Chapter 1: Introduction
Desperate Girl adjusted her purse and hiked her tote bag up higher on her shoulder as she stepped into the crowded bus. She noticed her fellow passengers sweating, heard the muffled beats of a dance track thudding from oversized headphones nearby. The humid air felt heavy and thick. Already, the bus reminded her of one big sauna.
She glanced around, scanning the grimy-looking seats, searching for a desirable place to park herself for the possibly long journey ahead.
A faint whiff of body odor stung her nostrils - it emanated from the proximity of her fellow travelers. Desperate Girl pulled a face and continued looking for a more isolated, better-smelling area to spend the next few hours of her day.
As she stumbled deeper into the old space, a tall guy with a scruffy beard glanced up from his phone and alerted her to an empty seat next his.
She pine-coned her way over to him, muttering her thanks.
"No prob," he said, casually. She sat down beside him, squishing against the bus window. Even better. She'd be safe from any bump-ins from the corridor.
The guy returned his gaze to his phone screen, his thumb flicking at the edge absent-mindedly. Desperate Girl couldn't help staring at his concentrated expression, the flex of his thumb, his buzzcut hair.
The thick silence on the bus wrapped around her, pushed on her eardrums, and made her want to lose herself within the depth of her array of daydreams.
But then, her pressing need took over, and she shifted in her seat, crossing and uncrossing her legs.
The bathroom! She'd completely forgotten about its absence whilst she was busy checking out her mysterious seatmate.
Restrooms on buses were often overlooked and, apparently, underutilized features, weren't they? After all, nobody wanted to be *that* person that turned every unfortunate bump of the road into their personal rollercoaster.
But she didn't have much choice now did she? The pressure in her bladder was mounting.
She took a deep breath before turning to the guy beside her and said, *'Excuse me, do you happen to know if there's a restroom on this bus?'*
He set his phone down and studied her with a smirk, eyeing her up and down before answering, *'Sorry, no such luck. I think you'll have to hold it in for now.'*
Desperate Girl sighed heavily, sinking back into her seat.