Story part 3

Title: The boy from the bus ride. Genre: Fiction Chapter :Three Deki and Zangmo went back to their respective seat after some time. Deki took a packet of chips from the black plastic which was inside her bag pack. She shared the chips with her seatmate. Zangmo was not feeling well, so she refused to take anything during the break. Some passengers came back after finishing their breakfast while others were still busy in the hotel. Zangmo's seatmate also came inside the bus carrying a small backpack and a mineral water bottle in his left hand. He silently took his seat and called someone on his mobile. Deki heard him say that the journey from Wangkha would start soon. She guessed the person on the other line was his father because she heard him saying "Apa" in the call. Meanwhile, the group of boys came back from the hotel and they reek of cigarettes. Deki and her seat partner looked at each other and shook their head. The boy who was infront of Zangmo looked at me and asked," Are you Tenzin's sister?". Deki was bewildered for a moment by his question because she don't know who Tenzin was in the first place. After a while, she replied, "No, I am not Tenzin's sister". Deki heard them saying they must have been mistaken her for someone that they knew. They started their conversation very loudly in the bus again. Deki was so frustrated that she wished she wouldn't encounter such people during her future travels. "Why can't they stay quiet like Zangmo's seatmate?" She thought to herself. All the passengers had come back on the bus along with the driver. Once the driver was in his seat, he asked whether all the passengers were on the bus or not. Someone checked and confirmed that all the passengers were back. Shortly after, the ride started again. Deki took some courage and started the conversation with the boy(Zangmo's seatmate). "I heard from my friend that you are a student of CNR, which year are you in?" Deki nervously asked him because she was also not confident enough to talk with strangers. "Yes, I am studying there and I am currently in my second year" the boy replied. Then he asked about her. Deki told him that she was studying at Paro and was in the same year as him. After a few conversations, they became comfortable and talked more about random topics. He asked her if she knew someone called Sonam Jamtsho from the bed.primary course from Paro College. He told her that he was his high school friend and his neighbour in Thimphu. He also mentioned that Sonam is exceptionally good at IT and he used to play guitar. Deki told him that she knows about the boy, as he is quite popular for his reputation as a guitarist in college. She told him that she had seen him playing guitar during one of the cultural programme in the college. Deki asked him why he was in Thimphu-Samdrup Jongkhar bus. He answered that he had to do some kind of field work during his vacation. One of his friend from Samdrup Jongkhar had recommended him to carry out his work in a village there. He mentioned that he had to observe grains like maize and vegetables for a month. Deki simply nodded since she didn't fully grasp what he was talking about. Nonetheless, she knew he had to do some field work related to his course.