

She stood up, carrying her bag. “Well… guess this is my bus stop.”

Daniel flashed her a smiled and asked, “Would you like to grab coffee sometime? I mean, so our next adventure won't be a boring bus ride.”

Clara paused, then smiled. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

They exchanged numbers quickly, then she stepped off the bus.

That night, as she plugged in her phone, Clara thought back about the ride. What had started as dull and dragging had turned into something unexpectedly exciting.

And maybe, just maybe, something more.
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