Someone Else's Story

She hated to admit she was so out of shape, but two minutes after almost missing the bus her heart was still racing and she was still gasping for breath. She was still struggling to keep her breathing quiet so that people would stop giving her looks and pulling their children out of her line of sight. "Come away from the strange lady, my Dears. She is obviously sick and probably dying and whatever it is we don't want you to catch it or for her to inject you with it."

Linds hated the bus. She hated it so much. But at the moment it was the only way she could get to work, since her car died weeks ago. Besides, the bus was so much less expensive than parking every day.

People crowded in. Linds actually had a seat, which was miraculous considering the quarter mile dash she had made just to catch the damn bus. She had spilled coffee all over her skirt and had to pull pants out of the hamper at the last minute. She hadn't had breakfast. She hoped they'd be having one of those business meetings this morning so she could sneak a muffin while reception looked the other way. And maybe a coffee. She hadn't even finished her coffee.

Some man's jean-clad ass was staring her right in the face. Someone coughed a hacking, mucous-filled cough. It smelled like wet dog.

Linds looked down and pretended to brushe lint off her pants. Her black... soft pants... wait. These weren't her pants. They LOOKED like her pants, but they weren't her pants. They were too new. And too soft. Linds had black pants that were almost blue and felt stiff. She did have pants that felt like this, but they were brown cords. Not black slacks. So... "Oh, crap. I took Jill's pants!" she thought.

How did she take Jill's pants? How had they eneded up in her hamper? Had her roomate been dressing and undressing in her room? Had she been going through Linds's things? Why? Jill had much better taste and much better clothes! Oh, well, too late now.

Linds stood up as the bus turned the corner and started pushing her way to the door. "Excuse me," she mumbled, actually having to elbow one young teenage guy out of the way, his IPod blasting music so loud the whole bus could have sugn along... if it had been that type of music. She lobbed a "Thanks!" at the bus driver as she got off, and the heavy woman threw a " Good Day Now" back at her.

Linds glanced at her watch as she started the walk towards the small office park, trying to avoid the slush, trying not to get anything on Jill's pants, hoping Jill wouldn't be angry she had borrowed them accidentally.

"Excuse me, Miss? Excuse me!" Linds had kept walking, not even assuming the shout out was for her. How long had it been since anyone but a very old man had called her "Miss?" But the thump of boots on pavement closing in on her turned her head. A young guy, twenty-something, held out his hand. "You dropped this, I think, when you got off the bus." A hat. A cute hat. A soft red hat embroidered with black and yellow flowers. Not hers. Jill's. Her roomate's. Again.

"Thanks!" she said, reaching out for it. "I didn't even know I had it. It must have been in my jacket pocket..." she looked down, and saw that she was wearing Jill's jacket, the shiny black parka she liked so much. What was going on! Jill was going to kill her! She looked up at the guy, who was still standing there, smiling at her. How long had it been? Since someone smiled at her like that? "Not a problem," he said, grinning. "Can I get you a coffee? You look like you might need one."

It was going to be a strange day.