//------------------------------// // Running Late // Story: Bass and Double Bass // by Solent Spray //------------------------------// Today was not a good day decided Octavia as she all but ran towards the Canterlot bus depot found outside Canterlot station. She had been late getting on board the train from Pointville to Canterlot, then the train itself was late getting into Canterlot station; something about the train from Winnipeg having priority on the tracks over her train. Octavia snorted; priority my left foot just because those stuck up idiots who had more money than common sense couldn't be bothered to wait a couple extra minutes.... But Octavia had to stop herself from getting worked up over strangers, even though those strangers were complete and utter morons but whatever, she refused to get worked up over the issue. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she ran up to the bus counter. Well, tried to run; in her defense she was lugging quite a heavy double bass strapped to her back. (Don't ask how she got on or off the train.) Octavia looked back at the massive clockface behind her on the top of Canterlot station, 10:28 it read. Oh, thank goodness she thought Even with all the delays, I'm still 10 minutes early for the bus to the Culture Square Octavia slowed her jogging pace down to a walk as she approached the counter for bus tickets. After a couple of minutes Octavia had her ticket for her bus and was walking towards the respective bus stop, mentally going over a check list Double Bass, Check. Music Notes, Check. Bowtie, Check. Octavia wasn't paying to much attention on where she walking or who is was just about to walk into, going face first into the person in-front of her and successfully smashing both their heads together. Octavia's once carefully arranged music notes dropped from her hands to the floor and went all over the place. Recoiling back and clutching her head in her now free hands, Octavia blinked several times to try and get the ringing in her ears to stop. Looking in her front of her, she noticed that the person she had walked into was doing the same thing. She was female, around the same age as her, she was wearing baggy clothes, she was also wearing a necklace with what looked like a beamed musical note hanging from it, a set of headphones were around her neck but what stood out on her the most was her hair; it was a two-tone neon blue with both light and dark shades highlighted in equal measure. All in all she didn't look like the sorta of person that Octavia would ever associate on any kind of level, but she had just walked into her so it at least common courtesy to give her an apology. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. I do hope that that I didn't hurt you." Octavia asked with genuine concern. After stopping shaking her head to rid of the obvious ringing noise that was still plaguing Octavia as well, the other girl merely shrugged, then proceed to make a series of complicated hand movements that Octavia didn't understand. The first three fingers of her right hand tapping across her left palm then tapping her index right finger to her left index finger then swiping her right palm across her left. [Pause] She tapped her right index and middle fingers into her left palm then tapped her right index finger to her left ring finger. [Pause] Her three fingers of her right hand swiping across her left palm again then index right finger to her left ring finger then making her right index finger a crook in the palm of her left hand then touching her index right finger to her left index finger. [Pause] Her right index finger touched the base of her palm then again she swiped her right palm across her left then she tapped her right index finger to her left thumb then tapping her index and middle fingers into her left palm. [Pause] Tapped her right index finger to her left little finger then crooked her right little finger into the gap of her left ring and little fingers then tapped her right index finger to left little finger again then tapped her right index finger to her her left thumb then tapping only her right index finger into her left palm. Finally she shrugged in a nonchalant manner. Octavia, just looked at that display in complete confusion trying to grasp at what she just saw. "Ok then, if your fine......" she trailed off, not even sure of how to address the girl in front of her anymore. Desperately Octavia looked around for some kind of help unfortunately what she saw was no she had hoped for, as her bus was just pulling into its stop. Looking back the girl — who was now looking non-plussed at Octavia — then down to the floor to where her music notes had ended up with what looked like the girl's open satchel. Various notes, bits of paper, a set of purple shaded sunglasses, even a laptop were strewn across the floor The entire scene looked a mess but Octavia had no time contemplate it, quickly gathering her notes with as much grace as she could muster; a extremely hard thing to do bearing in mind she still had a very large musical instrument strapped to her back. She grabbed all her music sheets that she could see and then hurried off towards the bus, but halfway there she paused and looked back towards the strange girl. "Ummm.... it was.... nice meeting you...." Octavia made the bus just in time lunging through the closing door to make it on. Handing her ticket to the driver; who had probably seen the late manoeuvre used so many times by passengers that he didn't even blink twice. Huumph....He is probably just disappointed that I didn't slammed face first into the bus door. Octavia thought, taking a twin seat. Her double bass needing a seat of its own, she turned to look out of the window back to the bus station. Huh...Why is that girl I walked into waving at me?