Heyyy...

Senna's POV

"Hey."

I type.

I lean back against the wall of my bunk and stare out the window. It's dark but I can see the landscape changing from the inner city, to housing estates, to freeways as we make our way on to the next town.

My reflection bounces off the glass, glaring back at me as if it's mocking me for expecting an immediate reply. I look down and confirm that she is yet to respond. I clear the image from my mind and tilt my head to the left, towards four of Gus's six bunk beds.

There are two beds directly opposite me. These are reserved for the twins. When we first got Gus they argued over who got the top bunk so these days they either take turns or they just share the top one. I guess some people might think that's weird, but they joke that you're once womb-mates, you're always roommates or in their case bunkmates. We have many a private photo of them "accidentally" cuddling each other while they're sleeping or oddly enough sleeping in separate beds but in the exact same position. I guess it's a twin thing, and something I'll never really understand.

There are another two bunks just down from these. They're closer to the small lounge which takes up the back of the bus and is where we play FIFA.

These bunks join along the foot end of the twins beds. Beckett has the top one and Zander, whenever he rides with us, takes the bottom one. They generally sleep with their feet towards the twins beds, that way we can all see each other. Well, at least when we don't have our privacy curtains drawn.

Jax has the bed directly below me. Beckett used to sleep there but he pissed everyone off with consistent late night phone calls with Joanna so we staged an intervention and moved him to the back. Now the worst we hear is the odd mumble. Plus, I think Tessa is less of a ball breaker so he is not as glued to his phone as he once was.

We've had many great chats on the bus and truthfully it's probably why we're all so close. I guess being locked away together for hours on end will do that to you. That and endless nights of FIFA.

I scan my eyes over the bunks and see Luca and Rafa sitting on their bed side by side, headphones in, no doubt watching some extreme sport. There is seriously nothing physical these kids aren't good at. They can surf, skateboard, longboard, water ski, snowboard, ice skate, BMX, trail bike, mini bike, drive anything that has wheels and that's just what I've seen. It would be impressive if it wasn't so intimidating. I mean I can barely even walk without falling over, seriously there are even videos on YouTube dedicated purely to my clumsiness.

They look up at their screen and acknowledge me but don't say anything, which I'm kind of grateful for. I nod back and hang over the edge of my bed and look at Jax. He's dead to the world. Laying on top of his doona dressed in nothing but sweatpants. He looks peaceful, at least for now.

I consider waking him with a jug of water but I don't have the energy to climb down, plus Jax and I have just got back to a good spot so I don't want to upset him. Not that that's ever stopped him before.

It's always risky to fall asleep first on the bus. I can't even count the times I've woken up with shaving cream on my face or worse, permanent marker. I remember this one time getting dressed and going to breakfast without so much as a glance in the mirror. It didn't take long to work out why everyone, including the waiters, were laughing at me. I almost died of embarrassment when I finally saw the thick pointed uni-brow I'd been given.

I lean back in my bunk and blow the twins exaggerated air kiss which they pretend to fight each other to catch and pull my curtain closed. Between the privacy curtain and the window blind it's almost pitch black in my bunk, save for the faint glow of my phone face down against the sheet. I turn it over and feel the air catch in my throat when I see one new private message.

"Hey yourself "

Smiling, I reply.

"Soooooo."

"Soooo."

I laugh out loud and hope the boys don't hear me.

"Well, this is awkward....."

"Ha! Story of my life."

I tuck a curl behind my ear. Nervously I type.

"Mine too! Hey Harri, would you mind giving me your number? I find it much easier to text."

A few seconds later a message comes through with a number. Her number. I add this to my contact list and write my first text.

"Hey."

To be honest I'm not surprised when all I get back is,

"heyyy yourself."

Although it still makes me laugh.

"I'm beginning to have deja vu..."

"Haha me too!"

The messages continue back and forth like this for a while. Each of us cautiously feeling out the other. We've been texting for a what feel likes minutes but when I look at the time hours have passed. I sneak a look outside my bunk and it's all dark, with the exception of the twins bed. The faint glow of their laptop shines up on their faces, highlighting the sharpness of their jawlines. I give them a small smile and close the curtain.

I pull my doona up around my shoulders and continue my conversation with Harri. So far I've managed to find out that she has an older brother, who is on the lacrosse team and seems to take pride in annoying her. She has pet hermit crabs because they're the only animal said brother is not allergic too. Her best friend is Jazz. Jazz is in Jax's lane, loves rainbows and sounds like a lot of fun.

Harri also lives with her parents and is being tormented by a Science teacher called Mr Grayson, and the popular girls, for reasons I don't yet know.

I've told her about Peyton, my Mum and our dog Bailey. I haven't brought up my Dad yet, that seems too heavy to tell someone whose voice I've never even heard. I've told her about my best friend Jaxon, strategically leaving out that he goes by Jax, that I love music and miss home. She doesn't push me and the text messages flow freely. She asks about me and what I like and even made fun of me for admitting that I was once addicted to the Pokémon game.

We end the conversation sometime after 3 am, with a promise to chat again later. I lock my screen and place my phone on charge. I'm glad the boys can't see my face because I'm smiling like an idiot. There is something about this chick. She's real. She doesn't tell me things because she thinks that what I want to hear, which is refreshing. I can't help it, I want to know more. I want to know what she likes, what she hates, what she looks like when she's thinking and what her voice sounds like.