text: [Themes: Slice of life, female protagonist, profanity]
  
  > look around
  The living room is starting to look a little dusty, the TV
  especially. There are two paths worn in the green shag carpet, one going from the stairs to the front door, the other from the stairs to the kitchen, right by Frank's desk and the row of family pictures. The door to the carport is east.
  Frank's boots are sitting in the middle of the floor again.
  Frank is sitting in the chair, hunched over his desk.
  
  > go northeast
  After several rounds of remodelling you finally got the kitchen laid out fairly well, with the range near the cabinets and with plenty of counter space. If only the table weren't between the range and refrigerator. The living room is to the southwest.
  Standing in the middle of the kitchen is Jeanie.
  
  "Hey, mom," Jeanie says as you walk in.
  
  > Dance
  Goodness, it's been ages since you danced! Wonder if Frank would take you next weekend.
  
  > drop the bags
  You lift the sacks and pile them on the kitchen table.
  
  > go to the south
  It won't take long to put up the groceries. No sense in leaving it for later, especially since the ice cream would melt.
  
  Jeanie grabs some of the groceries and puts them on the counter. You didn't even have to ask her to.
  
  You can't go that way.
  
  Jeanie picks up some of the groceries and puts them away.
  
  > go southwest
  It won't take long to put up the groceries. No sense in leaving it for later, especially since the ice cream would melt.
  
  Jeanie picks up some of the groceries and puts them away.
  
  > put up the groceries
  You take some of the groceries and put them where they belong.
  
  "What all'd you get at the store?" Jeanie asks, rooting around in the sacks.
  
  > put up the groceries
  You take some of the groceries and put them where they belong.
  
  "You know I won't be here for supper, right?" Jeanie tells you.
  
  > talk to Jeanie
  "I know," you say to Jeanie. How could you forget? She's seldom here for dinner these days. "Too bad you'll miss dinner again."
  
  > talk to Jeanie
  "I'll leave some roast in the refrigerator in case you want some when you get home," you say to Jeanie.
  
  Jeanie shrugs. "Okay."
  
  Jeanie picks up some of the groceries and puts them away.
  
  > continue
  "You're welcome." You smile; you know she'll be thankful later.
  
  Jeanie heads out of the kitchen.
  
  > Go southeast
  You can't go that way.
  
  Outside you hear someone honking. Jeanie's ride must be here.
  
  > put up the groceries
  You take some of the groceries and put them where they belong.
  
  You hear Jeanie go clomping out the front door. She slams it shut hard enough to make the dishes shake. Was she mad?
  
  > Continue
  You put up the last of the groceries and put the left-over sacks away.
  
  > go southeast
  You can't go that way.
  
  A cough at the door makes you turn around. Frank's there, leaning against the frame. "Did, um, did Jeanie say where she was going?"
  
  "Not really." These days, does she ever? When she gets back you'll have to talk to her about it.
  
  April asked if you wanted her to wait with you, but you told her nah and so she just dropped you off at the station.
  
  It was real easy to buy a ticket. You were afraid they'd want to see ID or maybe a letter from mom or something, but the guy just took your money and didn't say nothing.
  
  This all seems unreal, somehow.
  
  Bus Station, at the counter
  The ticket counter is more like a cage, with the guy giving tickets sitting behind bars. There's barely enough room in there for him and his chair. On the wall beside the counter is a big board listing arrivals and departures. The rest of the station is to the south. Sitting on the ticket counter is some change and a bus ticket.
  
  > Inventory
  You've got a billfold and a flowerdy bag. The flowerdy bag seems to contain a change of clothes and some extra underwear.
  
  > get all
  change: Taken.
  bus ticket: Taken.
  
  > examine the ticket
  You almost can't believe you just bought it. "Los Angeles," it says, as if you could forget.
  
  > look at the board
  The chalkboard lists a bunch of buses, but the only one you really care about is the one coming from New York and going to Los Angeles.
  
  > About yourself
  You've gone with your jean cut-offs and a plaid shirt tonight. Nothing fancy, but then it doesn't really need to be.
  
  > Go south
  Your feet click on the tile floor as you shift around, waiting. You could sit--there are a couple of worn chairs scattered around, but they all look really uncomfortable. The ticket counter and the board with the bus schedules on it are on the north side of the room, opposite the exit.
  
  > wait
  You wait a while.
  
  You turn your ticket over and over, looking first at one side, then the other. LA. It's so far away. Surely you'll be an actress, right?
  
  > look at the phone
  The chalkboard lists a bunch of buses, but the only one you really care about is the one coming from New York and going to Los Angeles.
  
  I don't know the word "phone".
  
  > Go outside
  It's gotten chillier since you got here. Hopefully that bus'll be
  here soon. There's only one car in the parking lot, and not a lot of traffic on the road.
  
  > examine the car
  It's a beat-up old Pinto.
  
  > enter the car
  The car's locked.
  
  > look under the car
  Your feet click on the tile floor as you shift around, waiting. You could sit--there are a couple of worn chairs scattered around, but they all look really uncomfortable. The ticket counter and the board with the bus schedules on it are on the north side of the room, opposite the exit.
  
  I don't see any car here.
  
  > leave
  stop look weird. Old Church Road, running in front of the bus station, is pretty much empty. The station's behind you to the north.
  
  You hear the bus's engine some time before you see it. It comes crawling down Old Church Road and pulls into the lot in front of you. Its doors open.
  
  > look in Pinto
  It's pretty dirty.
  
  > look under the car
  Nothing's under there, far as you can tell.
  
  > examine Bus
  The bus is belching smoke and shaking as it idles. Its door is open, and the bus driver is staring at you. The sign over its windshield reads "Los Angeles".
  
  > enter Bus
  You hang back for a moment, then finally climb up in the bus.
  
  The bus is empty except for you and the bus driver, but it still
  smells like old people and cigarettes. At least you have your pick of seats.
  The bus driver is looking at you, waiting.
  
  The bus driver looks at you. "Staying or going?" he asks, his hand out for your ticket. You think about mom putting a roast in the oven.
  
  > Kiss driver
  Ew.
  
  > give the underwear to the driver
  Might as well leave that in there.
  
  "You gonna give me that ticket or what?" the bus driver asks you. You look at him, then away.
  
  > give the ticket to the driver
  "Now we're cooking with Crisco." He takes the ticket from you and swings shut the doors. "Grab a seat."
  
  > show the ticket to the driver
  "The ticket'll be plenty enough, thanks."
  
  "I said, grab a seat! We gotta move," the bus driver tells you. You pick a seat at random and flop into it. You put your head against the headrest with a sigh.
  
  The bus moves with a jerk, the brakes squealing as the driver coaxes the bus out of the station and onto the road. You close your eyes, letting the glow of street lights play over you, light then dark, light then dark. One last glance at the houses slipping past, fading away into the night, before you close your eyes and try to sleep.
  
  You may restore a saved game, start over, quit, or undo the current command.
  
  > Go up
  (Undoing one command)
  
  The bus is empty except for you and the bus driver, but it still
  smells like old people and cigarettes. At least you have your pick of seats.
  The bus driver's checking his mirrors and gauges.
  
  > go outside
  The doors to the bus are closed.
  
  "I said, grab a seat! We gotta move," the bus driver tells you. You pick a seat at random and flop into it. You put your head against the headrest with a sigh.
  
  The bus moves with a jerk, the brakes squealing as the driver coaxes the bus out of the station and onto the road. You close your eyes, letting the glow of street lights play over you, light then dark, light then dark. One last glance at the houses slipping past, fading away into the night, before you close your eyes and try to sleep.
  
  You may restore a saved game, start over, quit, or undo the current command.
  
  > leave
  stop look weird. Old Church Road, running in front of the bus station, is pretty much empty. The station's behind you to the north. A bus is idling in front of the station.
  
  You step back from the bus. The doors hiss shut and the bus jerks into life, lumbering towards the road and away from the station. You watch the bus windows slide past you, blank with reflected light. The red taillights grow smaller and smaller and smaller until they're gone.
  
  You shrug your bag onto your shoulder. It's a fair walk back to the house.
  
  You may restore a saved game, start over, quit, or undo the current command.