It was a cold Thursday afternoon as the heat of the sun faded away into the background. I had just finished up my last class of the week, and I am exhausted, sort of. I am looking forward to breathing the outside air. I step out of the IES Abroad Center to the bus stop.
Here comes the 1,2,3 bus, and when I step onto it, my journey begins. I stomp my way upstairs and sit down in a twin row of chairs. As I walk to my seat, I see a black kid, probably 13 or 14 years old, furiously working on homework in his seat. On the right side, there is a man with his headphones in, staring out of the window into a sort of abyss, I guess. As I seat myself and the bus shudders into movement, I glance behind me and see a young couple huddle together enjoying the warmth of each other’s overcoats. There is another intriguing man, which I would say was mid-twenties, with a stand in a plastic case at the front of the bus, gripping it securely between his arms. The bus continues for a bit, then again shudders to a halt.
More people get on the bus. A man in his twenties dressed in a nice suit passes by me. He was wearing a grey suit with a purple shirt and purple socks. I see a woman kiss her boyfriend, then board the bus. She has peach eyeliner, I notice, as she picks her way to a seat in the back. I get off the bus for 45 minutes, then board it again for the return trip back home.
A 30 year old Asian with a McDonald’s smoothie sits down in front of me. He has rimmed shaped glasses and a backpack filled with papers. Later, another man with a phone sits down beside him. The man with the grey suit gets off the bus and disappears into the downtown crowd. As the bus weaves its way towards Thomas Street, I look outside the window and see the numerous bikers braving the close quarters of road travel, trying to get home.
A younger man with a red beard and no hair rides perilously close to the huge bus. For a second I thought that he went under, but then he reappears as the bus crosses an intersection. A woman with a white overcoat and delicate hair rides alongside the bus, then I lose sight of her. I have no idea where she went, but my journey continues. The bus lurches to a stop: I have arrived at Thomas Street.
I look back at the bus, and see another couple comforting each other for their long journey home. The lady is wearing a black overcoat and, well, I could not see what the man was wearing. I walk 100m to Binary Hub and spot several women and men with shopping bags, with groceries overflowing as I smile with joy. I have made it home from my short journey.