On my drive to work this morning I see a man trip as he
runs for the bus. Walking to my office I find twenty dollars on the sidewalk. I
put it in my wallet and smile at the homeless person on the corner. I arrive at
my desk early and check my personal emails before anyone else gets in. I laugh
out loud thinking about that man tripping up as he ran for the bus. The bus
driver was an asshole, though - he drove off, even though the people at the bus
stop were telling him to wait. I shift in my seat. My trousers are too tight. I
want to eat a muffin. This job is boring. I look out the window and watch the
autumn leaves catching fresh morning sunlight. When my supervisor Dianne
comes in I tell her about the man who tripped running for the bus. She has a
good laugh too. I hope she’ll give me a promotion. We go out for coffee. I
catch the barista using full cream milk when I asked for skim. I call him out
about it. The other customers watch me make a scene. I get a second coffee for
free. Later, as I carry both coffees back to the office, I wonder if Dianne and
the other customers think I am assertive, or if they think I am a bully. Perhaps I should have given the second coffee to one of the other
customers at the café, or the homeless person on the corner. Perhaps I should
have refused it altogether, on principle. I pour one coffee - I don’t know
which one - down the sink. I drink the other coffee. I think about that man
running for the bus.
really good stuff! Made me laugh and cringe.
ReplyDeleteThanks Efi. Glad to hear it had the right effect!
DeleteWonderfully compressed, Lesley. Beautiful writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rob.
DeleteI love how the man tripping is replayed in the reader's mind as the narrator recalls it again and again. Uncomfortable. Clever.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah. It's supposed to evoke thoughtless advantage and individualism run wild. I think being the person who misses the bus is appealing to this narrator, which is why it keeps returning to her,but she has no idea what a different or less privileged life might actually be like.
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