April forced herself to stay calm.
"Oh. I bet you can't poo there if you want to, right? Unlike the ladies." she asked the guy.
The guy shook his head with a smile. "Nah, you can't. But you can, over there." he pointed to another corner. But it was open as well.
"Oh, I see." What could she do now?
"You wanna poop?" he asked as they headed towards the toilet.
"Uhm... well, not anymore."
"So, tell me what's your name? I don't know why, but you kinda act feminine."
Though her heart sank, she managed a laugh in a thick voice and rubbed the fake beards. It was so hard to relax her nerves. "Really? I get that a lot." She stopped walking. "You know what? I think I would just wait for you here. I only wanted to accompany you."
"You're kidding, right? Come on. I know you are pressed." He grabbed her hand as he spoke and she struggled to let go. "The bus won't stop for the next few hours and you know it. Same here, I also hate open spaces like this, but it's a two minute activity after all, so who cares?" They were inside already as he spoke, and April trembled in fear as she glanced around. Maybe she should just come clean to the guy so he'll let her be? No. Bad idea.
"I'm sorry. But I think I'm just gonna stand out here and wait for you. I would have preferred a ladies bathroom so I would take a bath. I have been on a long trip for days." she explained.
"Oh, now I understand." He nodded. "But didn't you first say you wanted to take a poop?"
April shook her head. "Not really. I wanted to know what the place was like. I imagined it would be somewhere well enclosed and privy to take a bath."
"Alright, give me a moment." He said, moving over to a corner to pee.
April stared down at her feet as she waited, struggling with the tears that tried to blur her vision. Living a lie could be totally exhausting and tiring.
The next minute, they headed out to the snack bar. But April didn't bother buying anything since she had limited cash, and Kyle had bought some food afterall. Besides, he also warned her not to use her credit card again if she didn't want to get tracked.
"You are buying nothing?" The guy queried.
She shook her head with a wave of hand as she nodded to the bus. "I have enough. My friend bought for two, you know. It was only water he left out which was what he went to get before the bus left him behind."
"Alright."
April watched him purchase a hotdog, fishcake and a can of soda.
"My name is Jack and you are?" He introduced himself.
TY or TJ? Since she already gave Lucy TY, should she stick with it or not? It's not like Lucy may remember anyway. "TJ." she finally said.
But he wasn't paying attention. There was a crowd huddled at the bus, with some police officers. April's heart skipped. The girl who had been stealing glances at her in the bus, ran over to them.
"Oh my God, you guys won't believe it. They are searching for some valuables which belongs to that old man who sits at the back, close to you guys. The new diamond set which he made for a client was stolen." she blabbed.
One of the officers approached them before they could say anything in response. "What are you doing here?" He addressed the girl. "Go over to that queue meant for the ladies, and you guys, over there." He pointed to the male public facility where they had just emerged from. "We would head over to the toilet and have everyone stripped. The thief must be here." he growled.
April put a hand to her chest.
"Relax, TJ. You look tense. You are not the thief, are you?"
She coughed, shaking her head. Why was Jack trying to be over-observant of her? Along with others, they turned around and headed back to the facility where each of them stood in a queue as they were being searched one after the other.
"Hey," April nudged Jack, who stood right behind her where they were queued. "Do you think this makes any bit of sense? I mean, if I was the thief, I would not be so foolhardy to remain in the premises. Not when I'm not chained to the bus. So, what? The thief must have slipped out already."
"Yeah. But they just have to do it to fulfill their duties, you know. Though they claim to have the whole area security tight to ensure no one steps out of the vicinity." he replied with a scoff. "Which reminds me. About that stuff you told Lucy. Is it true? You know, I kinda paid half attention."
She turned around to stare at him with big eyes. "Really? You were?" She actually thought he had been asleep.
"Yeah. You said she would never make heaven with that kind of life. What makes you think so? First off, you have no right to judge her and secondly, it's not like heaven exists."
April scoffed as she took a step forward, before turning around to face him again. The line was moving gradually. "Judge? Of course not, I'm no judge. It's okay if you don't believe heaven exists. You're just like the moon who doesn't believe it has no power to emit light till the day the sun disappears." she poked him on the chest before turning around again with a grin, only to face her reality. It was almost her turn. She humphed and sighed. Doing a quick head count, there were less than five people left in front of her.
She heard nothing from Jack again as he remained quiet, mulling over what she said, and argued no further.
When she looked sideways, she noticed two police officers, flanked on both sides of the queue, a few feet away, staring stiffly at them with cold daring eyes. April shuddered as she thought one of them seemed to hold a piercing glare at her. She looked away immediately, wondering what Kyle would have done in this situation. Fake a call? Nah. Her nerves were too unsettled to play that game right now. She would only plunge herself in trouble. Kyle was so real with his, and it definitely wasn't something she could pull right now.
The thought of feigning a faint crossed her mind. But what if she was carried and examined, only to discover that she was a lady? She shuddered at the thought again when Jack tapped her from behind. She looked back sharply.
"It's almost your turn. You should step forward."
When she looked in front of her, she realized that she was the next after the guy in front. At that instant, she felt her heart in her head as beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Her bladder filled up instantly, and she fought the urge to wet her pants. A crazy idea suddenly lit up immediately in her head. She fell back flat on Jack as though she fainted. He caught her quickly and was about to carry her in panic when her eyes flew open. She held his hand gently.
"Don't worry. I'm fine." She made sure her voice was pretty much low and mumbled. She also looked pale and weak. The police officers who had been standing side by side were in her face too. She pointed to a spot under a shade, right ahead.
"Please, can I sit there for a while to rest myself?" she asked feebly as she was led to the seat. She sat there looking sickly till the exercise was almost over, and they received word that the thief was caught trying to evade arrest via the backdoor of the supermarket. Relieved, they all headed back to the bus to continue their journey. Of all the passengers, April was the most relieved.
Going through the contents of what Kyle had bought, she found some biscuits and french toast, with a bottle of yoghurt. It was quite thoughtful of him to get yoghurt in place of soda. She helped herself to some, and stayed awake for the next two hours.
The boring TV which had been playing the entire time suddenly flashed the picture of a familiar face in a breaking news. It was the baldy guy. He was declared wanted for the murder of a young billionaire doctor.
April was stunned. Really? So they were not seeking her after all?
The passengers talked excitedly about it as the bus pulled up to a stop. They had just arrived in Washington. Another set of police officers stood outside.
"Everyone, I'm so sorry about this." The driver began. "But the police are in search of that guy you see on the screen. So every bus route is being searched as well as passengers. Therefore, all the guys are expected to cooperate, please. As they will need to confirm if your hair and beards are real, since the guy in question is bald. It is assumed that he might be fleeing under disguise."
Not again. April really wet her pants this time. She may never make it to Nashville afterall.