The Transportation DebacleAt 6:35 AMby: Nana

I have a sort of "fear" of pushing the "stop" buttons on buses. I think that if I push them too early or too late that someone will notice. What they will do after noticing I can't really tell you, but this is one of my fears: people observing me not acting like a normal person would. I often joke with Hiro that there was some secret class that everyone took called "social skills 101" that I missed during school. At this class they would teach you things like "how to memorize bus routes" and "how to write cheques", or "which direction to step towards when you're passing someone." I always step to the right first by the way.

Last Monday I had to take the train back to Belleville, after spending the weekend in Ottawa for Canada Day. I awoke to the sounds of a jackhammer next door. Construction men were working on the room next to my friend's (Mark [Uzo temporarily, but I won't get into that... the names don't mean anything to alot of you anyway] and Arjun) apartment. I stayed there instead of at my place because I could take the bus just two stops to get to the train station. I had taken this bus route one other time with my other friend Tom.

I went to the bus station at around 5:30 and caught the bus at 5:40 pm or so. My train was scheduled to leave at 6:10. When my stop came up, I didn't push the button. I expected someone else to push it instead, so that I could leave the bus if this was my correct stop, and stay on if it wasn't. This doesn't make sense to any of you reading, and it doesn't make sense to me typing it, but that's what I did. I watched helplessly as the bus passed my stop and picked up speed down the highway.

The bus ended up going for two more stops before I got off (to St. Laurent station if you know the routes in Ottawa). I exited the station and started to skateboard back to the train station. ALong the way I had to content with the terrible wind of oncoming buses passing me, and going down a steep and rocky slope down to a sidewalk. I got back to the train station without a moment to spare: my watch read 6:05pm when I boarded the train to come back to Belleville.