I remember seeing her for the first time
I was sat on the bus- my car was in the shop
We were at a stop
I was alone, in clothes that probably looked a bit plain
Music playing in my head
My fingers tapping
She walked in
yellow hat
White shoes
Jean jacket
A dull green pair of jeans
From across the room it was almost obvious she spent her days in a coffee shop
She probably smelled of vanilla
And only spoke when she had something to say
But it seemed she was only that girl for that day
Because seventeen days later, there she was,
Pig tails
Not sitting, her hand on the rail running along the ceiling
She looked artsy, with her painted finger nails
Pink overalls
White shirt
Blue cap
Covered in splashes of what looked to be paint
But the ride came and went, as did her stop
And we let the day slip away as strangers do
Without one another
Two weeks later
baggy jeans, and a sweatshirt with a coffee stain on the left sleeve
Early Wednesday morning she's got her hair in a bun
She looks scared, like she's on the run
Wearing all black except for a grey cap
I tried to ignore it at first
And I excused my use of the bus as a way to reduce pollution and save money
Even though my car was fixed
I asked her name
She smiled and replied Quin
But Monday came
And when I called out her name
She didn't turn her head
By Thursday I sat down confused
In the back of the bus
Head down, wearing a frown
Hit my stop and shrugged on my pack
"I think you forgot these."
And I whirled around
White shoes
Colorful socks
Jeans
And a jacket covered in patches
I muttered a thanks, and she smiled, and for some reason she asked my name
I'm Kae
Nice to meet you Kae, I'm Sarah
and I left wondering
Where Quin started and Sarah ended
Maybe they were twins
But I looked forward to the bus all week
This time she was wearing something chic
Hair curled
Pumps on
I think that's when it started to dawn
So I complimented her dress
And she thanked me
Laughed and smiled
She talked different
Walked different
cigarettes spilling out from her bag
So Tuesday came late at night
And this time I was prepared and asked for a light
As we waited for the bus
She replied sorry, I don't smoke
And so we remained silent, standing like strangers
I was utterly confused and dismayed
Friday rolled around and she called herself heather
Wore corduroy jeans and a shirt that said something about global warming or the weather
Skateboard in hand, black hat on her head
So I asked for her number
Said it was for this guy I called my brother
But I got no response to the dinner date sometime this week
This is when things got hazy
Because Sunday afternoon
I was heading somewhere,
headphones in
playing some tune
And suddenly her name was Sarah again
She was wearing jeans
Striped shirt
Her hands covered in rings
She said I was cute
Or something like that
Laughed, a smile sewn on her lips
We talked a while
Mile after mile
We got out at the same stop
Strange, because her stop was the one before mine
We reached the crosswalk
And I kindly smiled
The smile you give to strangers in halls
It was nice talking to you, Sarah, and I held out my hand
But she brushed it aside saying something about being a hugger
Pulling me so tight and close
And she left, and I turned to do the same, slipping my hands in the pockets of my jacket
But there was something in the left
Something thin- and smooth
I pulled it out to find a piece of paper
Sarah and her number scrawled on the lines
I was beaming
I walked home warm in the cold
But Monday surprised me
Because on Monday she was no longer Sarah
But wore leather, and held a cigarette to her lips
She didn't laugh
Didn't smile
But by Thursday I'd realized
She wore personalities, almost like we wore outfits
We practice what we're going to say in the mirror
She forgets who's staring back in the mirror
Wearing a new combo each day
With a new name
It was her game
The only thing constant was her inconsistency
I texted Sarah
And Sarah replied
Sunday
Sunday was the day I joined her game
But I always wore the same name
And I realised i was looking through rose tinted glasses
Because I didn't like this game
I liked Sarah
A girl that decorated her clothes
Dressed with anything she could happily wiggle her toes
Lived life as if she had one breath
But that was only once a week
Sarah met my parents
But my parents never met Sarah
Because Sarah was six other people all at once
I grew frustrated trying to explain the seven personalities she became every week
And I asked to meet her parents
But they conveniently lived elsewhere
In a land far away
I showed her pictures of Quin, Mae and other other people she pretended to be day by day
She denied every word
Said she wasn't a smoker and swore up and down she'd never call herself anything but what she was
s a r a h
Well, I'll tell you
Sarah smelled like the coffee shop she worked at
Read books
invented fashion
Wore things people wouldn't even begin to wear until 2047
She was so Sarah
So herself
That it was hard to believe
But when I asked her to stay with me on Wednesday which happened to be Christmas eve
I knew how well I'd been deceived.
So we parted ways
I questioned how it all worked
Wished I understood her quirk
Wished it were all a dream and Sarah would wake me up on any day other than Sunday
I drove my car to work
And I avoided going out on Sunday
And I questioned if I were crazy
And eventually I think if I hadn't already been, I'd definitely drove my self to that point
Because I decided to ask the others out
I asked Mae, Jane, quin, Hannah, and the two others for numbers, dates
Asked questions about potential lovers, maybe even said something about our fates
time passed
And I had a girlfriend for every day aside from sunday
I texted without a returned response
I stopped into the coffee shop and waited hour after hour
One evening I was with Jane- who I only met with on Saturday
And I offered to drive her home but she said she'd rather stay
And when morning came
I was met with a note on the dresser
I've missed you
-Sarah
I don't know what that was either.
The pick-up line with the hug and note though?! I actually wanna try it hahaha. I don't think I've heard of anybody doing that before- have you?