"I'm right here beside you," she said.

"What are you talking about?" the young man said.

_What planet are you on?_

William's lips hadn't moved that time. She'd been watching. She thought
the young man was somehow trying to make fun of her.

"Excuse me," she said coldly. She picked up her apple and her pen knife
and her handbag and brushed past him into the aisle. She looked around,
saw a seat three rows back on the opposite side of the bus. She went to
it and settled down, moving over against the window.

William was staring around at her with a puzzled expression on his face.

_Hello._

She jerked her head away from him angrily and stared out the window at
the cold, barren plain. He's not at all nice, she thought.

_Hello._

Grimly she refused to listen. He must be doing it with a sort of radio
set, she thought. It's probably some sort of thing they advertize in
magazines for $2.98. She blinked her eyes. I wish he'd stop. I don't
think it's a bit funny.

_Hello._

After a few more miles, the voice stopped.

Morosely Julia finished peeling her apple.

* * * * *

It was cold in the Hollywood bus depot; chill rain drizzled down from a
leaden sky.

She stood in the protection of the building, bag in hand, shivering
miserably. Twice she waved futilely for a cab. On the third attempt, she
got one.

The driver opened the door for her, and she bolted through the rain to
its inviting back seat.

"Take me to some nice hotel," she said.

The driver flipped up the flag and gunned the motor.

Five minutes later she was paying him ninety cents; leaving the extra
dime out of the dollar for a tip, she ran for the hotel steps.

After she registered, she asked the fatherly old gentleman at the desk,
"Where does a person go to meet people?" Water trickled down from her
hair and across her face.

He bent forward and narrowed his eyes. "Meet people?" he asked; his tone
had grown cold and suspicious.

She bit her lip in embarrassment. Did I say something wrong? she
thought. "Never mind," she said, wanting to cry. "I'm not going to stay
in this horrible town a minute more than I have to!"

"She," the bellboy said when he came down stairs, "is crazy."

"What do you mean?"

"You should have seen her walk through the door." He pronounced the last
word emphatically.

"You mean door_way_."

"I mean door," the bell boy said. "It was closed when she done it."

"I'm going to hav