On The Way To Work

I sidestepped another man walking down the street. Again, taking no care in the world to watch his surroundings - if I was as distracted and nonchalant as he, I’d likely have already been hit by a car. He’s lucky people see him, notice his presence. I don’t get that. Most of us don’t.

It was unexpectedly crowded on that street. I’d not been called in for a meeting in the middle of the day before - perks of working from home, I guessed - and so had no idea of what I’d be facing when I walked out of the house half an hour ago.

I was already running late, and then the bus drove straight past the stop I was waiting at. Even when I rushed after it, waving my arms around, they did’t seem to notice me. Well, they did notice me. They looked me in the eyes as they drove past, and pressed on the gas. Not wanting to stop and block the traffic, perhaps. I waited for the next bus, which was only a few minutes behind the first - one of the only perks of a busy area. I got on that one no problem, as the driver was a woman. She actually waited until I was seated before moving away again, even when the honking behind us began.

The traffic was awful, but at least I was on my way. Stop-start, pick up more people, stop, start again. Over and over. I doubted the first bus had many people on board, given how many we’d collected in the last fifteen minutes.

It surprised me when several men got on board - they must’ve been missed by the first as well. I glanced back at my phone as they walked down the aisle to some empty chairs, but had the absolute shock of my life when one of them tried to sit on my lap. I jerked away, and he jumped up, looking at me as if it was my fault.

“Sorry, love- didn’t see you there. Do you mind, though? My leg’s hurting something fierce, and you’ve had all this time to sit down.” He kept gesturing to my chair.

I turned and looked at the other ten empty seats further down, but decided not to argue and gathered my things up, squeezing past him and out of the way. I’d barely moved when he plonked himself down, sitting on the sleeve of my jacket. I tried to get his attention, but he gave me no notice whatsoever.

I tugged the jacket and as it started to slide out from under the man, I heard the distinctive sound of fabric tearing. It managed to un-wedge itself, but the right arm would need re-attaching along the elbow seam.

Great, just what I wanted to do with my afternoon.

As my stop was getting closer I decided to move to the front and stand, ready to leave the miserable beast as soon as possible. I pressed the button to signal to the driver that I wanted to stop, and as she slowed down, another man perked up.

“Hey, why are we stopping here? My house is still another five minutes away!”

We both ignored him. I stepped off and immediately was shoved aside by a teenage boy, clambering out after me.

“Woah, sorry lady.” He didn’t even bother to look at me as he spoke. Lady? That’s what we call older women, I’m no lady. Barely into my mid-twenties, I’d rather not be called ‘Lady’ for a long while yet.

Standing tall and taking a deep breath, I headed in the direction of the offices. I knew the way vaguely, but as I hardly ever needed to appear in person for anything, I got my phone out and checked Maps really quickly, just to ensure I was indeed heading in the right direction.

My phone pinged as I followed the highlighted pathway. Another message from Josh.

Great.

‘Hey, wanna go out again?’

I groaned. No, I’d rather not.

‘Last night was great, we should do that again.’

No, it wasn’t. It was boring and such a waste of my time.

‘Wanna cook for me tonight?’

No, I hate cooking. Especially for ungrateful man-children who talk through the entire date without asking me a single question.

An idea popped into my head as I rounded the corner. There are the offices, standing tall and towering over every other building in the street.

‘Sure, that sounds great! First tho, I just want to check - tell me three things you learned about me yesterday. I know all about you, your family, your job- what did you learn about me? Come over to mine around 7- if you remember the address!’

I walked up to the glass doors. A tall man with a greying beard was just in front of me, and opened the door to let himself through. I tried to follow him, but the heavy door swung onto my arm as I was walking through. I made a noise in pain, and the man turned around, shocked to see me there.

“Oh, sorry love!”

Rubbing my arm, I walked up three flights of stairs to my department. The queue for the elevators was ridiculous.

My phone finally pinged with another response from Josh. I glanced at it briefly as I headed to the small kitchenette for a cup of coffee.

‘Wow, it's like that? I thought we had something, Josie. See ya never, bitch.’

I stalled for a moment. My name isn’t Josie.

Turning the phone on silent mode, I shoved it into my handbag. Out of sight, out of mind.

The coffee pot was still full, so I grabbed a clean mug from the top shelf and poured a cup. Setting the pot back down, I turned away to grab a sugar packet. When I looked back, someone else had taken it. Coby took a deep swig and almost spat it out.

“Dear god, that’s so bitter!” He looked at me expectantly, and quickly snatched the packet out of my waiting hand. “I’m gonna need another few of these, don’t you think? And grab me the milk while you’re at it.”

I took a deep, calming breath.

I really should’ve stayed in bed.