Alone on the top deck of the bus, so it was a surprise when the phone rang. He guessed it to be coming from a few seats back. He wandered down out of curiosity, found it three rows across on the left. A battered looking thing tucked into the seat beneath window. It had stopped ringing, so he placed it in his pocket to give to the driver. ‘Bummer for someone,’ he thought.
Just as he sat down it rang again.
He answered hesitantly. ‘Yeah.’
‘Are you on the bus?’ A woman’s voice, pleasant but nervous.
‘Yeah.’
‘Oh good, it must have fallen out of my bag before I got off.’ She paused. ‘I’m at a payphone.’
Deep breath. ‘Listen traffic is bad, the bus couldn’t have gone far. Could you get off and walk back to me, I really need it. I can make it worth your while.’ He wanted to get home. Feed his goldfish. Frozen pizza. Beer in front of the tv. She sounded nice though. Maybe. ‘I’m supposed to meet this guy, his number’s in the phone and I’m running late.’
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I’m in a rush.’
He switched it off.
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cruel