At The Terminal

16.00-18.00 Hours
2-hour wait somewhere between Donsak and Suratthani town proper

The bus arrived at another terminal where everyone was asked to sit and wait for another 2 hours. Upon getting off the bus, the newly acquainted friends went their own separate ways. Joanne and Sally headed towards a vacant bench, where it was least crowded. They noticed the passengers lined up to get their tickets validated, so Sally went and joined the queue. As Joanne was starting to relax, Sally hurriedly went back and asked her to take her place. "You get the tickets checked, Pogi (handsome, in English) is over there!" Joanne took the tickets from her friend and went, surprisingly, without any qualms.

As she joined the line, René was standing opposite her at the other queue. He smiled at her. She wondered why he wasn't with his other friends in the bus so she asked "where are your friends?" and he replied "Oh, them? No, I'm traveling alone."

Suddenly, the lady at the counter ordered René's line to transfer to Joanne's. Apparently, they were at the "Thais Only" line. The lady signaled Joanne to go forward, thinking she was Thai. So she nodded along and tried to speak the native language, although poorly. As she handed out the tickets, she met René's gaze, who was standing a few feet away. Joanne waved at him, and asked for his ticket. She thought she might as well let him tag along, and he thanked her with a smile. They both signed their names on the form and went back to their respective places.

As Joanne was telling her friend what went on at the counter, Sally interrupted by saying "eherm, Pogi is on his way here...." And he stayed there for the next 2 hours.

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