Sunday, November 15, 2009

Bus Stops

Bus stops tell you a lot about a person.
Now me, being an average teenager, without a car or licence (due more to lazyness than anything else) spent a large part of my days on buses, which also means a lot of time spent waiting at the bus stop.
Take today for example, after my math exam (which I wish never to hear mentioned again) I had to wait an hour for my bus.
And when you're bored, and your ipod has run out of battery, you start observing things. people.
And if you look at the people waiting at the bus stop, you notice things.
How people sit.
The confident ones come loping along and fairly sprawl themselves down on the seat, at the centre, legs out in front of them, casually bopping along to their music, talking on the phone, whatever. They're the confident ones. They aren't afraid to take up space, to be noticed, to be in the centre of everything.
Then there's the ones who sit with their legs crossed, or planted firmly on the ground, they sit more to one side of the seat, glancing up every once in a while to see if the bus is coming, check their watches, flick someone a text. They're just the average person, not loud, not quiet, would probably talk to you given half a chance, but it's unlikely they'l plonk themselves down and start up a conversation like the people who sit in the middle.
Then there's the sideliners.
They sit in the corner, on the fringes, watching people, saying nothing. They'll read a book, do some homework, check their phones, but mostly watch.
They sit as far to the side of the seats as they can, taking up as little space as possable. They don't grin at passerbys like some would. They don't sigh loudly when the bus is late, or get up for a wander when they've been sitting too long.
They stay silent and still.
They are isolated from everyone else, perhaps isolated from society. They're shy and quiet, hard to get through to, but when you do, it's usually rewarding.

I have to wonder sometimes, as I observe the unsuspecting people, is anyone watching me? Prejudging me, analysing me, seeing me.

Or am alone in a world full of people

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