Sinking

anticipation

"What? Oh, yeah, sorry. I am." I'd zoned out on accident.

She nodded. "That's alright!" She leaned back against the bench, kicking a leg out into the air with what seemed to be boredom. I looked up when the bus finally pulled up in front of us. I jumped up before the girl beside me did, hurriedly getting onto the bus. I had nothing with me, but she had a messenger bag tangled up within the large blue coat she was wearing. The bus was empty except for the driver and a man sitting in the front, so I placed my two dollars in the basket and made my way to the back of the vehicle, lazily flopping onto the uncomfortable seat and fishing my phone from my pocket.

I had one text from Phil. You on the bus?

Just got on, I typed in response, I met one of the people going. A girl named Sophie.

Is she nice? The corners of my mouth lifted up as I sensed the slight concern for me behind the words.

Yes, I assured him, a bit too nice. I hope her art skills aren't as good as her socialization skills.

My attention was drawn away from my device as none other than Sophie sat in the seat across from mine. "To a long drive," She lifted one of her earbuds in my direction as if cheering me with a wine glass before pushing it into her ear and letting music blast into her head. I returned my eyes to the screen of my phone.

A new text from my boyfriend was at the top of my notifications. I'm going out for coffee with Louise. She wishes you luck!

Tell her thanks, I answered, I'm going to nap on the bus. I'll text you when I get there. Love you.

He responded, Love you too, with a heart emoji. I rolled my eyes with amusement and returned my phone to my pocket, shifting to lean my torso against the window and stare out at the buildings passing by. When my eyes began to unfocus, I shut them and fell asleep.

***

"Hey, Dan, wake up!" I was shook awake by a light touch, and my eyelids snapped open. I turned to find Sophie excitedly looking at me. "We're here!"

I sat up and looked out the window of which my head had been leaning on. Sure enough, our bus was parked right in front of a large building, of which I assumed was the school. I stood and followed Sophie, who was extremely more enlivened than I was. My feet met hard gravel, and she immediately hurried on, calling back to me with comments involving the word slowpoke. Instead of catching up, I allowed my eyes to roam around the area. It was an attractive town, and there were a lot of people walking around, which was a strange sight. The black streetlights were wrapped with flower vines and there were small stores and cafes lining the sidewalks. I turned back to the school, taking in every detail as we walked closer. It was big, one of the largest schools I'd ever seen, intimidating with it's small windows not proportionate to the mass size of everything else.

My opinion of the place changed completely, however, when we got inside.

From an outer perspective, you wouldn't be able to tell it was an art school unless you read the sign. Inside, it was as if there were scintillating, neon arrows pointing to the words "WE LIKE ART!" because the walls were all murals, and any rare clear section of the walls included paintings and drawings done most likely by students. There were dozens of people walking in the bright hall, but they were quiet, creating a dramatic sound of emptiness interrupted by occasional footsteps or coughs. There were plants everywhere; it looked like what I could label as Phil's dream home because of how many potted trees and indoor garden flowers sat on tables throughout the space of the halls and rooms.

Sophie and I weren't late, but we were later than what most professional people would call an appropriate time to arrive at a meeting. I ignored the anxiety bubbling in my core, simply following my companion because by now the details I'd studied on those stacks of papers for hours left my mind completely. I trusted her to get us to the right room; she was bold but I could tell she was organized. At least, more organized than me.