Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. I am only borrowing the characters to write my plot.
The train pulled away not too long ago from the train station. The petite form of a young girl hunched over while trying to gasp for breath. She muttered swears while realizing the gravity of the situation. It was 1:50pm and she had to pick up her little sister from school at 2:50pm. She was running late!
To distract her panicked thoughts, she ran through her contact list on her cell phone before placing it in her bag. Her jaw chomped furiously on the gum she was chewing to release some of her frustration for her lack of responsibility. When would she grow up? Only the heavens knew this answer.
Looking out at her neighborhood, her gaze was fixed on the outline of houses. In the background, a silver tank caught her eye for she never noticed it before. She squinted and stepped forward to the rail. Her attention was so attuned to her new discovery that she never noticed a stranger watching her from the distance. Then, the screechy noise from her local train obscured her vision as it pulled into the train station to drop passengers off at the last stop. Only then, did she turn her head to her left to notice a group of school kids glancing at her.
Shaking her head at the wildness of the teens, she walked through the open doors of her local train and sat in an empty seat facing the window while absent-mindly chewing her gum. This was her normal vendetta every time she walked into the train. However, something went out of tune. The moment she took her seat, she noticed not too far from her, the students whom were glancing at her were observing her. Then, he came.
A stranger sat next her and then the doors of the train closed.
Disturbed by closeness of the stranger as he sat next to her, she uncomfortably shifted her position on her seat, therefore her undivided attention would focus on the houses and trees moving outside. But for some reason he would not leave her alone. Her every simple movement seem to catch his eye, she could practically feel his breath on her skin. Then, a cell phone rang.
She was known as “Kaoru” whom had a problem for keeping her cell phone off the vibrator mode. So, she knew the cell phone that rung was not her phone, but the stranger’s cell phone. When he made a move to answer it, she smugly smiled while turning her attention outside. Her guard was let down as she conjured the image of him talking to whoever the person was at the other end. She absent-mindly went back to chewing her gum. But the dream did not last.
“What’s your name?” a voice asked breaking her from her reverie. Turning to his direction, she found him too close for comfort. His knee touched her knee. His hand nudged her thigh as he iterated his question.
“None of your business,” she replied smoothly, shifting a little away from him in her seat and turning her direction to the window. Yet again, she made a grave mistake for he kept nudging her thigh. His body was moving closer to hers until she smelled the faint scent of beaten leather. Ignoring him got her nowhere.
“How old are you? Do you still live with your parents?” he continued to question her.
“Look, I am not interested,” she said a little more loudly, capturing attention of the people around them. It wasn’t as if she had their attention in the first place. Out of everyone on the train, they were the only ones who almost sat on top of one another. And an image of him on top of her caused her to shiver from fear.
“You look like you're twenty. And you look pretty when you smile. You should smile more often.” His soft-spoken voice was close to the shell of her ear. Her cheeks turned red. She could have sworn smoke was flying from her ears. Apparently he mistook the snarl forming on her lips as a smile.
“You look prettier blushing like that.” That was it. She was completely angry. Her body became rigid on her seat as she felt him closing in on her personal space. Looking at the train window, she noticed the train was no longer on the bridge. It reached underground and was located at the second stop of Brooklyn. She had to get out; she had to leave before the situation got worse. But, what about her baby sister? She was already late to pick up her up.
“What’s your name?”
“None of your business,” she replied a little icy. He just laughed while he stretched his long limbs in his seat. His dark eyes scanned her form and returned to her face to display a quick glint. Nonetheless, she saw that glint and did not like the intention behind it.
The train reached the third stop of Brooklyn. With quick determination, she gathered her belongings and walked out the train. The last thing she heard from the stranger was, “Have a wonderful day, gorgeous.” That remark seemed to make her blood boil and her heart raced with panic to flee.
And to make the scene worse, she found the other train was delayed, making her run extremely late to pick her baby sister up from school. She walked up the stairs to the exit as she watched with defeat her train depart. She took out her cell phone and tried to reach her father. Apparently being underground hindered a good signal so she could not call her father to warn him of her going-to-be late arrival. Then, downstairs she went to wait for a next train, hoping that her explanation would clear her from the peril of not being there to pick up her little sister at 3pm from school.
All the while waiting for her train, she made sure to observe her surroundings.
(The End).
