Needle in a Haystack

Finding a Needle

Emily trudged through the rest of her classes for the day, still hoping to catch a glimpse of her mystery mate. Each time she changed classes, she sniffed the air looking for his trail, but as time wore on, his scent became fainter and fainter, until, by the end of the day's classes, she was sure he left after they spoke. That meant he was either skipping school, or he was in the GED program that only had the two time blocks. Emily remembered the packets the night receptionist was shuffling together were for the GED crash course. The front page said the class was from four to six PM. If that was the case, was he waiting for her to find him outside the lunchroom? What could be so bad about finding your mate that you just assumed rejection? And why wouldn't he look at her?

More and more questions spun through her head as she headed for the bus stop. His spicy sweet scent brought her to a halt, and she immediately started looking for him, but she was alone. Ember traced the smell to one of the shelter seats. Their hopes rose until Emily realized that there was no way to tell if he had transferred. Even if they could, finding the line he transferred to would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

As the bus pulled up, Emily resigned herself to not seeing him until the next day, and Ember whined at her plaintively, not wanting to give up the search. The doors opened, and she climbed in, swiping her card and taking the first seat behind the driver. She put her backpack in the isle seat to keep the row for herself. The bus was practically empty this late at night, and she was relieved at the idea of not having to talk to anyone until she got home. She settled in for the ride to the transfer station and pulled out her phone for something easy to do to pass the time. She had a message from Amy on her IG, and a few texts from her mom asking about her day. She swiped away her notifications and closed her phone again. The one person she wanted to talk to right now seemed to want nothing to do with her. She angled her body towards the isle and leaned her head back against the glass, shutting her eyes. The driver would kick her off at the park and ride station, so she didn't need to keep an eye on the stops.

"Miss," a deep voice broke through her sleep. "Miss, I need you to get off the bus now."

Emily forced open her eyes and sat up, blinking at the lights of the park and ride bus terminal. "Yeah, sorry," she said, grabbing her backpack and jumping up before yawning hugely. The driver chuckled as he walked out and waited by the door for her to disembark. She didn't remember falling asleep, but that wasn't a surprise. She knew many of her classmates would brag about staying up all night, but she was never able to function the next day when she tried.

As Emily walked down the steps of the bus, the spicy sweet scent of her mate filled her nose and her head snapped in that direction. The bus driver locked up and walked away, eyeing her suspiciously and mumbling something about teens and drugs. She ignored him and followed the delicious smell of her mate all the way to a street vendor selling fresh, spiced fruit. Her shoulders sagged, and she started walking back to the station.

"Fruta," he called to her in Spanish, "Conchas. Elotes."

"No, gracias," she replied in kind, and continued to scan her surroundings, walking slowly now, back to the station. As she settled onto the bench, a grackle landed near her feet and squawked at her, pecking at the ground. She reached into her backpack and found her emergency granola bar. Pulling it out, she spoke to the bird, "Are you hungry?" and threw a few crumbs from the granola bar onto the ground at her feet. The little black corvid hopped to the crumbs and eyed them suspiciously, before flying away.

"They eat meat," said her mate. His voice sounded soft, right next to her ear and she jerked so violently she almost fell off the bench. No one sat next to her. She looked around, longing to see him again tightened her chest.

Two buses sat at the terminal, the one she had left and one idling, about to leave. She left her backpack and ran to the bus, leaping up all three steps at once and startling the driver. She turned and scanned each row all the way to the back. There was no one. She came back to her senses and realized the bus driver was yelling at her.

"Pay your fair and sit down or get off the bus, lady," he yelled, spittle flying from his lips, his face flushed and sweaty.

"Sorry," she said, backing down the stairs, her hands raised in surrender. There was no trace of her mate. She hadn't even smelled him.

As soon as her feet were on the ground, the driver shut the door and put the bus in gear. She stepped back one more time and up onto the platform. The bus pulled away, and she was standing on the platform alone once again. The honk of the vendor's horn reminded her that she wasn't entirely alone. She looked back at the vendor. Her Spanish was never very good, but maybe she could mime a conversation enough to ask about the man she sought. She walked back to her bag and was turning to head back towards the vendor when her bus pulled into the station. She was caught in indecision as the bus doors opened. Did she dare try to pursue him in a city this size? She took a step towards the vendor and the doors on the bus closed. She swung back towards the bus, panic forcing her home, to safety.