Nothing good comes from doing things behind someone’s back.

Again, I was on the bus. I like the bus. It was the first day for whatever-his-name-was and he was on his way back to the station. The bus wasn’t broken and no one was hurt. We were going back because he left one minute early. I guess the rule in bus driving is that you can leave as late as you want but NEVER leave early. So driver what’s-his-name had to go back and pick up whoever happened to be left behind. The bus wasn’t very full and the few people we did absorb all found seats – the last being an older, heavy-set woman in a blue jacket who chose the seat beside a teenage girl with things stuck in her ears so she couldn’t hear anyone. The bus pulled away from the station under the incapable hands of John Q. Busdriver who was having a very bad day. His day, however must have been nothing compared to that of the teenage girl sitting behind the woman in the blue jacket. The poor girl’s face began to shift and contort in a manner I associated with bad odor and contempt. I could not see nor smell a reason for either of these expressions. The blue coated woman was doing nothing but sitting in a seat. She even appeared to be attempting to not infringe on the girl’s space by facing into the aisle and sitting closer to the edge of the seat. Still the girl made the face. I wondered who she was doing this for. The woman she held in contempt couldn’t see it so the girl obviously did not intend to inform the woman in the blue jacket that she smelled bad or had whatever problem it was that made the girl hate her. The girl did not look around to see the reactions of the others in the bus so I assume she did not need confirmation of her feelings. From my perch, I didn’t see another human that would confirm her disgust – at least they didn’t show it the same way. Then I wondered what good any of that did. Unless the girl thought she looked good that way, I don’t think making those faces did any good at all.

Ryder