Sarah’s alarm clock chimed, forcing the girl awake early, even though it was Saturday. She needed to catch a bus that would take her to her dad’s hometown. Sarah never understood why there were only three buses going to the neighbouring town during the weekend while on weekdays there was a bus leaving almost every other hour.
Sarah got out of bed and stretched her arms. She trudged to the window and opened the curtains. The sudden brightness hurt her eyes and made her squint. A fresh blanket of snow had fallen during the night. The trees looked like they had been covered in icing sugar. The grey clouds in the sky promised more snow, or perhaps rain. The late autumn weather was finnicky, and Sarah would’ve more than happily just welcomed winter for good than watched this balancing between cold and rain, and cold and snow.
She got dressed before heading to the bathroom and then to the kitchen. Her breakfast consisted of two pieces of toast and a tangerine. Mum was already up, and she sipped coffee while reading the morning paper.
“When does the bus leave?” she asked when Sarah sat down on the chair opposite of hers.
“In 40 minutes.”
“Will you make it?”
“Easily. I just need to eat and I’m ready to go.”
“When will you come back?”
“I should be back before dinner. I’m probably gonna stay there just a few hours.”
“Alright. Tell him that I said hi.”
“I will.”
Sarah finished her breakfast and hurried back to her room. She took her handbag and made sure her wallet was in there. She picked up her phone but paused before putting it in the bag as well. She wanted to text Castiel, but hesitated. Maybe he was still sleeping. What if he thought it was weird? But she really wanted to…
Sarah took a deep breath. She could do this. She wasn’t a coward. It was just a text message. She had sent them before.
Good morning. I hope you’ll have a nice day today <3
She looked at the heart and deleted it.
Good morning. I hope you’ll have a nice day today 😊
Sarah smiled. That looked better. She didn’t want to be sending hearts just yet. She felt like it was too soon. She sent the message and quickly chucked the phone in her bag. Her heart thumped a bit faster. Hopefully Castiel wouldn’t wake up to the message.
After checking one more time that she had everything necessary in her bag, she hurried to the door and put on her coat. She wanted to get to the bus stop early, so she wouldn’t miss the bus by accident. Sometimes it came too early and didn’t wait. And then Sarah would have to wait four hours for the next bus which was a major inconvenience.
“I’ll go now,” she announced from the door.
“Safe travels!” mum shouted back from the kitchen.
She stepped outside and was greeted by freezing wind that made her gasp from shock. Sarah closed her eyes before they’d start watering and waited for the strongest gust to fade.
The wind followed her the whole way to the bus stop. It played with her hair and dropped snow from trees. Sarah adjusted her scarf to cover more of her face. She didn’t like the cold. Her fingers started to feel frosty again. A warmer pair of gloves would’ve been a smart choice, and she had considered it, but she didn’t want to overdress because then she’d roast in the bus. The bus only needed to come on time, and she’d be fine.
The bus was ten minutes late. Sarah was shivering with her hands stuffed in her coat pockets. The wind was relentless and pushed itself through her wool coat and skinny jeans. She kept looking at her phone and sighing every time a minute passed without the bus arriving. She wasn’t surprised but it was still annoying.
When the bus finally came, there was a group of people suffering with Sarah. Two elderly women complained about their husbands to each other, and a teenage boy watched videos on his phone. He was only wearing jeans and a hoodie, and Sarah didn’t understand how he wasn’t a human icicle.
The bus stopped and using the effrontery of an old woman, the ladies jumped the queue and pushed themselves inside first. Sarah rolled her eyes and walked up the few steps to the bus.
The car was comfortably warm, and the tips of Sarah’s fingers tingled while they defrosted. She paid her ticket and picked a seat far away from the women who had seated themselves behind the driver and continued their complaining. The teenage boy trudged past her all the way to the back of the bus. Sarah looked out of the window as the bus left the stop. She unbuttoned her coat and took off her gloves so she wouldn’t get too hot. She easily got sick in cars, so this was a precaution against that.
The early wake up and the warmth of the bus started to weigh on Sarah’s eyelids and the steady humming slowly lulled her to sleep.
Sarah’s head nodded to the side and she jolted awake. She rubbed her neck that ached from the sudden yank and leaned against the head rest. She shouldn’t sleep. This was only a 45-minute trip and if she slept, there was a chance she’d miss her stop, and end up in who knows where.
The view outside had changed during the time Sarah had dozed off. The tall buildings of the city were long behind them and now they travelled past fields with occasional houses and groups of trees spotting the view. In the distance the mountain range was barely visible; it was covered in clouds hanging low on the sky. Snowflakes bounced from the bus window and were tossed around by the wind.
Sarah looked out of the window and sighed. Yesterday’s events repeated themselves in her head. She could hardly believe what had happened with Castiel. He really did like her, and now they were dating. Sarah smiled to her reflection. She had pinched herself many times in the evening to make sure the kiss wasn’t a dream. It could’ve very well ended up being just that. Sarah reproached herself for acting so distant. Now that she knew for sure that Castiel liked her, in hindsight, it was easier to see the signs of it from their interaction. Castiel had literally said he liked Sarah, yet she had still doubted him. She had avoided a kiss twice. What kind of person would try kiss a person they didn’t like? Twice? She felt dumb.
Sarah wondered how different things would be if they had kissed the first time. She wasn’t sure if she had had strong feelings towards Castiel then. It was probably better his parents had interrupted them then. It had given them both more time, and even if it had caused some headache for them both, it had ended well. Sarah was a bit nervous about what dating Castiel would be like. She didn’t have any experience and she didn’t want to do things wrong. But she was still happy. Castiel had shown that he wasn’t just grumpy delinquent, Sarah didn’t think he was a delinquent at all. He was hard to approach but soft on the inside once the hard outer layer cracked. When Castiel had cried, Sarah had thought her heart would melt. It had been so unexpected, but the fact that Castiel felt comfortable enough in Sarah’s company to show his feelings warmed her from the inside.
Sarah had been focused on her thoughts, so when the bus entered the city, she started to quickly gather her belongings. One of her gloves had fallen to the floor and was now wet from soaking in a puddle of melted snow. Sarah buttoned her coat and pressed the stop button as the bus turned left from the traffic lights. The two women got off on the stop too, so Sarah ended up spending almost a minute just standing while the ladies slowly but surely edged themselves from their seats and down the few steps to the street. Sarah thanked the bus driver and hurried past the ladies once she got out.
Sarah headed down the snow covered streets, looking around. Some people had put up Christmas lights on their windows, even though Christmas was still nearly two months away.
Sarah crossed the street and turned left. A delicious scent of Indian food greeted her in the next corner. Her stomach growled, demanding tikka masala and freshly baked naan bread. She had been to the restaurant few times with her dad since he lived nearby. The food was amazing there, and Sarah really wanted to have it again soon.
After a few more minutes of walking, she stopped in front of a grey stone building. The wooden outdoor was locked when she tried it, as it normally was. Sarah typed out the number code, pulled the open and stepped in a dim hallway. The door behind her closed and buzzed when the lock activated. Sarah searched for the light switch, and soon bright white light filled the hallway and the corridor. She blinked few times to get her eyes used to the brightness and then walked to the elevator. She pressed the button of the top floor and the elevator doors slowly closed. The elevator shook while it made its way to the top of the building.
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