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Description
It's so goddamn hot. The guy thought to himself, and it was. The heat was even worse at the bus stops, at least that's the way he sees it. On two occasions he saw paramedics and policemen at a bus stop aiding someone who collapsed from dehydration or heat stroke or something like that. They had them laying on a wheel bed with a bag injecting hydrating fluid into their blood stream and an oxygen mask on their face; it was a grim sight. He tried to clear his mind from that and focus on watching for a bus, getting home, and escaping the heat. Isn't that the slogan for a water park? He shrugged and scooted more into the shade of the metal sun shield above the seats.
"Uh." He looked to his left and saw that his arm and thigh were rubbing against the teenage girl sitting next to him, about his age.
"Sorry." He said to her, scooting to his right.
"Okay." she replied with a blank expression. She turned her head toward the street. She looked a little familiar to him. Maybe she goes to the same school I go to.
He felt a little awkward; whenever he needed to take the bus home from somewhere he ventured on his own. He didn't talk to anyone and didn't need to. The only time he would be involved with someone on the bus or other public transportation was with a friend or his brother or sister. Going with company doesn't happen very often and he was fine with that. He bent forward and saw a bus coming to his stop. Getting up, he reached into his pocket for his wallet to pull out his bus pass.
"Does this bus go to the gas station on Nickels and 5th?" It was the girl who was sitting next to him asking. The guy hesitated, then turned to her and answered, "It makes a stop there."
"Alright, thank you." She then got up and started looking through a purse she had with her. She still kept the same blank pretty face; he tried not to think about it. As he turned back around the bus slowed down and stopped in front of him. The door opened and after several passengers exited the bus, with the bus pass in hand, he entered. He swiped the pass, greeted the driver with a quick nod, and took a seat that faced the aisle near the front. With no one sitting near him, he slouched placing his elbows on his knees and horizontally dangled his arms inward. Clearing his mind, he took in the cool air conditioning, and relaxed.
Voices from two people bickering at the front began escalating. He tried to ignore it, but his calm trance broke when it became worse very suddenly.
"You can't do that, I already paid!" He looked where the commotion was coming from and saw it was the girl he just spoke to ten seconds ago. Her voice was loud and furious, nothing like it was before. She was arguing with the bus driver, who replied the fee machine was on the frits and didn't charge her money.
In a normal tone, the bus driver said to her "You need to pay the fee again."
"But I need the day pass! The thing ate most of the money I was gunna use, and now I don't have enough!" She said, louder than before.
"I'm sorry, I know this is inconvenient but I can't have you on the bus."
"No, NO!" Upon screaming this, her face became startlingly upset; she walked up near the door and slid onto the floor. The great sobbing attracted the attention of everyone else on the bus. The people in line behind her stared down at her. To the guy, she didn't seem to be crying, just screaming her despair with an extreme expression like that of a toddler having a tantrum. He couldn't believe that someone in there adolescences could do something like this, and to his surprise he felt frightened.
In a higher volume, the bus driver said, "Hey, calm down. Look, I'll pay for you, alright? There." The bus driver ran a five dollar bill through the machine, printing out a new all-day bus pass in another slot. By this time, traffic at the intersection beyond the bus stop changed, giving the right-of-way to the horizontal street. "Get up, get you pass, and please take a seat."
The girl stood up and grabbed the pass. She turned around quickly, marching down the aisle. The guy tried to keep his eyes on the floor, but he looked up at her as she went near him.
"You better not be pulling this shit with anyone else."
If he wasn't trying to make himself seem uninterested in the situation, his jaw would have dropped. Her expression was no longer sad, but now pissed off. The guy quickly lured his vision on the floor like he ordered. In his peripheral, he saw the girl taking the seat to his right. He was caught in the middle.
"Excuse me?" the bus driver asked frustratingly. "I just paid for you to get on this bus."
"It was your fucking machine that screwed it all up! Just drive already!" The arguing between the two was putting the guy in a deep pit of discomfort.
"You think you can have that attitude with me?" shouted the bus driver.
"Just forget it, and do your job!" the girl shouted back. The guy felt like he was having a minor panic attack.
"Do you want me to throw you out my fuckin' bus?"
She paused, but only briefly. "Don't talk to the customer like that." She said in a quieter, smug inflection.
The bus driver was stupefied from hearing that. The streetlight had been green for some time. "Jesus Christ." The bus pulled out of the curb and went on with its route.

On the next few stops everyone remained quiet, looking the other way. Coming upon Nickels and 5th, the girl pulled the stop-request cord, raising her purse over her shoulder right after. The bus stopped in front of the gas station and she got up. The door opened, she was the only one to get off. She took a few steps and as she walked up the sidewalk, she yelled out, "Quit being a frickin prick to people!" The people coming on looked at her. When they found their seats, the bus took off.

Only a couple more stops. The guy thought staring at the window, eyes wide. He looked down. From the end of the bus, he could hear a woman talking to someone who just got on about the bus rider incident that occurred just moments ago. "She came in and started screaming and then was crying on the floor!" He caught a quick glimpse at the woman. She was a thin-faced, young woman with short red curly hair, and seemed like the gossiping type. "And he paid for her fee, but she just walked away and cursed at him without giving so much as a thank you! Like some sort of insane loon!" She and the other person chuckled. He felt despised at her way of taking someone's moment of emotional breakdown and using it as something to mock and poke fun at them without even concerning their dilemma or knowing who they were.
Don't you see that she couldn't afford to get home! That she might have had something personally important to get to! That she was very upset! Really upset. He remembered the tantrum face she made and felt chills. He also realized the disturbance she caused for everyone on board, himself, and the bus driver. The bus driver! He couldn't imagine what he must be going through. He did a favor for the girl and was yelled at. Fuck. He looked back at the gossiping woman, ignoring what she was saying. It might not have been her fault. He began to feel sorry for the girl, and the bus driver.
Noticing his stop approaching, he felt this strange urge to do something. He looked at the back of the driver's chair. What would I even say to him? The vehicle slowed down to a halt. He stood up, but was ambushed by the rest of the riders in single file to depart. He had to wait for everyone else to pass which left him the last one in the line. They quickly walked out without looking at the driver. As they left, he saw no one was at the stop waiting to get on. He looked out the front window, seeing the streetlight stuck on red and a long row of cars blocking the bus from the road. The bus was now empty with just him and the bus driver. Goddamn it. He turned to face the bus driver.
"Hi." The guy said awkwardly. The bus driver was a young looking man with a dark gray ponytail and was looking at him with a listening expression. "Look," he cleared his throat, and paused. "Um, that was, uh, something… earlier."
The bus driver sighed. "You're telling me."
"You… probably see that a lot."
"Well, as a bus driver you hear a lot of weird things other bus drivers go through. But this one seems like something difficult to tell them.
"Uh-huh." He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply in preparation to what he was going to say. "Look, I sort of know that girl. She's a friend of my sister, and I think one time she was talking about her problems with her emotions."
"You mean like bi-polar?"
"…Yeah."
"I see…"
"I know that doesn't really help you… but I'd like to apologize on behalf… of her."
"Well that's real humble of you. What's your na-?" A passing car's horn went off. They both turned to the window and saw that the cars were now gone with the streetlight casting a strong green. "You better get going," said the bus driver. The guy walked out onto the sidewalk, "and thanks." The doors closed and the bus drove away.

As he was walking the rest of the way home, he felt awkward like never before. Right at the level of what happened on that bus. Odd. He thought plainly, thinking of the lie he told in order to say sorry for a complete stranger. Along with the awkwardness there was also a hint of heroism he strangely felt. But this can't be what being a hero feels like. Am I a hero? At home he gave a conclusion of 'sure, why not'. He also realized something else. If I hadn't done it, I'd be kicking myself for it

Description
It's so goddamn hot. The guy thought to himself, and it was. The heat was even worse at the bus stops, at least that's the way he sees it. On two occasions he saw paramedics and policemen at a bus stop aiding someone who collapsed from dehydration or heat stroke or something like that. They had them laying on a wheel bed with a bag injecting hydrating fluid into their blood stream and an oxygen mask on their face; it was a grim sight. He tried to clear his mind from that and focus on watching for a bus, getting home, and escaping the heat. Isn't that the slogan for a water park? He shrugged and scooted more into the shade of the metal sun shield above the seats.
"Uh." He looked to his left and saw that his arm and thigh were rubbing against the teenage girl sitting next to him, about his age.
"Sorry." He said to her, scooting to his right.
"Okay." she replied with a blank expression. She turned her head toward the street. She looked a little familiar to him. Maybe she goes to the same school I go to.
He felt a little awkward; whenever he needed to take the bus home from somewhere he ventured on his own. He didn't talk to anyone and didn't need to. The only time he would be involved with someone on the bus or other public transportation was with a friend or his brother or sister. Going with company doesn't happen very often and he was fine with that. He bent forward and saw a bus coming to his stop. Getting up, he reached into his pocket for his wallet to pull out his bus pass.
"Does this bus go to the gas station on Nickels and 5th?" It was the girl who was sitting next to him asking. The guy hesitated, then turned to her and answered, "It makes a stop there."
"Alright, thank you." She then got up and started looking through a purse she had with her. She still kept the same blank pretty face; he tried not to think about it. As he turned back around the bus slowed down and stopped in front of him. The door opened and after several passengers exited the bus, with the bus pass in hand, he entered. He swiped the pass, greeted the driver with a quick nod, and took a seat that faced the aisle near the front. With no one sitting near him, he slouched placing his elbows on his knees and horizontally dangled his arms inward. Clearing his mind, he took in the cool air conditioning, and relaxed.
Voices from two people bickering at the front began escalating. He tried to ignore it, but his calm trance broke when it became worse very suddenly.
"You can't do that, I already paid!" He looked where the commotion was coming from and saw it was the girl he just spoke to ten seconds ago. Her voice was loud and furious, nothing like it was before. She was arguing with the bus driver, who replied the fee machine was on the frits and didn't charge her money.
In a normal tone, the bus driver said to her "You need to pay the fee again."
"But I need the day pass! The thing ate most of the money I was gunna use, and now I don't have enough!" She said, louder than before.
"I'm sorry, I know this is inconvenient but I can't have you on the bus."
"No, NO!" Upon screaming this, her face became startlingly upset; she walked up near the door and slid onto the floor. The great sobbing attracted the attention of everyone else on the bus. The people in line behind her stared down at her. To the guy, she didn't seem to be crying, just screaming her despair with an extreme expression like that of a toddler having a tantrum. He couldn't believe that someone in there adolescences could do something like this, and to his surprise he felt frightened.
In a higher volume, the bus driver said, "Hey, calm down. Look, I'll pay for you, alright? There." The bus driver ran a five dollar bill through the machine, printing out a new all-day bus pass in another slot. By this time, traffic at the intersection beyond the bus stop changed, giving the right-of-way to the horizontal street. "Get up, get you pass, and please take a seat."
The girl stood up and grabbed the pass. She turned around quickly, marching down the aisle. The guy tried to keep his eyes on the floor, but he looked up at her as she went near him.
"You better not be pulling this shit with anyone else."
If he wasn't trying to make himself seem uninterested in the situation, his jaw would have dropped. Her expression was no longer sad, but now pissed off. The guy quickly lured his vision on the floor like he ordered. In his peripheral, he saw the girl taking the seat to his right. He was caught in the middle.
"Excuse me?" the bus driver asked frustratingly. "I just paid for you to get on this bus."
"It was your fucking machine that screwed it all up! Just drive already!" The arguing between the two was putting the guy in a deep pit of discomfort.
"You think you can have that attitude with me?" shouted the bus driver.
"Just forget it, and do your job!" the girl shouted back. The guy felt like he was having a minor panic attack.
"Do you want me to throw you out my fuckin' bus?"
She paused, but only briefly. "Don't talk to the customer like that." She said in a quieter, smug inflection.
The bus driver was stupefied from hearing that. The streetlight had been green for some time. "Jesus Christ." The bus pulled out of the curb and went on with its route.

On the next few stops everyone remained quiet, looking the other way. Coming upon Nickels and 5th, the girl pulled the stop-request cord, raising her purse over her shoulder right after. The bus stopped in front of the gas station and she got up. The door opened, she was the only one to get off. She took a few steps and as she walked up the sidewalk, she yelled out, "Quit being a frickin prick to people!" The people coming on looked at her. When they found their seats, the bus took off.

Only a couple more stops. The guy thought staring at the window, eyes wide. He looked down. From the end of the bus, he could hear a woman talking to someone who just got on about the bus rider incident that occurred just moments ago. "She came in and started screaming and then was crying on the floor!" He caught a quick glimpse at the woman. She was a thin-faced, young woman with short red curly hair, and seemed like the gossiping type. "And he paid for her fee, but she just walked away and cursed at him without giving so much as a thank you! Like some sort of insane loon!" She and the other person chuckled. He felt despised at her way of taking someone's moment of emotional breakdown and using it as something to mock and poke fun at them without even concerning their dilemma or knowing who they were.
Don't you see that she couldn't afford to get home! That she might have had something personally important to get to! That she was very upset! Really upset. He remembered the tantrum face she made and felt chills. He also realized the disturbance she caused for everyone on board, himself, and the bus driver. The bus driver! He couldn't imagine what he must be going through. He did a favor for the girl and was yelled at. Fuck. He looked back at the gossiping woman, ignoring what she was saying. It might not have been her fault. He began to feel sorry for the girl, and the bus driver.
Noticing his stop approaching, he felt this strange urge to do something. He looked at the back of the driver's chair. What would I even say to him? The vehicle slowed down to a halt. He stood up, but was ambushed by the rest of the riders in single file to depart. He had to wait for everyone else to pass which left him the last one in the line. They quickly walked out without looking at the driver. As they left, he saw no one was at the stop waiting to get on. He looked out the front window, seeing the streetlight stuck on red and a long row of cars blocking the bus from the road. The bus was now empty with just him and the bus driver. Goddamn it. He turned to face the bus driver.
"Hi." The guy said awkwardly. The bus driver was a young looking man with a dark gray ponytail and was looking at him with a listening expression. "Look," he cleared his throat, and paused. "Um, that was, uh, something… earlier."
The bus driver sighed. "You're telling me."
"You… probably see that a lot."
"Well, as a bus driver you hear a lot of weird things other bus drivers go through. But this one seems like something difficult to tell them.
"Uh-huh." He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply in preparation to what he was going to say. "Look, I sort of know that girl. She's a friend of my sister, and I think one time she was talking about her problems with her emotions."
"You mean like bi-polar?"
"…Yeah."
"I see…"
"I know that doesn't really help you… but I'd like to apologize on behalf… of her."
"Well that's real humble of you. What's your na-?" A passing car's horn went off. They both turned to the window and saw that the cars were now gone with the streetlight casting a strong green. "You better get going," said the bus driver. The guy walked out onto the sidewalk, "and thanks." The doors closed and the bus drove away.

As he was walking the rest of the way home, he felt awkward like never before. Right at the level of what happened on that bus. Odd. He thought plainly, thinking of the lie he told in order to say sorry for a complete stranger. Along with the awkwardness there was also a hint of heroism he strangely felt. But this can't be what being a hero feels like. Am I a hero? At home he gave a conclusion of 'sure, why not'. He also realized something else. If I hadn't done it, I'd be kicking myself for it