Bus-ted

June 27, 2011

Disclaimer: This is a love story and it's not about me. Writers should ride a bus often. Coz really, when you are stuck inside that monstrous vehicle for hours with strangers, juicy stories happen.

I was riding a bus, it's 5 o'clock in the morning, I was going to the city after spending the weekend in our home town that is 117 kilometers from Cebu City. That would give me 3 dreadful hours on the road, and, I didn't take a shower, but that's not the point.

I was inside this non aircon bus in an early morning where 90 percent of my body was left in bed asleep. Really, you don't have much choice at 5 o'clock in the morning. So, you hitch at the earliest bus you've seen with your two bloodshot sleepy eyes. Aircon or not. You wont take any chances, coz the next one might come 30 minutes later.

5 o'clock in the morning (yeah, I said that already). I could reach at the city by eight then prepare for work and be at the office by 9. That's the best case scenario and I'm having high hopes, fingers crossed. It'll depends on the driver and the availability of the road.

I sat on a 3-seat vacant chair that was fused together. I put myself near the window. It felt like, I did that my whole life. It's a habit that won't die. Coz, early in my college life, I always situated myself near the window so it's easy for me to puke if I got carsick. I wasn't a big fan of buses and I still am not! At times like this where I wish there's a train system in Cebu, which won't happen anytime soon, and by soon means never.

After 45 minutes of riding the bus, a young girl hitched up and sat beside me. She looks pretty and young. And yeah, I'm jealous! So, we're already 2 in the 3-seat chair. I really don't care who sat near me as long as he/she looks harmless and ineffectual.

20 minutes (or so) have past, a young boy hitched up and sat beside the girl who sat beside me. So, we're already 3 in the 3-seat chair. Feeling safe and harmless, I'm all for sleeping. The two looked decent anyways. So, I closed my sleep deprived eyes.

Later, I heard the boy said "Hi", to the girl. Okay, when you're riding in a bus that will take more than an hour to reach your destination, you would really appreciate it if your seatmate were well-behaved and quiet. It's times like this where I want to sit next to a corpse. *thinking* Nuh-uh! I won't sit next to a corpse. I held a loud sigh for them to know that I wasn't happy for this event, but the boy talked further asking where the girl came from and other personal stuffs. "Oh boy, he's flirting. Can he at least let me sleep first!" I thought to myself.

Judging from the girl's response to him, she wasn't as happy as I am of the boy's interrogations but it seemed like he has no plans of the shutting the hell up. I recount ways of how I can make him stop talking, and, throwing him outside the door was a pretty option.

The next thing I heard is the girl fumbling for something in her bag. I couldn't take the noise any longer so I opened my eyes and turned my head to them to gave them a pissed off look. Then I saw what made the girl busied searching inside her bag, coz there in her hand was an empty plastic bag. "Oh dear Lord, not now! I know where is this going," I thought. I know the drill. It happened to me...

So, here's the love story...

Inset: Dear Lord, if you will write my love story again, please don't start it in a vomit scene. That is just gross.

I looked at the young girl's face and she looked sick and pale. She looked like a college freshman (which she confirmed later) who's not used to travelling. She must expected it, coz she had a plastic bag ready for her to stash her vomit in. Oh, I remember those days...

The boy said things that sounds like he was concern. Then, the girl puked. UGH! I immediately forced my brain to stop processing anything. Seeing people vomitting makes me want to join them. Gross!

After her stomach settled, she's now holding a plastic bag full of goo. Excuse me *vomits*. She held the plastic bag like a lifeline and it's a puzzle to me on where she gonna put it. She could throw it on the window but it was closed. I could open it but I didn't. Don't ask me why, it's the inner demon in me.

Inset: when you're near the window, you have the dibs on it. It's up to you if you want them open or close.

A while later, I heard the boy offered to hold the plastic bag full of you-know-what-it-is. Oh! He really wanted to go that far! He must be serious with this girl. For christ's sake, that was someone else's puke. I don't even want to see my own puke. I lost all the sleepiness in my system. The girl refused the offer. Then the boy offered his shoulder for the girl to slept on. Sweet! She refused that, too. I'm all for their developing love affair or whatever, except that the gooey plastic bag was banging wherever her hand goes. Sometimes, it's in front of me or near my legs, or anywhere her hand stopped. And she had a very jaunty hand.

I hadn't notice that I got asleep. When I awoke, the girl's head was on the boy's shoulder already with their hands entertwined. "Oh! crap, I miss the best part." I thought. It's like watching a movie and fall asleep at the best scene which everyone talks about... How did they got there? Looking at her other hand that is nearer to me and wasn't entertwined with that of the boy's, is the plastic bag with the infamous puke. "Oh man, you've got to be kidding me. Don't you ever get that plastic bag any nearer to me.", I said to myself.

Then he started to tell her his name and other informations that is far more than a person would give to a stranger. So, he is Joko (or Jojo, I couldn't hear it clearly, I prefer Joko), he just graduated from ACT, which I believed offers 2 or 3 year course. So, he must be 18 or 19 but he looks younger. Yeah, I watch him sideways without the head moving and only the eyes rotate to the extent where it could only go the farthest - my two defected free from eyeglasses eyes. That's one of my few God-giving talents.

Inset: I was once on a girl's shoes when I was still a college freshman. The same plot: it's early in the morning, with a stranger and the shameful puking. I was once there, too, with a little twist. That was 3 in the morning, and bus's seat was all occupied, some were standing in the aisle, so, I just put my butt on the bus's stairs. In front of me is an elderly man, whom I didn't know of. He was standing on one of the steps and I was facing him. I felt sick from the constant juggling of the bus minus the fact that I'm not used to riding it. Yeah, shameful things happened to me and this could top it all! So, here it is... I throw up on the elderly man's shoes. Believe me, humiliation could not do justice to sum-up of what I felt at that time. I flashed him the peace sign and put my head to my knees the entire ride. I'm so afraid of looking at him.

By 8 o'clock, I was still inside the bus. So, I texted by boss that I'm gonna be late. Punctuality is not my cup of tea.

When we almost arrived in the bus terminal, the guy asked for the girl's name, to which the girl refused to gave. I was a bit shock, seeing that she half-hugged the poor little man halfway of the journey. She must broke his heart. I know he expected some love affair from the whole she-slept-on-his-shoulder excursion. Well, me, too! After all, I'm a sucker of happy endings! He then ask if he could visit her, to which, the girl said NO! She said something like "I'm busy with my studies and I'm living with my Ate in a dormitory". So, the love story ended before it even progress.

I think, what the girl wanted at that time is a care which she got it from the boy! She was very young and helpless. This was new to her, I got that. She needed to be taken care of and she grabbed it on anyone who offered. Which, between her seatmates, I am less likely to bid. Huh! I started to like her!, except for the goo that was still safe in her hand.

So, I assume, the girl took advantage of the boy's offer because she needed a care. She didn't want a relationship. I gotta be that girl. HARDCORE!

For the girl's credit, she really was very sick.

kids at work

you're too excited to use a ballpen (pen). pencils are for babies and you're already a grown-up. grown-ups use pens, not pencils. you could see the blot-ty works of apache and uni on your blue-and-red lined papers. then, oops! you misdid writings on it, so, you need to erased it. white inks and liquid eraser was not introduced yet and you don't want to just scratch it, coz that would just be ugly. nay!

so, you do what you think is the best way. and at that time, you really believe, it was the best way! it's genius, even.

this is not easy. you need to do it with a right amount af saliva and a calculated force of your finger to erased the writings properly. and, at 9-year olds, it's an arduous task, mind you. it takes a lot of practise or you'll end with a whole on your paper. and you don't want that. or else, your classmates will dubbed you "as the one who passed the answer sheet with a hole" during reunions. 

so, you wet your forefinger (with saliva), see to it that it has just the right amount of liquid on it, then rub it on the surface of the paper. right force! right force. then, ha! perfect!, mama would be proud.

it's gross, but it works. 

dream

i dreamt that i have half siblings that i didn't know of. we have just meet... 2 blue-eyed blonde half siblings. a boy and a girl. they're like 8 and 10. though, the dream was not detailed on my true emotions at that time. so, i really don't know if i was angry or happy about that. i remember, i didn't talk, i just stare at them. it's like there's a halo above their heads. they are sooooooooo cute! 

i think i should feel bad if it's real, but hello!?, ICE BLUE EYES!??? who wouldn't love that. 

i don't know, too, who's parent's side they came from. or what continent do they were made.

one thing is for sure, i watch too much television. i think mary poppins is messing up with brains (that's the movie i watched before i sleep).

and by the way, i slept 10 hours. ha!