It was the first time Luda was riding the metro on her own, and she was nervous to say the least. She wore her backpack the wrong way, so that it rested on her stomach, because she was told pick-pockets frequented the area. She looked completely unfashionable, but she'd rather be unfashionable than a victim of theft. There were no seats available on the train, so she stood clinging onto a metal pole, trying not to think about the amount of germs on its surface currently infesting her hands.

Luda had one earbud in her right ear, playing a part of a video game theme song remix playlist she’d made just for situations like this, while the other earbud was out, hanging down by her hips. This way she could focus on her surroundings. Before the doors of the train slid closed, an old man stumbled on, and Luda scooched out of the way to make room for him. As she did so, the doors closed and the train lurched forward surprisingly faster than Luda was expecting. Luda stumbled, taken off guard, and fell backward into the girl standing behind her.

At the sudden impact, Luda quickly grabbed for the metal pole in front of her and pulled herself upright. She spun around to face the girl she’d bumped into, preparing to spew out a rush of apologies, but instantly blanked out as soon as she saw the girl’s face. She looked about the same age as her, if not older, and had short, dark black hair that fell just above her shoulders. She was dressed very fashionably; in a high waisted skirt and a blouse, with a purse—no doubt a designer one at that, judging from the girl's rich and expensive aura—strapped around her shoulder. Luda suddenly felt extremely self conscious, with her backpack on the wrong way, and her hair messy and wind blown from her run to the metro station.

“Uh…” Luda mumbled, and then quickly cleared . “I’m so sorry!”

The other girl, whose eyes shown with annoyance at first, suddenly softened at the sight of Luda. She smiled slightly; a cool, knowing smile. “It’s fine,” she assured.

Luda breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled faintly back. She repositioned her feet so that she was well balanced and wouldn’t fall again. “First time on the subway?” Luda heard the girl behind her say, and she instantly snapped back to face her with wide eyes.

“Who, me?” Luda pointed to herself. 

The girl smiled, nodding.

“Uh yeah, is it that obvious?” Luda laughed nervously.

“You look kind of lost...like a lost puppy,” the girl replied, giggling slightly, and Luna could feel blush creeping on her cheeks. “But don’t worry, everyone was in your position at some point.”

Luda nodded.

“What stop are you getting off at?”

A brief flickering thought told Luda that she shouldn’t talk to strangers, and she especially shouldn’t be divulging personal information to them. But this girl looked nice enough. She was looking at Luda intently, with large brown eyes. No—Luda decided—this girl was too pretty to be a serial killer. Or...maybe she was a serial killer after all...and this was how she lured in her victims, by batting her eyelashes at them and calling them a lost puppy. It was the perfect front for any murderer...

“Hollywood Station,” Luda blurted out. Whoops, if the girl beside her was a killer than Luda supposed she was now a goner. 

“Me too,” the girl smiled. “It’s on the red line.”

Luda continued smiling like a dummy. There was an awkward silence and Luda listened to the hum of the chatter of passengers on the train. Combined with the steady movement of the train, it was almost soothing. Luda briefly closed her eyes, feeling her late night yesterday creeping up on her.

“That’s a quick way to become a victim of pickpocketing, stranger,” she heard the fluttering voice of the girl once again and her eyes snapped open. The girl was staring at her, smirking slightly.

“I was just closing my eyes for a moment,” Luda murmured.

The girl simply laughed; a lovely, high pitched laugh. “Okay, make sure it’s only a moment though. You won’t always have nice strangers like me to look out for you.”

“You’re right,” Luda said, stumbling a bit as the train lurched to a stop again. “I really was only gonna close them for a moment though. I may be new here but I have some common sense.”

“You don’t say? Well, I’d hope so.” The girl smiled. “Just four more stops to go.”

There was a lull again, though Luda desperately wanted their conversation to continue. She just couldn’t find the right words to say. She watched out the window as the grey, cement walls flew past. They reached another stop. People got on and some got off.

Another stop. Luda watched the girl out of the corner of her eye, looking at something on her phone. Suddenly the train slowed down, and Luda expected to see Hollywood Station signs lighting up outside, however the train stopped in the tunnel, with the dull grey walls surrounding them on all sides. Luda anxiously looked around, flashing back to all the horror movies she’d watched where trains stopped, forcing its passengers to get out and confront the horrors that awaited them on foot.

“Don’t worry,” the girl’s voice started again, this time closer. Luda nearly jumped at the unexpected nearness of the girl, who had moved forward toward Luda to let people pass by her to get near the door. “It happens all the time.”

Luda must’ve looked quite nervous for this stranger to read her like an open book. “Okay, that’s good. I don’t like enclosed spaces…”

“Just means another train is running behind schedule. This ensures they don’t run into each other.”

“Oh.” That was a relief. Luda exhaled and looked out the window again. The train was still at a standstill. She her phone’s lock screen to check the time and sighed.

“The subway’s brand new here so...yeah don’t worry, it’s not old enough to break down. We’ll be moving again before you know it.”

“I hope so,” Luda mused. “I just have somewhere important to be.”

“Don’t we all?” the girl replied playfully. “One thing you’ll learn about being in LA...everyone thinks their time is more important than everyone else’s.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Luda exclaimed. “I was just saying I have an interview scheduled and it’d look terrible if I was late. There’s no way I’d get the job then…” Luda’s voice trailed off when she heard the girl in front of her laughing. It was high pitched and staggered, and her eyes crinkled up as she laughed her open-mouthed laugh. 

“I’m just kidding,” the girl assured. “I know that’s not what you meant.”

Luda sighed with relief again. Boy, this girl really loved yanking her chain. 

“So a big interview huh? That’s exciting.”

“Yeah, I’m really nervous.” Why was Luda spilling all this to a random stranger? Oh well, it’s not like she’d ever see this girl again. And that was a damn shame. Luda looked at her phone screen impatiently and tapped her foot. “Do the trains normally stop this long?” Other people were beginning to get antsy around the both of them as well.

The girl shrugged. “No, actually, this is the longest it’s ever been for me.” She bit her lip and gauged Luda’s reaction.

Luda continued to bounce her leg. She crossed her arms and the look of fear she had dawned when the train first stopped unexpectly returned.

“Where is your interview?” the girl asked.

Luda pulled out her phone and opened up the map, showing the girl the location pinned on her screen. “It’s close to the station, right?”

The girl craned her neck slightly, squinting when she stared at the phone screen, and nodded. “That’s actually right across from where I work, so tell you what, I’ll walk you there. I know the quickest way to go.”

“Really?” Luda asked, eyes shining.

“Yeah, of course. It’s not a prob—” the train lurched forward once again, this time sending the girl, who was no longer holding onto a pole, stumbling into Luda. “Sorry,” she said, scrambling to get her footing. She looked very sheepish.

Luda chuckled and shrugged. “Well, I have ten minutes to get there so...I’m putting all my faith in you. No pressure.”

“I perform very well under high-stress situations.”

The train began to slow again and after a moment finally came to a halt. The doors slid open and Luda all but jumped forward, with the girl trailing closely behind. “We need to run,” the girl said, not hesitating to take Luda’s arm and pull her forward toward the stairs and the exit. Luda didn’t have time to object before she was getting whisked away by the stranger, who was surprisingly light on her feet, and dodging people walking by left and right.

If Luda wasn’t so nervous about the interview she probably would’ve laughed. For now, she just struggled to keep up with the girl, who weaved her around crowds of people until they reached the exit.

The sunlight nearly blinded Luda, being a huge contrast from the artificial light from the tunnels under ground. She squinted and wished she had time to pull out her sunglasses but continued to trek forward, knowing every second counted. She was pulled right down a street, brushing past people and receiving some nasty looks. Luda and the girl murmured their apologies but kept going. They reached an intersection and were forced to stop as cars flew past. The girl slammed the walk button, waiting for the traffic light to turn red so they could cross.

Luda took the time to catch her breath, and she could tell the girl interlinked with her arm was winded as well, but she looked determined nonetheless. “Don’t worry, we’re almost there," the girl assured.

As soon as the white stick figure lit up across the street, signaling it was alright for pedestrians to cross, the girl pulled Luda forward again. Their feet began flying. Luda didn’t even have time to take in the sights of the city, she was too focused on making sure she didn’t trip over her own feet.

“Here!” the girl cried triumphantly, stopping in front of a tall glass building. “It’s right here.”  

Luda nearly cried with relief. “Thank you so much!” she beamed at the other girl. Adrenaline was still coursing through her veins. It somehow made her feel brave. Better get the interview over with before she turned into a nervous wreck again.

“No problem, I’m glad I could help.” The girl unlinked their arms and that was when Luda realized she had still been clutching her arm. “Well, better get in there!”

“Thanks again, I really appreciate it.” Luda began bounding forward toward the double glass doors and the intercom on her right. She stopped though and looked back at the girl, who was watching with an amused smile on her face. “Seriously, you’re a life-saver.”

The girl just smiled. “Good luck!”

“Thanks!” Luda called back. She took a deep breath and pressed the intercom. She told the woman on the other end her name and then after a moment opened the double door. She waved back at the girl before entering the building. This was it.

The interview went well, or at least Luda thought it did. It was all a blur to her. As she was shown back to the lobby, she realized, with sickening dread, that she didn’t even know the angel-of-a-girl’s name. She’d probably never see the girl again, or ever be able to properly thank her. The girl literally ran a few blocks for her...a stranger. The thought warmed Luda's heart.

Luda checked her phone. It’d been less than an half an hour. The interview had been quick. Luda stepped outside the building and let the warm LA sunlight encompass her again. She looked with a bit of longing at the building across the street. It was a large complex, some sort of production company no doubt. This must be where the girl who helped her worked.

Before she could change her mind, she went to the nearest crosswalk and crossed the street. She was hitting the intercom of the building before her brain even realized what she was doing. A woman spoke up, asking for her name.

Luda panicked. “Uhm, this is gonna sound crazy but I really wanted to thank someone who works here. She helped me out about twenty minutes ago. She has short black hair and is wearing a skirt. She should’ve come in not too long ago…”

There was silence on the other end of the intercom. “I’m sorry...I—”

“She did something really nice for me and I just really need to thank her. Or at least get her name. You see, I was running late for my interview so she—”

“One moment,” the woman said, and Luda held her breath. What was she doing? Had she lost her mind. She waited for a few minutes, sure she’d just made a complete fool out of herself, before suddenly the glass doors opened and out stepped the girl, looking at her with a look of amazement. She shook her head when she made eye contact with Luda.

“What are you—?”

“—I realized I never got your name,” Luda blurted out. “We ran arm and arm for awhile and I never even asked.”

The girl smiled, continuing to shake her head. “I guess you’re right. I’m Bona.”

Bona. Luda’s smile grew incredibly wide.

“And you are?”

“Luda!” she spoke quickly and a bit too enthusiastically. She internally cringed but quickly shook it off. She was too giddy at the sight of this girl, Bona, again to let her own awkwardness make her feel unconfident.

“Well Luda, it’s nice to officially meet you,” Bone replied, politely bowing her head a bit. “Now I’m sure you didn’t harass the secretary here just to get my name.”

“N-no!” Luda assured, and relaxed once she saw Bona was joking again. “Well, I mean I just really wanted to take the time to properly thank you. Sorry to bother you at work.”

“Well, I am in the middle of something, but how about we grab coffee sometime. On you, of course,” Bona said, eye crinkling up as her cheeks formed a smile.

“Yes, definitely!” Luda practically squealed. “Uhm, here, I’ll get your phone number so we can find a day when we’re both free.” Luda pulled up her contacts and handed the phone to Bona, who quickly entered her phone number in. She handed it back to Luda. “I’ll text you right now so you have my number!” Luda cranked out a message that read: Hi! This is Luda!!! and nodded in satisfaction when Bona’s phone buzzed and she pulled it out to confirm she’d received the message.

“I’ll text you,” Bona replied. “I know a really great cafe not too far from here. Maybe this Friday will work for you?” Her voice tilted up as she asked. Luda simply nodded with a smile still plastered on her face.

“Sounds perfect. Alright, well I’ll let you get back to work. But thanks again!”

Bona simply nodded. They stood for a moment in silence before Bona began to turn back toward the door. “Be safe riding the metro back,” she said as her back was turned. “You’re a pro at it now.” Bona opened the door and spun around, giving Luda one back look and a wink, before she disappeared inside and left Luda standing on the street with gaping open.

Luda gathered her thoughts for a moment before she willed her feet to move back in the direction of the metro station. Internally she gave herself a high five. Who knew her first time using public transportation would be so...interesting? She practically skipped back to the station as she thought of seeing Bona again...and this time they wouldn't just be strangers on a train.