The beginning of the semester has been fun, and as of now, I have new classes and new classmates. Yet, I’m still stuck on the same old public bus to get to school in the morning.
I need to get my license and a car, but I love that the bus provides me with fun stories to write about.
Speaking of which, the first story happened the third week of the semester! It was a morning like no other, and I saw a man get on the bus and started asking the bus driver if he does emergency stops. To which the bus driver said yes, only in emergency situations; so, the man paid and sat down.
As we were arriving near Orland, he said to stop, which of course the bus driver didn’t. The bus driver then explained the idea of emergencies and let the rider know he couldn’t make the requested stop. The man then began telling the driver that he was from LA, and he was just released from jail, declaring that he needed the bus “to stop at the pound because that’s where it was.”
Everyone was staring and giving the man a side eye at this point.
The bus driver was visibly annoyed and told him that he couldn’t do much and that the rider would have to get off on the next stop and walk back to where he wanted to go. The man then began begging, telling the bus driver that he was from LA and to please stop. He was basically throwing a tantrum. The bus driver kept telling him that he couldn’t stop, and the man kept exclaiming, you guessed it, “I’m from LA!”
The next story happened sometime this week. A lady who was clearly not okay asked me questions about the bus. Questions like what time it came, where did it go, etc. She asked me if there was a transfer bus from the Glenn Ride so she could go to the casino to which I responded yes. She then looked at me up and down, smiled and proceeded to ask me the same questions for about 10 minutes until she finally decided she had enough information. As the minutes clicked and the same questions were asked, I was getting annoyed, but I didn’t want to be rude and tell her to go away. The next best thing I could do was just stand there and answer the questions, again and again. However, did I mention there was a weird boyfriend with her? He kept staring at me while she and I was talking. I was a bit scared that we would walk up to me. He may have had something to do with why I kept answering the same questions.
Overall, I missed the bus a little over the break, and I’m glad to be back!
