Diana meets a kind man who helps her on the bus. She believes he unknowingly took her bag and tracks him down with her dad’s help. She invites him to her house to thank him and is utterly unprepared for what happens next.
The city bus was crowded, and Diana was tired from standing. Just when she thought she couldn’t stand any longer, Oliver, a nice young man, saw her and offered his seat with a smile. “Take a seat, miss,” he said kindly.
Diana thanked him and smiled, happy for the seat. But when she tried to sit, she found herself in the lap of a hooded man who had hurriedly occupied Oliver’s seat. The man seemed creepy and made Diana uncomfortable, but the bus was too crowded, so she eventually had to sit on his previously occupied seat beside him.
Diana wanted nothing to do with this man and maintained her distance. But he grabbed her backpack and started making strange comments, making Diana even more uneasy. “I have to get out now!
Give me my backpack,” Diana panicked, trying to grab her backpack. But the man, John, refused and quietly extracted her purse from her backpack. Diana was scared and angry.
Oliver, standing at the back of the bus, returned when he caught a glimpse of John troubling Diana. “Hey! Get out of here!” he ordered John.
John didn’t back down, but Oliver was quick. He pushed the man off the bus at the next stop, making sure Diana was safe. “My name is Oliver,” he said with a smile, sitting back down beside her.
Diana was relieved and introduced herself. She was grateful and interested in Oliver, wanting to know more about him. As she started to ask him a question, Oliver realized he missed his stop because of the incident.
“Oh! The bus! That was my stop!” Oliver said, quickly getting up to leave.
After Oliver left the bus quickly, Diana realized he had taken her backpack by mistake. She tried to call out to him, but it was too late. Meanwhile, Oliver was happy about the mix-up.
Poor Diana. She had no clue he was a thief. He met up with his buddy, John, the hooded man from the bus, and they both eventually went home to check the “loot” from Diana’s backpack.
At their apartment, they found only $600, which disappointed Oliver because it wasn’t enough for his expenses and rent. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Oliver opened the door and was surprised to see Diana.
He couldn’t fathom how she had managed to track him down, let alone why she was there. “Hi. Here you go,” Diana said, handing him his bag.
“Can I have mine back? You accidentally took mine.”
Still grappling with the situation, Oliver asked, “Ho-how’d you find me?”
“I have an Air tech in my backpack, and my dad also helped me, you know,” she said. “Oh, your dad.
Is your daddy a cop or something?” Oliver asked half-jokingly. “Yeah, the chief of police! How did you know?” Diana replied.
Blood drained off Oliver’s face. “I hope you still have my backpack. There are some essential things in there,” Diana said, her tone shifting to a more serious note.
“Can I come in?”
“Uh, no! Uh–I mean–wait a sec, there’s such a mess in there,” Oliver said, scrambling for an excuse to keep her from entering. “Just a sec, please,” he added before retreating into the apartment and slamming the door behind him.
Once inside, he rushed over to John, who was still lounging on the sofa, oblivious to the unfolding drama. “Stand up!” Oliver instructed him urgently. “The girl from the bus found us.
Her dad’s a cop. Hide now!”
“What?” John exclaimed, scrambling to his feet. “We don’t have time.
Please go under the sofa. Now! Do it faster!” Oliver explained urgently as he shoved John deeper under the sofa, ensuring he was completely hidden from view.
Taking a deep breath, Oliver returned to the door and welcomed Diana inside. She walked straight to her bag lying haphazardly on the table and began searching through it. After a few seconds of rummaging, Diana paused and looked up.
“Where is my wallet?” she asked. “Oh, your wallet? Uh, isn’t it in there?” Oliver asked innocently.
“Maybe that creep from the bus station–he must have stolen it. I’m so sorry.”
“I shudder even when I think of him,” Diana said, frowning as she recalled the unpleasant encounter. But her expression softened as she looked at Oliver.
“Thanks for helping me on the bus,” she added with a smile. “You’re welcome,” Oliver replied nervously. He just wanted her to leave, but things took a scary turn when Diana said her dad wanted to meet him and thank him for his bravery.
“Your dad?” Oliver stuttered, scared. “I-I have a violin lesson just now, so…”
“How about dinner at my place tonight?” Diana suggested. “Does 7 p.m.
work for you?”
“Sh-sure, 7 o’clock,” Oliver agreed, though he was really nervous. He noted down her address and waved goodbye to her. After Diana left, John crawled from under the sofa.
“You have to go to dinner and fix this,” he insisted. Oliver got ready for dinner, practicing what to say. Upon entering Diana’s house, he was ushered into the dining room, where he came face to face with Jacob, Diana’s father and the formidable police chief.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Oliver greeted, extending his hand for a firm handshake. “Finally. Let me look at our hero.
Sit down,” Jacob said with a robust voice that filled the room. “I know all about you, Oliver,” Jacob said, his gaze piercing. The statement was so unexpected that Oliver nearly choked on his food.
“What do you mean, sir?” he asked, trying to mask his nervousness. “Well, don’t be so scared, son. You have nothing to hide.
You’re a real hero,” Jacob reassured him, his voice soothing yet firm. He then turned to Diana, adding, “We need people like him on the force.”
Diana nodded in agreement. As the dinner was over, Oliver decided it was time to exit.
“Thank you for the kind words and the food. I’ll be going now,” he said, eager to leave. Just as Oliver turned to leave, Jacob’s voice boomed across the room, halting him in his tracks.
“Not so fast! We have to find the criminal who stole my daughter’s wallet, and you’re going to help us draw up a sketch of the thief,” Jacob stated, sending shivers down Oliver’s spine. The room felt like it had suddenly shrunk, the walls closing in on him.
Jacob’s words echoed in his ears: “We’ll track him down and make him confess.”
Sensing the tension in the room, Diana let out a small laugh, trying to diffuse the situation. “Come on, Dad! Oliver’s not some kind of Sherlock Holmes; chill out, okay?” she laughed.
To Oliver’s immense relief, Jacob nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I guess I’m rushing things a little,” he conceded.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, sir, I have to go. I have an important exam tomorrow. I’m sorry,” Oliver said.
“I’ll show you out!” Diana offered, standing up and following Oliver’s lead. Once outside, Oliver felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The cool night air was a welcome relief after the stifling atmosphere of the dinner table.
He turned to Diana, a forced smile on his face. “Looks like your father will turn the world upside down to find this poor thief,” he commented, trying to inject some humor into the situation. “Don’t be mad at him,” Diana sighed.
“He’s just worried about me. I would have talked him out of it myself if it weren’t for one thing,” she said, her gaze dropping. “What thing?”
“My mom’s necklace was in my wallet.
She died when I was three, and now it’s the only thing that reminds me of her,” she explained. Oliver felt a pang of guilt at her words. He thought of his mother, long gone, and how he would feel if he lost something that kept her memory alive.
“It’s somewhere in the dumpster,” Oliver replied quickly. “How do you know?” Diana asked, her brows furrowed in confusion. “Oh well, because it’s elementary, Watson, remember?” he responded, awkwardly invoking Sherlock Holmes to divert her attention.
“Every single thief does this,” he added with a nervous laugh, trying not to draw more attention to his near slip-up. “Come on; let’s go look for it.”
They searched dumpsters near the bus stop with no luck. Diana thanked Oliver for trying, not knowing he was the thief.
In a moment of reckless honesty, Oliver asked, “What if I was stealing too?”
“If you were, with the kind of person you are, it’ll definitely be because you have no other choice, right?” she replied with a sincere look. Oliver was stunned by her lack of judgment. “Yeah, paying my tuition is almost impossible right now.”
“I have an idea.
We could talk to my dad. You’ve done so much for me; I know my dad would love to help!” she suggested earnestly. “Really?” Oliver was shocked by her kindness.
“Yeah, you can work part-time at the movie theater with me,” Diana suggested. No, you don’t deserve this kindness. You just don’t.
The story doesn’t end here — it continues on the next page. Tap READ MORE to discover the rest 🔎👇
