Ellen looked out over the street. Somehow it was darker and more uninviting than previous nights. It made a shiver run down her spine. She shook the silly thought off. She shouldn't be working this late, that was all. Mr. Harris shouldn't be making her work late. Somehow the man seemed to have it in for her. Now she had to find a bus at this hour, and then it would still take her an hour to get home. Ellen sighed. It would be late by the time she got home. There would be little left to do but get in bed because early in the morning she'd have to get the bus back to work. It was cold, making her glad she was wearing jeans.
At twenty-seven, Ellen was prettier than she realized. She had a slim figure, full breasts that no longer supported themselves, and thick, blond hair that needed a lot of fighting each morning to get it down. The office job wasn't what she really wanted, but with the economy and all, a girl couldn't afford to be picky. So when her boss told her the work that needed to be done before tomorrow, she didn't argue.
A big shadow passed her by. Only when she saw the red rear lights, did Ellen realize she had been overtaken by her bus. The red lights flashed as the bus pulled over at the bus stop. Ellen gauged the distance. It was at least a hundred meters. There was no way the bus would wait long enough for her to reach the bus stop. Ellen started to run. Her high heels, that worked well for her at the office, made her wiggle and slow her down. Even as she ran, Ellen had that awful gut feeling, telling her there was no way she would make it in time.
"Dont," she yelled at the bus. "Hold."
the bus didn't move. For a moment Ellen thought she would still make it. She pressed every last bit of energy out of herself to speed up and make it.
The bus closed its doors and pulled away.
Ellen slowly came to a stop and watched the lights disappear in the distance. "Fuck me," she exclaimed. Suddenly she was aghast at what she had just said, and she quickly looked around to see if someone had heard her. The street was still empty, and mostly dark except for the light of the bus stop.
Ellen cursed herself. If only she hadn't dallied with getting her coat on. If only she had walked a bit faster along the way. If only she hadn't bothered to clean up the sink before she left. If only, if only.
"Well, no matter," she told herself. "I'll just get the next one." she checked the bus's roster. The next one would come in an hour. Ellen told herself that wasn't too bad.
She looked around. But what to do in the mean time? She didn't feel like just waiting at the bus stop all the time. She knew there was a bar close by. Perhaps it was open?
She walked around the corner. A comforting light shone brightly. Ellen increased her pace. The bar was small. The interior was mostly dark wood, creating dark corners everywhere. But it was warm and that was the most important, as far as Ellen was concerned.
She ordered a coffee. A man sat sullenly in the bar, eyeing her openly. Ellen half turned her back at him, hoping that would be message enough. She took her coffee to an empty booth, got on her phone and selected Robin. "Missed bus. W b later."
Ellen kept watching her phone for the reply. It took a long time to arrive. "No problem."
Ellen thought the response was a bit vague. Somehow she had expected more from her boyfriend. "W y wait up?"
Again the response took several minutes. "Sure."
Ellen was bugged by the lackluster response. But what was she to do?
A man got out a door at the end of the bar. He slowly walked by Ellen. His gaze went from her high heels to all the way up. Ellen quickly looked out of the window to avoid their eyes meeting. What was it with the place, she wondered. Was it pickup night or something? She sipped her coffee and played with her phone. The man who had walked by her, left the bar, arm in arm with a woman with a rain coat with the hood over her head. She kept her head down, making it difficult for anyone to see her face.
Definitely pickup night, Ellen grumbled to herself. She continued playing with her phone.
She walked out of the bar. Outside, her eyes met with a woman sitting inside the bar, in one of the booths. She sat by herself, staring inquisitively at Ellen. Ellen deliberately looked away. Most definitely pickup night, she decided.
She crossed the corner and saw the bus stop somewhat comfortingly empty. At least the bus wasn't driving off without her again, she thought.
Something stepped outside the shadows, blocking her way. Ellen, afraid she was getting mugged, instantly winched.
"What's up, honey?" A female voice asked.
Ellen relaxed. If it was a woman, she wouldn't get mugged. Although it was a bit disconcerting what the woman wanted from her.
"Yeah," another female voice asked mockingly from behind her. "What you doin', all alone at night?"
Ellen turned half, so she could keep an eye on both women. The whole thing, although weird, didn't really frighten her. Both women were no bigger than her, and certainly didn't seem stronger, or particularly threatening. They were slim, pretty, and certainly made up to be pretty. They were heavy on the bright-red lipstick and dark eyeshade. Ellen wondered what was going on. The whole thing seemed more of a farce, than a mugging.
"I'm catching my bus," she said. Her voice, she noticed, wasn't as steady as she would like it to be.
"Sure," the first woman scoffed.
Ellen turned to her to say something fitting and nasty, then the other woman grabbed her from behind. Ellen struggled to get loose. The first woman jumped at her. The attack was without aim, all the woman did was cling to Ellen's coat. But the weight of both women was enough to bring her down.
