Chapter 27: The Long Way Home
877 Words
Ethan's original plan was simple.
Leave school.
Go home.
Finish some work.
Sleep.
A completely normal evening.
Instead, twenty minutes after leaving Kingsley, he found himself standing at a bus stop questioning everything he knew about life.
And somehow, it was Ava Williams' fault.
---
It started when he remembered he'd left a notebook in the library.
Annoying.
Very annoying.
So he returned to school, collected the notebook, and headed back out through the front gates.
That's when he saw her.
Ava.
Standing by a bus stop across the road.
Alone.
At first, Ethan assumed she was waiting for someone.
Maybe a parent.
Maybe a driver.
Maybe—
A bus pulled up.
Ava stepped forward.
Several people got off.
Several people got on.
Then Ava climbed aboard too.
The bus drove away.
Leaving Ethan standing there.
Confused.
Very confused.
A few moments later, his driver arrived.
"Everything okay, sir?"
Ethan blinked.
"Do people actually use those?"
The driver looked toward the road.
"The buses?"
"Yes."
The man stared at him.
For a long moment.
Then laughed.
Actually laughed.
Ethan immediately regretted asking.
"What?"
"Nothing, sir."
"You're laughing."
"A little."
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
The driver was still smiling when they got into the car.
The conversation should've ended there.
It didn't.
Because Ethan kept thinking about it.
The bus.
Ava.
The bus.
Ava.
The bus.
Ava.
By the time he got home, curiosity had won.
Unfortunately.
The next morning, Ethan arrived at school unusually early.
Not because he cared.
Not because he was curious.
Not because he wanted answers.
Absolutely not.
He simply happened to arrive early.
A completely unrelated event.
As he entered the classroom, Noah looked up.
"Why are you here?"
Ethan frowned.
"I go to school here."
"It's seven-thirty."
"And?"
"You usually arrive five minutes before class."
Liam appeared from nowhere.
"Asking the important questions."
Jace glanced up from his book.
"Maybe he finally discovered punctuality."
"Very funny."
Ethan ignored them.
For approximately thirty seconds.
Then—
"How long does a bus ride usually take?"
The room went silent.
Noah blinked.
Liam blinked.
Even Jace looked confused.
"What?"
"A bus ride."
Noah leaned back.
"Why are you asking?"
"No reason."
"A terrible answer."
Liam folded his arms.
"Did you get kidn*pped?"
"What?"
"It's the only explanation."
Ethan regretted everything.
Immediately.
"Seriously," Noah continued, "why do you suddenly care about buses?"
"I don't."
"You clearly do."
"I don't."
"You brought it up."
Ethan opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Then gave up.
---
By lunch, he'd learned three things.
First, his friends were useless.
Second, public transport was apparently normal.
Third, Ava spent nearly two hours getting to school every day.
Two hours.
Every day.
The information came from complete accident.
Mostly.
---
He was passing a classroom when he overheard two students talking.
One of them mentioned living in the same area as Ava.
The conversation caught his attention.
Again.
Unfortunately.
"She leaves ridiculously early."
"I know."
"My cousin sees her at the bus stop all the time."
"Doesn't she live really far away?"
"Almost two hours."
Ethan stopped walking.
Two hours?
The students continued talking.
Completely unaware.
---
"Imagine doing that every day."
"I'd quit."
"Same."
"And then she stays after school for project meetings."
"I know."
The first student shook his head.
"I'd be exhausted."
Ethan walked away before hearing the rest.
But the number stayed with him.
Two hours.
Not once.
Not occasionally.
Every day.
---
That afternoon, the project meeting began as usual.
Ava arrived carrying her backpack and several folders.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing different.
Except now Ethan couldn't stop noticing things.
The way she always checked the time before leaving.
The way she packed up quickly.
The way she never stayed longer than necessary.
Things he'd ignored before suddenly made sense.
Halfway through the meeting, Ava yawned.
A small one.
But Ethan noticed.
Unfortunately.
---
"Tired?"
The question slipped out.
Ava looked up suspiciously.
"Why?"
"You yawned."
"So?"
"You seem tired."
Ava stared.
"You've asked me three questions in one minute."
"What?"
"It's weird."
"I was being polite."
"You?"
The disbelief was offensive.
A little.
Ethan rolled his eyes.
"Forget it."
"Gladly."
---
A few minutes later, Ava checked the time again.
Then immediately started packing.
"Leaving already?"
The words escaped before Ethan could stop them.
Again.
He was having a problem lately.
A serious one.
His mouth kept saying things.
Ava looked confused.
"It's getting late."
"So?"
Now she looked even more confused.
"I have to catch my bus."
The answer was simple.
Casual.
Normal.
Yet somehow it hit differently now.
Because Ethan finally understood what that actually meant.
---
Ava stood and grabbed her bag.
"See you tomorrow."
"Yeah."
Then she left.
Just like that.
The library suddenly felt quieter.
Strangely quieter.
Ethan stared at the empty chair across from him.
Thinking.
Again.
---
Two hours.
Every morning.
Two hours every afternoon.
Homework.
Assignments.
Project meetings.
Tests.
And somehow she still managed to compete with him.
Still managed to rank first.
Still managed to keep going.
The realization sat heavily in his mind.
Because for the first time, he found himself wondering how much harder Ava had to work for things he took for granted.
And no matter what he did afterward...
He couldn't stop thinking about it.
- Writer
