Close Encounters of the Bus Kind

[8]

“Good morning…umm h-h-how did you sleep? I hope it was good. I prepared some breakfast with Miss Wray’s help.”

It was disconcerting for Erin to wake up and see everything with focused clarity compared to the familiar blur that usually greeted her in the morning. Her eyes opened first and scanned the room with quiet awe. About a minute later, Nadia leaned around the corner and determined that she was awake.

Despite the refreshed perfection of their teen forms, Erin felt like her mouth was tangled with the consumption of a dozen hairs embedded in the dry skin around her lips. She shielded her mouth from sight as she did her best to extract enough of that mess to breathe. Nadia looked absolutely flawless as she patiently stood waiting for Erin‘s response.

Familiar patches of grit needed to be cleared from her eyes and the job of breathing without eating so much hair is still undone, but Erin managed to greet her girlfriend, “Good morning. It was fine. I had a lousy dream, but it ended well. Breakfast sounds nice. I’ll be up in just a minute.”

Nadia wore silvery sweatpants along with a snug, collared purple top. She fussed with it and appeared overly conscious that Erin was looking at her. Quietly, Erin added, “You look nice.”

Launching through a verbal sprint, Nadia rapidly thanked her and then rushed headlong into an explanation about how she woke up early and felt more positively energized than she had in ages. On her hands, she counted off the details of the morning, which included a morning shower along with tidying up, helping Miss Wray with the vehicles, and unboxing a bunch of things tucked in the corners.

Nadia focused special attention on her account of the cars, swiftly apologizing for moving Erin‘s vehicle with just the permission of her mom. Although, she deduced that whatever had shifted reality to put a nicer version of her mother here rather than Florida, had turned that vehicle into a spare. Erin resisted the urge to groan.

When she saw how old Nadia seemed to be from her social media, Erin deduced that she was probably close in age as well. Around fourteen or fifteen. Was there even anyone on the volleyball team that young? Elsa joined the team when she was fourteen, but that was a while ago. Tatiana was also right at the cusp of eligibility. Erin wasn’t going to lament the fact that she was now so young and so dependent on adults. But she would be suitably comfortable with being just a little bit older.

Technically, with her memories and life experience, she was the same age as yesterday. Even if those creatures or aliens or whatever popped her brain out and tucked her in a new body, a horrifying possibility as she imagined the aliens chucking her original body out with the trash.

But assuming they had just turned back the clock with some sort of age regression ray or advanced medical science, everything about her was still technically over thirty years old. Wasn’t there some medical case out there where an older woman didn’t go through puberty because of some sort of tumor on her pituitary gland and still appeared young or some teenager who still looked like a baby?

If they’d actually returned them to their original reality then… Well, this was where Erin‘s morning brain broke down. She initially floated the thought that they could somehow explain away the changes as being extreme surgery or a spontaneous medical condition. Hopefully enough to avoid being probed and scrutinized by the authorities.

But why was her car parked exactly where she left it? If this was an altered or different reality then why wasn’t her Honda, her crappy old car, just put away in the garage as a spare, to begin with? Why wasn’t her mother present to pick her up instead, if this was the way of things?

Only one possibility occurred to her as making sense: Reality and this world were correcting and shifting as things went along. It was an unsettling notion, but one she couldn’t find an alternative to. She wasn’t going to rudely dump this thought on Nadia‘s joyful countenance. Not until it was more than an alarming theory.

She celebrated Nadia‘s active and accomplished morning with the same earnest tone reserved for positively reinforcing her girls. Sitting up on the edge of the bed and making herself a minimum amount of presentable, Erin watched as Nadia slipped over to her side.

Carefully, Nadia leaned close to her and parted her lips. Erin took the hint and leaned into the kiss. Her own face felt more like a slime monster slobbering and slathering her goo all over this pristine beauty, but Nadia didn’t flinch. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Erin‘s shoulders and clung to her ravenously.

The fervent sentiment surprised Erin. She was just a normal girl who evolved into a thoroughly normal woman. On the best of days, someone might compliment her hair. On the worst, an attractive coworker would rush through a conversation, while barely looking at her, and leave her wondering how far she was from being a lonesome cat lady. That Paul and now Nadia possessed and fostered such a wellspring of excitement for someone like her across the decades went beyond mere flattery, to warming a space deep in her soul. She traced her hands around Nadia affectionately.

At the end of that round, came another followed by another until they eased back while still clinging close. Nadia effused with a smile that refused to dip lower than a cheesy grin. She rambled with giddy celebration about how Erin looked like an absolute sleeping beauty when Nadia woke up and she had to resist the temptation to give her a peck then. Erin felt skeptical that her snoozing actually appeared any better than a crude, angry pig creature slobbering on the pillow but let the girl have her sweet fantasy.

Washing up and touching up in the sink helped with restoring Erin to what she considered a human state. The light through the windows seemed suspiciously subdued and diffuse. She squeezed a quick breath in her chest before checking the state of the world.

Fog still lingered, but as playful cotton scattered around. The blank, bright skies burned at her eyes as she closed the curtain. Breakfast was presented at the kitchen table with precisely laid napkins and fresh silverware. Erin noticed that orange juice and carrot juice were set out in plastic cups with the original bottles beside for refills. The plate included eggs and avocado slathered over whole-grain toast with what looked like lean sausage and a colorful medley of fruit.

Usually, Erin just nuked a bowl of oatmeal in the microwave and occasionally fried an egg if she was extra hungry. She also had a variety of granola bars if she was feeling lazy. This looked like the perfect Saturday spread. Nadia even went so far as to pull out and push in the chair for her. God, she felt like such a slob compared to her perfect girlfriend.

Sharon lingered in the kitchen, nursing a tall cup of coffee and rinsing some plates. She sent over with a sly smile and pointed out her favorite aspects of this “adorable” scene. Her old mother would’ve needled and embarrassed her about how late she slept in along with not helping out and leaving everything for everyone else. This one just celebrated what an excellent cook Nadia was and how cute they looked together. Channeling her reborn teenager spirit, Erin still rolled her eyes.

The food surpassed the quality of last night’s steakhouse. It surpassed even the last several birthday dinners in her memory and that wasn’t hyperbole. The egg alone compared favorably to her lamp-smashing orgasm. It was perfectly done and whatever liquid center settled across the plate soon solidified into crystallized gold. She almost didn’t want to finish it, because then it would be over. Not to abuse her refreshed form, but she secretly wished the entire plate was covered in those eggs.

Nadia ate so daintily, which didn’t look uncomfortable or forced, that it encouraged Erin to do her best not to assault her plate. She just about wiped it clean at the end. Sharon popped over to take their dishes when they were done, even though it looked like Nadia was braced to take care of it herself. She heaped so many notes of appreciation on her “host”. Sharon fanned a hand and reassured her that just seeing the two of them happy was enough.

After the meal, Erin‘s muscle memory was primed to grab her morning pills and vitamins. Now, there were only vitamins. When had those been switched out? Erin couldn’t recall any differences when she roamed around the kitchen last night. Nothing stuck out. This morning, she saw there were more plants along the sink and several boxes in the spare room rearranged along the wall.

The lower, rumpus room near the utilities still had all these scattered sports equipment from her previous life. But that could be explained away as the accouterments of a teen athlete. She kept all her professional papers and degrees stashed in folders and plastic in the closet, so those would’ve been impossible to find anyway, let alone in this shaping of reality.

A thought suddenly struck Erin: What about Paul’s car? Would it still be in that parking lot? Not that she was in any way anxious to return to that creepy place, but at least seeing it in the daytime would be more manageable. Sharon would have to drive them though, so that meant that Erin would have to come up with a plausible reason to go back there. Maybe she or Nadia dropped something when getting off the bus? The prospect of straight-up lying to a better version of her mother didn’t sit well with her but revealing the whole truth wasn’t possible.

Ultimately, it worked out that Nadia needed a lift to her house, she told Miss Wray, because of her later piano practice. Erin immediately chimed in that she wanted to come along, but Sharon expected that. Working in the additional stop didn’t take too much effort because the parking lot would be on the way to the Baris house. As far as an explanation, Erin sincerely expressed that she just wanted to check on something from last night that she wasn’t sure about. Her mom was the one who assumed that the girls dropped something, and she didn’t correct her.

Erin also didn’t volunteer any explanations about how they managed to get home from the parking lot if she couldn’t drive now. However reality decided to deal with that, so long as it didn’t try to mess with her too much, was fine with her.

Nadia seized upon a moment when they were alone to inquire about why Erin wanted to return to the parking lot so much. With her hands on her hips, she prodded herself to just come out and say it.

“Last night, I mentioned the idea that we might be in a different world, timeline, reality, or whatever someone might call it. But stuff existed when we returned that would only work if we were still who we were. Like your car and your clothes in the trunk and everything. But now, you have a different family, and my car is no longer my car, so I’m thinking things are changing and we can prove it by seeing if your car is gone."

That idea actually wasn’t too far from Nadia’s own idle speculations since she got up but hearing it from Erin strengthened her confidence. She also pouted though and remarked, “But I liked that car. It wasn’t really anything special by now, but I was comfortable with it. So, if I’m fourteen then that means I still have like around at least a year until I can get a learner’s permit.”

Her heart, devoted to ferrying people around, gave a melancholy throb. All Erin could really do to comfort her was squeeze her hand and speculate about whether she might be able to get a special license considering her experience and Erin’s vague notions of child phenoms throughout the years who were experienced in planes and boats. Even though Nadia understood, from state laws, that was highly unlikely, she still smiled with Erin‘s encouragement.

They sat together in the backseat of Sharon’s car as Erin did her darndest not to look out the window or focus on the lingering puffy curls of fog hanging around. Gaps appeared in the cloud layer with portals of blue peeking through, but the haze still blotted out everything more than a block away. She didn’t need to know about any eldritch abominations stomping around in the stratosphere, let alone what that phrase meant beyond something ominous and sci-fi that Gina blurted out during the infamous team camping trip in the Adirondacks. She was perfectly fine sticking to her tent while the circle of her charges terrified themselves into sleeplessness with spooky stories.

With how things were changing, would the team even remember that she was the coach? Was she old enough to be an official player? Red Rock didn’t do the whole varsity or junior varsity thing of most but theirs was the school team. If things had been thoroughly rewritten, then where would it place her? Back in the medical program that kindled so many nervous feelings for her and Paul?

She couldn’t do blood drawing again. In fact, she had the sneaking suspicion that old awkward lumps in her hand and little pricks of arthritic pain, both thankfully cast aside, were the fault of stab-happy classmates. None of the people she used to know would be there. The idea of being in the same classes as the girls she taught stretched her ambivalently. She could understand them better in Freaky Friday fashion, although she anticipated she would be just as uncool the second time around as the first. At the same time, she’d done this. She could do it differently, but she also survived it well enough. She didn’t anticipate the 2020s version of being a teenager would be any easier than the 2000s one.

But that was a matter for Monday. She had today and tomorrow to be a shortsighted kid. Unless some nefarious homework had suddenly manifested in her life, and she didn’t know about it. No no no no no…worries she could do something about first.

Her attention remained focused inward and on the soft and friendly presence at her side. If any new or familiar monstrosities decided to roar outside her window, she didn’t hear or notice them. The parking lot was filled with far more cars than last evening and the section by the solar array was especially packed. Directing Sharon where to go, she relied on Nadia and her memories of where she parked.

Expected, but Paul’s cozy, modest car was not in the spot they left it. Confirmed, reality was adjusting to the fact that they were now teenagers. Or, it occurred to Erin’s cruel brain, some creatures or authorities were fixing things to make sure they didn’t stand out. Somebody, probably the government, was already covering up their encounter by saying it was a plane crash with noxious fumes. Nadia sighed at the absence of her vehicle and covered for Erin that the lovely little keychain she bought her didn’t seem to be here. Erin admired her same wavelength but disliked the fact that she needed to fib.

Sharon reassured her that they would find something really cute to replace it as she made her way back onto the main road.

The Baris house was deep in a winding spiral of surprise cul-de-sacs and twisting turns. It was two stories and practically looked like three from its looming swath. Nadia took a deep breath and squeezed her hands together on her lap. Her home, or the closest thing to it now. The family she never met, and seven siblings contained within. She totally wasn’t ready.

Softly, Erin tapped shoulders and smiled warmly at her. She didn’t want the girl who first filled her heart with love to go away, she didn’t wanna leave her because she desperately feared that this fluid reality would take her away next. But she had to go and she didn’t want her girlfriend to be afraid in her absence.

Screwing up all the determination she could hold within her tiny body, she used her nervous hands to wrap around as much of Erin as she could hold and kissed her firmly on the cheek before locking lips for a quick, confident kiss. It didn’t matter that Miss Wray was watching.

With a deep breath, she clearly declared, “I’ll see you soon and call you lots!”

[I have a question at the end of the chapter again to help with suggestions for where the story should go. I'm actually not that far ahead this time and I am wide open for possibilities for this particular story. Feel free to add an idea which doesn't show up in the options. Also, if you see any random typos or uncapitalized starts of sentences, please pass them along. I have to cut down on my editing due to release speed and my programs don't seem to be catching lowercase sentences. Thank you for reading!]

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