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Adora sat on one of the empty train seats, her phone in one hand and her other fixated on putting her earbuds in. She was on her way to meet up with Bow and Glimmer, as they usually did on Saturdays.
While Bow and Glimmer lived in the heart of Bright Moon City, Adora lived more on the outskirts. Therefore, she always took the train on Saturday mornings, her phone always in her pocket along with a pair of earbuds.
She relaxed into her seat, opening her music app, shuffling through her playlist for train rides. She liked to pick a song that matched the mood of the day, and that came very quickly for her.
It didn’t today. Today was... slow.
Adora had kept pressing the skip button over and over until she realized that she finished her playlist altogether.
Adora bit her lip. A 30 minute train ride with nothing good to listen to?! Kill her now. Adora hated not being able to listen to music. This sudden wave of uncomfortableness would knock her over when she wasn’t listening to something. Music distracted her from reality.
She hastily started going through her playlist again, hoping she might’ve accidentally skipped too fast and went over a good song. She would listen for the first ten seconds, then skip. Then the next ten seconds, skip. Skip. Skip.
Adora groaned and slumped in her seat. She wasn’t really into just looking out the window, it was dark half of the ride, anyway. Frustrated with the situation, Adora began to count how many more stations it would be before she got off.
1...2...3...7..10..11.. oh god, 11.
Adora internally screamed at her phone, wondering why her playlist suddenly decided that it would become unfitting to listen to. Her thoughts were interrupted by the speaker booming that they had reached Thaymor Station. Adora watched as a crowd of people entered the train.
Thaymor was known for having lots of festivals in the area, and you would always catch yourself in one, intentionally or unintentionally. Glimmer and Bow tried dragging Adora into those festivities, but unfortunately Adora learned the hard way that festivals in Thaymor lead to very embarrassing stories that your friends would most likely tell at your funeral.
Hundreds of unrecognizable faces took their seats, adults and children alike. They all seemed to be carrying snacks, either in bags or being handheld. There must’ve been a market of some sort.
The doors were starting to close before Adora watched a figure burst in. Adora stared at the woman who jumped in, trying to catch her breath.
Adora could feel her heart flutter, a light blush spreading over her cheeks. The woman had such an alluring presence. Her hair was a chestnut brown, neatly made into a ponytail. She wore a trench coat and blue jeans, with cute little sneakers. Adora couldn’t help but crush on her a bit.
She’d never thought she’d be in an attractive-person-you’ll-never-see-again scenario, but this woman proved her damn wrong right here, right now. She looked so elegant and so stunning. Her appearance was very neat and tidy, something that Adora always found appealing.
Somehow, the mysterious girl’s eyes fluttered over Adora, and it was too late to hide her stare. Adora suddenly noticed the difference in her eye color. One eye was blue, and the other was a light brown.
Then the girl suddenly started walking and approached Adora. Adora froze. She was coming here. Lost at words, all Adora could do was panic and stare awkwardly at the approaching woman.
The woman gestured at the empty seat beside Adora.
“Mind if I sit?” She asked. Wow, even her voice was elegant. Soft and silky.
“O-oh! Yeah.. go ahead.” Adora stuttered, silently bullying herself. Could’ve made that sound more stupid, couldn’t you?
“Thanks. I didn’t think there’d be so many people coming to the train. Are you from the street marketplace too?” She spoke.
“No,” Adora responded. “Is that what this is about?” Adora’s finger swung left to right, symbolizing the other people on the train.
“Yeah, huge marketplace. It’s only around for a week or two every year. They have everything. I got dragged in by my friends,” she chuckled at that. “Those two.” She muttered.
Adora smiled. So her group consisted of three as well.
“Where are you off to now?”
She shrugged.
“Dunno. Don’t feel like going home now. What about you?” She asked.
“Just on my way to meet some friends. Uh, I’m Adora, by the way.” She offered a hand out to shake it. It felt so awkward to her, but the woman seemed to receive it well.
“Katrina, but, no one calls me that. Catra’s fine.” She explained. “What’re you listening to?” Catra seemed to notice the earbuds that still hung in Adora’s ears. Embarrassed, Adora pulled both of them out and laughed.
“Actually, nothing. It’s funny because like ten minutes ago I was having a dilemma over the fact that I couldn’t find a song worth listening to.” She answered, and she felt butterflies in her stomach when she heard Catra laugh at the response.
“Mind if I help? I know a few good songs. Don’t bully me if you don’t like them though.” She said.
Adora passed her phone to Catra happily. She barely knew this girl but if Catra sprinted out the train with Adora’s phone she’d gladly let her.
“What genres are you into?” She asked.
“Honestly?” Adora started. “Anything! I don’t have a preference.”
Catra started to type something into the search bar and passed an earbud to Adora. Adora put one in and relaxed into the song. Adora recognized the song immediately. She’s heard it before but never made the time to add it to her playlist.
“Buzzcut Season?” She asked curiously, and Catra nodded happily.
“I love this song on mornings like this. Cool breeze on a quiet train ride. It’s nice, don’t you think?”
Adora smiled contently.
“Yeah. Yeah, it is.” She glanced out into the window, the forests that were once there became buildings, familiar buildings. Adora turned over to Catra.
“Well, this is my stop. Thanks for helping me out with my predicament,” she winked. “Wouldn’t mind if you also added your number in there, you know, in case I need your help again.”
Catra chuckled.
“Alright, I like that confidence in a girl. You got it.” She typed her number into Adora’s contacts and passed Adora’s phone back.
Adora read Catra’s contact name.
”Playlist girl?” She laughed.
“If you feel like changing it to playlist girlfriend, shoot your shot.”
Adora laughed and offered her an awkward smile.
“How could you tell I’m-“
“Jean jacket, backwards cap, and the undercut is still clear as day. Come on, Adora.” She pointed out.
“Okay, okay. You better have your phone ready to answer me!” Adora teased as she got up from her seat to walk to the door.
It opened swiftly and Adora couldn’t help but blow a kiss to her (potential) girlfriend.
“I’ll call you!” She shouted.
Catra silently nodded and did a thumbs up, the sliding doors now closing as the train began to speed off.
Adora smiled, Buzzcut Season still playing in her ears as she walked out of the station to get to the next street where Glimmer and Bow would be waiting for her. Oh, would she have a story to tell them.