*Pretty

Intro: After writing short stories every day for a month, I didn't think it would be hard to go back to writing one a week. The problem isn't writing the story, it's coming up with the idea. Once I have that it isn't too hard. So my idea for this week: I use to ride the bus to work every day and while it was never scary, I sure did meet a lot of interesting people.

The bus headed out of the dregs of the city but its passengers represented the worst of the society. Everyone sat in the same seats day after day. Pricilla sat by the bus driver, though it didn't make her feel any better. The old driver had given her a sense of comfort, this new one seemed as shady as the rest of the passengers. He was younger than the previous driver and his short cut dark hair didn't hide the scars that covered his head. He never smiled and occasionally she caught him staring at her in the mirror above his seat.

"Hey, Pretty."

Pricilla nodded to the woman getting on. This woman, called Smiles, sat next to Pricilla. They rarely talked to one another but Pricilla always breathed a sigh of relief when she got on. This woman was almost normal. The non-normal issue was the voices the woman talked to.

"Next stop, One-oh-Five and South Town Avenue."

"Thanks, Gravelly," someone called from the back, probably Dope. Everyone on the bus had nicknames. After leaving the dregs of the city, the next stop was an hour away. People liked to talk, but no one liked personal information, especially since names were powerful. If you knew someone's name, you could find out a lot of information about them. Pricilla wondered, not for the first time, how many of her fellow passengers were avoiding the law.

Smiles talked next to her, but Pricilla knew from years of experience that unless Smiles called her directly by name, not to bother conversing. She looked at the empty two seats next to her. Two passengers had stopped coming three years ago, but she still wondered what had happened to them.

One had been an elderly lady, everyone called her Silver because of her fine wispy hair. The other had been what people took to be her grandson. He was called Ghost because he always wore a gray hooded sweatshirt and never talked or showed his face to anyone. Every morning he was at the same stop as Silver and helped her on. Once on the bus they sat together and more often than not she would fall asleep resting her head on his shoulder. He got off before she did and always hesitated at the doorway looking back at her. She would laugh and wave him on. Five minutes later, Pricilla would help Silver off the bus.

"Thank you, Pretty," Silver always said. "You and Hector are such good kids."

The bus stopped and the doors opened. They had always creaked before, but since the new driver started they didn't. Pricilla had noticed other improvements. The torn seat covers being patched one by one. The floors swept every day. The windows cleaned once a week. She looked up at the mirror and the driver turned away looking out the open door. His straight lined mouth curved in a frown as one person got on.

The large man was unfamiliar to Pricilla and she ducked her head, staring at the floor and waiting for the shoes to pass.

"Well, ain't this a pretty one."

A hand grabbed her shoulder. "What's your name?"

Pricilla looked up in surprise and caught a whiff of alcohol on the man's breath. She swallowed, paralyzed with fear.

"That's Pretty," Smile said.

A few other voices spoke up from the back but Pricilla was too fixated on the face in front of her.

"Take a seat," Gravelly said his voice even rougher than usual.

The large man plopped down in the empty seat next to her, his elbows resting on his knees.

Pricilla continued to stare at the floor as the bus jostled along. She felt the man next to her shifting and after fifteen minutes his hand was brushing her leg. "Please," she said.

He lifted his hand and rested against the seatback, his hand on her shoulder. "Is that better?"

"Dude, he's hitting on Pretty," Dope called from the back. A few of the other passengers joined in the laughter egging Perv on. Perv moved closer to her.

"Don't touch me," she said getting up from her seat. Perv reached out and grabbed her hand. "You're not suppose to stand when the bus is in motion."

The bus screeched to a stop and she toppled forward slamming against the driver's seat. Perv still held on to her hand and she tried to tug out of his grasp.

"Let me help you find a seat," Gravelly said. He moved forward, his fist darting out and slamming into Perv's jaw. The large man slumped, slack jawed and a little dazed.

"Just give me a second to remove the trash," He grabbed Perv by the shirt and pulled him off the seat. Pricilla had never realized how tall Gravelly was. She only ever saw him seated but he stood a couple of inches over the pervert as he dragged the man to the door and shoved him out. The man lay in a heap on the ground. Gravelly shut the door and turned to the rest of the passengers.

"No one disrespects Pretty on this bus. Got it."

There were a few mumbles of protest.

"If you don't like my rules, tough. I'm the only bus driver who'll take this route. You follow me or you get kicked off. Now everyone get back into your seats, I have a schedule to keep."

Pricilla sat down and the bus started up again. She folded her hands in her lap and when she looked up at the mirror and caught Gravelly looking at her, she smiled. He blushed and turned back to the road. When her stop arrived, she paused by Gravelly for a moment.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure, Pretty."

"My name's Pricilla."

"I'm Hector."

"I'm glad." She smiled and climbed off.