Nick pulled the Greyhound bus out of the bus station and took a quick look in his mirror at the remaining passengers. There were only two of them, a young girl and boy, probably about 20 years old, hiding in the back of the bus. Nick made a mental note to keep an eye on these two, after 3 AM youths seemed to think no one was watching them, and that was how most vandalism started.
He only had two more hours to go, just the rest of the drive to Portland, and then he would be able to get some sleep. It had been a long ride today, all the way from northern California, and Nick was definitely ready for his weekend. He took a deep breath and headed for the highway.
The road was relatively deserted so early on a weekday morning, and Nick felt glad that he could sit back and let cruise control do most of the work. This was the express bus so there would be no more stops until Portland and he didn't have to worry about taking on any more passengers. This trip was usually an interesting one, but didn't show any promise at the moment due to the lack of traffic. At his side he kept a bag of chips, and he reached for some now, swallowing them and taking a gulp of his water.
The monotony of the job was not something he liked, but it paid well and gave him a chance to see new places. He had been working for Greyhound for almost fifteen years now, and had developed a little bit of a belly from the inactivity involved. Relaxed and sure of the bus' ability to get him safely to his destination, he checked his passenger-view mirror.
A good way to pass the time, and interesting too, was Nicks habit of People Watching. He would sit back in his seat, eyes mostly on the road, but looking from time to time at his passengers. He had seen children playing, fighting, and crying. He had seen women applying makeup, reading, sleeping, and men doing mostly the same. He had good ears, and could sometimes make out conversation between couples, which was the most amusing. One time two of his passengers had been talking about a drug deal they had planned to do, and Nick had felt pleasure calling the description of the men and the location he had dropped them. It gave him a great sense of power, his sight over the passengers. On this bus he was God, omniscient, all-powerful.
The couple sitting in the backseat was at this moment talking softly to each other. The boy whispered something into his girlfriend's ear, and she laughed loudly, shaking her head in the negative. Nick flicked his eyes towards the road, and seeing only straight deserted pavement, looked back in to the mirror.
The boy was whispering again, and the girl was listening intently, giggling occasionally. Nick could not make out the whispers, but the giggles filled his ears.
She was attractive, the girl. She was the kind of girl that Nick liked to fantasize about. He supposed the boy wasn't too bad to look at either, but that really wasn't his thing.
The boy reached up and stroked the girls black hair, smoothing the short strands away from her face and lingering on the back of her neck. She turned towards him and moved her mouth towards his lips. They kissed deeply, his mouth seeming to devour hers, opening his jaw and Nick imagined putting his tongue quite far inside there.
The girl's moan could be heard all the way to the front of the empty bus, and she broke the kiss quickly, shooting a look up towards Nick.
Nick quickly looked away, back towards the bus, and waited a few minutes before turning back to the passengers.
