The People in This Neighborhood

I ride the bus home from work. I also ride the bus to work, but that's another story.

Yesterday as I stood waiting at the Arborland Mall bus stop to catch my second bus, A few people came and gathered there with me. One of these people was an pepper-haired older woman in a purple ski coat and baseball cap. She sat on the bench near me, laid her bags on the ground, and took a sip of her steaming beverage. "How are you?" she asked me.

So I replied, "I'm alright, thanks.... A little cold though."

"Get yourself a free sample coffee at Starbuck's. There a good company. I've been dealing with them for years. There's another one down there by, uh, Golfside."

"Yes, they're everywhere."

(brief pause... ever so brief)

"Yep, you never lose with them, good company." She continues, "I came down here today, to the mall here to check out these shops. I told myself I'd go to all of them, but I only made it to three. I should've told myself I'd come down here and get to as many as I could, then I wouldn't have to be disappointed, miss out."

(ever so brief)

"I stopped over at Michael's to see what they have. They have some good deals there. Some things for 69 cents - I like to buy objects to pose with because I'm a model. Sometimes I'll glue small animals to my body," - she stamps her fingertips on her knee, "or tie things to myself... or I can get things to drape over my chest. Michael's, they usually have some good bargains."

"Sometimes they can be over-priced," I counter.

"Yeah, but I can usually find something there. I try to - I stop by thrift stores to find knick-knacks and props to use with me. But you can find good things a lot of places." At this point, the number 4 bus, my bus, pulls around the corner.

She continues, "I have to be ready for my bus... when it comes here. It co- - -"

I couldn't hear what she continued to say because I walked away to get on the bus.

It's not that I don't like to meet new people; I do, but I had this uncomfortable feeling that I had to draw her in class at some point during the last four years. Uncomfortable.