2003-09-24 - 1:39 a.m.

at a bus-stop outside college grounds, day. a bunch of girls are seated at one end of the bus-stop, chatting noisily about nothing in particular. a boy steps into the shade of the bus-stop over at the other end. despite the availability of empty seats, he does not sit but instead leans back against the railing, eyes looking straight ahead at nothing in particular. at this point in time, the girls have exhausted all topics and there is silence all round; then:-

girl1: (quietly) who's that guy over there?

girl2: (shrugs) who knows?

girl3: (rolling eyes) who cares!

gilr4: i've seen him in my literature class. hes the guy that never speaks.

girl2: oh, that guy! they say that he's got gold inside his mouth, that's why he wouldn't speak; 'cuz he's afraid he'd drop and lose the gold inside the instant he opens it.

they burst into laughter. girl1 had laughed the loudest. they glance over at his direction to see if he has noticed--if he did, he does not show it. a bus arrives and he moves forward to flag it down. girl1 stands up and shoulders her haversack.

girl1: ah well, see y'all tomorrow.

girl3: hey! i thought you were going to the movie with us.

girl1: i can't--i just remembered i've got something on tonight.

girl3: (rolling eyes) bye.

they exchange goodbye waves and girl1 hastily boards the bus--just in time to see the boy settle down in a seat at the middle, near the door. the bus is nearly empty, she walks slowly down the length of it then takes the empty space beside him. he turns his head to look at her. she seems startled at this but immediately recovers, showing just a hint of a smile as she looks smugly back at him. he says nothing still, the question is in his eyes. then, because she could bear it no longer:-

girl1: i heard you got gold inside your mouth. (giggles) i wanna know if that is true.

he does not reply. she leans forward. he does not pull back. they join lips. at length, she withdraws and passes a hand over her mouth; her eyes giving birth to a question she does not utter.

boy: now you've tasted, now you know...under this lid of coolness lies a mixture of seething panic and a dash of fear. do you find it bitter, as i sometimes do?

she is wordless. a bell sounds, the bus stops. he stands up and gets down the bus.

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