On the Night Bus

Emerging from the crowd, Will boarded the bus, swiped his travel pass across the electronic reader and scuttled hurriedly up the stairs. Relieved to note he was the only person on the top deck, he emphasised his need to be alone even further by walking to the rear of the bus and settling into a corner of the back seat. He was as far away from the other passengers as he could possibly get – and that was the way he wanted it.

Normally, he’d be happy to slum it with the laughing, slurring, swaying drunks on the lower deck – talking rubbish with them until it was time for him to get off the bus. Normally, he was one of the laughing, slurring, swaying drunks. It was Saturday night – or Sunday morning, depending on which way you looked at it – after all.

But tonight was far from normal. The realisation had sobered Will up in the blink of an eye, and sent him home before he did something he’d live to regret. Possibly not straight away – but certainly at some point. Like when he woke up in a cell at the local police station.

Just as Will felt his blood begin to boil again and his hands involuntarily clenched into fists, his solitude was ruined by the arrival of a young couple. They were drunk, giggly, and so wrapped up in each other that they didn’t notice Will glowering in the corner. They slumped down together...