"I was just kidding," said Jess in disbelief. "Earlier, about the busses. I was just kidding!"
"Crap," said Steph.
They stood around and wondered what to do. Next to them a Target employee began to talk quietly to the couple with the child. The man explained that they had called a cab, but had already been waiting for an hour. Last they'd checked the cab was still coming, but...
Meanwhile three more people walked out of Target, one wearing a Carnegie Mellon sweatshirt, and asked about the buses. Steph and Jess told the two students (and the one parent) what had happened. They were dismayed. Now what?
Jess called the CMU non-emergency number, but was told that they were only dealing with emergencies given the circumstances.
"We'll try to arrange something eventually," said the person on the other end helpfully.
Next they talked to the police officer to see if he had any ideas. He volunteered to call CMU for them, and they thanked him while they exchanged frustrated looks, since that's what they had just tried. They hoped, however, a police officer would have more clout. Sure enough, the assurances given him were slightly less vague - that is, "we'll try to figure something out" became "we will figure something out," with which the girls had to be content.
While the police officer was on the phone, a nice family with a large truck asked if anyone needed a ride home. The family waiting for the cab gratefully accepted.
With the night wearing on, the girls moved into the sitting area, though to their disappointment, the counter (and therefore the fried chicken and hot chocolate) was closed. They decided to take turns calling home on Jess's cell, since they were hoping for a call from CMU on Steph's. Having apprised their families of the situation, they nobly settled in to wait. Unfortunately, and unepically, boredom also settled in.
"Okay," said Steph, "How about this. One person says the name of a character in movie or TV show, and the other says another character played by the same actor."
Jess suppressed the urge to roll her eyes (probably) and agreed with only slight protestation. Thus Selene and Gwen and Jesus and the Joker helped make time pass minimally faster.
And then - Steph's phone buzzed. Steph answered eagerly. Lo and behold, it was Lucas, their dorm's house fellow. He said that he was watching Avatar (naturally) at Loews, but that it would be over in half an hour and then he would gallantly come get them.
Elated, Steph went to tell the other CMU students. They now had only half an hour to wait.
An hour later, Lucas and his wife pulled up in their car. It was a four-seater. All six of the people standing around the car looked at each other in dismay.
"They said there were two of you," said Lucas.
"No, I told them five," said Jess.
They regarded the car in silence.
Luckily, Lucas and Mrs. Lucas had been seeing the movie with some friends who had their own car. Their friends volunteered to take the other three CMUers, and further crisis was averted.
Thus the travelers set out for home, hoping their journey might soon be over, yet knowing better, by this point, than to be certain of anything.
And they were right to fear...
[To Be Continued Once More]
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