Ten mintues later they were gathering their things to get off the bus. She knew that this was what she had wanted, but now she wasn’t sure it was right.It was so impulsive. And being impulsive had place.Sure she might have fun along the way, but then there’d be a mess-up…or worse…and it would all fall to pieces, and leave her alone, picking up the shards and putting tiny bandages over gigantic wounds. Wounds that took a long time to heal. Or never did.

Shaking her head to shoo away the unwanted thoughts, she pulled her bag from under her seat and got up. It was really time, now. Time to live by her wits.

She followed Chris off the bus and was immediately assaulted by a weird mix of sights, sounds, and smells. She could almost feel her brain going into overload as all the tiny nerve pathways lit up at once, making her brain glow like a neon sign.

“You sure you’re ok?” he asked, looking over at her, with a little concern and a lot of amusement.

And she wondered the same thing herself.