The Man on the Bus

The man nearing his late 20s boarded the night bus to the east somewhere around Liverpool Station, thinking about something he didn’t want to think about. The man navigated the crowded bus as it started to pull away from the curb and his footing became less certain. The man sat down next to a sleeping man and opposite a younger man, almost a boy.

The sleeping man wore a jumper ingrained with dirt, in his hands he nursed an empty soft drink from and a melting chocolate bar; his body produced a strange odor. The man-boy opposite held a book that he refused to read and looked around happily. The man thought this wasn’t where he wanted to be at all and decided to keep his wits about him.

The bus bounced and the sleeping man woke up with a start, looking across at the man-boy. The previously sleeping man asked the man-boy for 50 pence, the man-boy said no with the same smile on his face. The previously sleeping man turned and asked the man for 50 pence, the man answered in the negative.

The bus came to a stop and the passenger behind this group of three stood and left. The man sprang to his feet, desperate for a chance to have two seats to himself. Before he could get in though, a man from the back row with similar aspirations slipped in and sat down. The man withheld his anger and sat down next to the man from the back row. The journey continued.

As the bus got further east, more and more passengers vacated the bus. At least another pair of seats became vacant and the man sprang to his feet. Before another passenger who also enjoys his space could slip in the man reached the seats, sitting down next to the window. The man decided that one particular thought was genius and he placed his backpack on the other seat to discourage other passengers from joining him.

The man was finally happy to have adequate space. He even allowed himself to smile for the moment in the knowledge that no one else was near him. The smile wasn’t to last though as the doors opened at the next stop and a young woman boarded the bus. Her hair was brown, her build slim, and freckles on her arms along with a vaccination scar.

Upon seeing her, the man immediately removed his backpack from the seat next to him in an offer to this new passenger. The young woman didn’t even notice and stood in the aisle holding the bar above her head. The man glanced at the vacant seat next to him, wondering how he could possibly get the girl to sit down. The man figured that for the conversation to begin, and certainly lead to romance, he needed her to take this seat.

The man patted the empty seat suggestively, hoping to capture her attention with the sound of his patting. The sound did not reach her ears however as she had white earphones blocking the way. The man attempted another tactic loudly offering the seat to anyone who needed it, but the young woman had volume on loud enough to surely damage her hearing.

After several minutes of desperation, the man’s hope was rekindled when the young woman glanced and noticed the spare seat. The young woman smiled at the man and pressed the button for the bus to stop. The doors opened and the young woman disappeared into the night. The man slowly placed his backpack onto the spare seat.