hair was cut into a short bob that emphasized her jaw.
“Do you live around here?” He turned to look at her, focusing his attention completely on her as he set his bag on the floor between his feet. Mathieu had never ridden on public transportation and didn’t know the social protocol for socializing, but what he did know was that talking to as many people as possible would help him put together a better a cover story for once he was in Ateri.
She turned red. “Oh, uh, yes. I live just outside of the town before this. You know, Steeta. I work in Ateri, though. Do you live around here?”
Considering, he decided to stick with his previously constructed lie. “Oh, no. I live in the city. I was visiting family in the country.”
“I should have known.” She gave him an appraising look. “You don’t look like the people who live out here.” Her eyes caught the light for a moment before she looked away.
Insecurities suddenly spiked through him, but he pushed them down. “Oh?” Maybe she meant the fact that he was chatting her up like an idiot instead of sitting there quietly like everyone else on the bus.
“Well, I mean, uh, your hair and eyes and uh…yeah…” she tripped over her words lamely. He smiled at her reassuringly. He was going to have to get used to people commenting on his appearance. It would be okay; he would get over it. After all, he was very different looking.
The bus pulled away, and he looked past her out the window at the town. This was a much faster mode of transportation than walking, Mathieu decided. He was glad that he hadn’t tried to walk the whole way. Besides, he had a delightfully interesting girl to entertain him. Shifting in his seat, he slouched a bit until he was comfortable. Honestly, he had no idea how long the trip would take, but he was ready. At least, he thought he was. “I’m Mathieu, by the way.”
“Oh! I’m Vienna.” She blushed. “I seem to have forgotten my manners. So…Mathieu…That’s pretty.”
It was his turn to flush. “Thanks. So…what kind of work do you do?” More intelligence gathering, he told himself. These things would be important to know. Or at least he thought they might be.
“Well, I work in a government building. I do clerical work, filing papers and the like. Loads of fun…” Her voice trailed in an uninterested way, looking at the other occupants of the bus. She sighed softly.
Mathieu chuckled and she smiled companionably at him. He found himself wanting to make her smile; sometimes he was just like that. Something told him that this girl was very genuine and that made him happy. Her personality just showed him that some people were still nice at heart.
“Living in Ateri must be really nice. I could never afford it. Everything is so expensive. I’m surprised they don’t charge us to come into the city and work.” She laughed, looking out the window as they crossed a bridge. Mathieu was pretty sure she was joking, but she sounded rather serious. “This area is so nice. Funny how we can have a thriving metropolis disaster and not that far away is this slice of heaven.”
Something in her words had troubled him. Ateri was expensive. He should have known. His couple handfuls of Khrons wouldn’t take him far once he got there. That meant that he was going to have to find work quickly. And try to find somewhere that would take pity on him until he did. The shining beacon of their country should be visitor friendly, but this woman was making him think otherwise.
“If you live in Ateri, you must work for the royal family. No one else can afford to live there, right?” Vienna said off-handedly, peaking at him out of the corner of her eye. It looked like she was sizing him up.
Mathieu made a humming noise that could be taken either way, tilting his head back against the seat.
“Have you ever been to the Royal Gardens? I really want to go there…” It seemed to Mathieu that this girl was all over the map, but now her voice had a dreamy quality to it that he couldn’t fathom the cause of.
“Why?” He questioned, his brow furrowing as he tried to understand her desire to see some garden. Maybe they grew rare vegetables there.
She gave him a disbelieving look. “How could I not? Ever since I was a little kid, my