Lucy was in the window seat of the bus, gazing out as the wind brushed against her face, causing her hair to move.
She was going out with her friends to have a good time, but she had no idea what the plan was.
The bus stopped at a pickup stand and a few passengers got in. Out of them, there was a girl who was neatly dressed. Her hair came slightly below her shoulders and they were locked with hairpins on the side.
But her attention was on her phone.
Even after getting on the bus, she didn't stop using her phone and kept walking to the rear side of the bus.
"Suzan…" Lucy nudged a girl sitting beside her, who was wearing red-frame glasses. And reading a book with a leather cover.
Suzan looked at the girl and shook her head with a disappointed look on her face. She waited till the girl reached their seat and brought her leg in between, making the girl trip.
However, before she could fall, Suzan grabbed her from behind and said, "You are going to die someday."
The girl turned around and glared at Suzan with a furious look in her eyes.
"Watch it! What if the phone had fallen down?!" the girl shouted.
"And you care more about your phone than your life. Wow."
The girl sat on the empty seat beside Suzan and said, "You are the one who tripped me, though."
"You could have avoided that if you had your eyes down."
"Rosse, Suzan is right." Lucy quipped. "Pay a little more attention to your surroundings, especially when you are outside."
"I bet she was talking with her imaginary boyfriend again," Suzan commented with a soft scoff.
"He is real!"
"You have never met him."
"So what? That doesn't make him fake."
"Come on, you are using a dating app. 80% of users there are either catfishing or kitten fishing."
"I know about catfishing, but what the hell is kitten fishing?"
"Lying about age and pretending to be a younger person," Lucy replied without looking at the two.
Suzan slowly shot a weird glance at Lucy and asked, "Why do you know about that? Don't tell me you got yourself on dating sites too!"
"I have not. I am not even at the legal age to use dating apps or sites."
"No one is our friend circle. Anyway, Rosse. The person you are talking to might be catfishing you, you know?" Suzan explained calmly, showing concern in her voice.
"But he sent me his photo."
"That could be heavily edited, a fake photo from the internet, or such a person might not even exist."
"I know. That's why I am stalling whenever he asks me to meet him or go on a date. But I can't keep doing this again and again or I will get dumped."
"Isn't that good? Didn't you say you swiped him by accident?" Suzan asked with a judging look on her face.
"No, he was the one who swiped me. I accidentally accepted."
"..."
"I know you are worried about me. I am too. But what if this guy really exists? He looks so hot, and you know that!"
"So, you are planning to meet him?" Lucy asked curiously.
"I have to… but… I want you two to come with me."
"Why would I purposely walk into a trap?" Suzan rolled her eyes.
"So that you can save me if he turns out to be a…"
"A pedo," Lucy finished Rosse's sentence.
"I wouldn't say pedo. We are only a few weeks away from turning eighteen. I was about to say...creepy. I don't know. I can't remember the exact word."
"How do you propose we help you? We are not fighters, you know." Lucy turned to the girls and continued, "Why don't you take your brother with you?"
"I haven't told him that I am seeing someone online. If I do, he is going to tell Mom and Dad, and… my phone will be confiscated."
"I didn't take your parents to be strict kind," Suzan muttered. "Your mom is so playful."
"Try telling your dad that you are dating someone online and see their reaction," Rosse immediately responded with a sigh.
"Well, why don't you take a boy from your class?" Lucy suggested. "Your cram school."
"There is no way a boy wants to accompany a girl on her date and protect her."
"You have got a point."
"And I don't know boys of my age who would be willing to help me."
"I would have asked my brother to help you if I had one," said Suzan.
Rosse turned to Lucy and said, "You have a brother, right?"
"Trust me, that piece of shit is worse than anyone you might meet online," Lucy uttered with pure disgust in her voice.
"I am not talking about Paul. The new one, what was his name again? Ru..dy? How is he?" Rosse asked with a curious look on her face.
"She talks about him all the time as if he is her lover. I am sure he is a nice guy," Suzan replied instead of Lucy, who didn't know what to say.
Rosse held Lucy's hand in her hands and calmly asked, "Can you ask him to help me?"
"Uhm… I don't think he will. He is always busy. And-and-and… he…" Lucy avoided eye contact with Rose as she tried her best to find an excuse.
"He has exams!"
"Yeah, but I am sure he can make some time."
"I don't think so."
Rosse narrowed her eyes and said, "Come on, just tell me the truth - you don't want to help me, do you?"
"It's not… like that."
"If I went to meet that person and something terrible happened to me, you would be responsible for it."
"How?"
"Because you didn't help me even when you could. You didn't save me when you had the chance."
Lucy looked at Suzan and said, "Help me with this."
"No comments. I don't want to get involved." Suzan raised her hands.
"Okay, how about you give me his number? I will ask him myself."
"He… doesn't have a phone."
"..."
Pfft!
Suzan was laughing so hard she had to put her hand to her mouth.
"You couldn't be more obvious, Lucy."
