The number one bus pulls up in at the corner of Beechwood and the Vanier Parkway. The driver looks mean, like he’s seen hard times in his life and doesn’t expect anybody to do him any favours, so you shouldn’t expect any from him. You got it? Now move to the back of the bus.
On Old St. Patrick Road, in front of De La Salle High School, a girl in a green hoodie gives the finger to some students who just got on the bus. She’s jumping about on the sidewalk, happy and defiant. She yells something at them before spinning away and walking off like the diva she knows herself to be.
A young woman in a camouflage baseball hat and tight jeans sits up front. In the traffic directly beside her is a black jeep that’s headed to Quebec. Trying to make good-time eye contact with her is the driver of the car. Acting repulsed, she quickly turns away, but smiles to herself when nobody is looking.
In front of the Rideau Center, a muscular man carrying a cooler gets on the bus. He’s wearing a black ball cap that says “Outta my mind, back in five minutes.” Somebody saw that hat and thought, “Oh yeah, he’d love that, it’d be perfect!”
On Bank Street, a pretty street kid hangs out in front of the grocery store. She looks happy and free today, unlike her tall and skinny friend, the one with the protruding Adam’s apple. He looks hungry, like he’s run out of ideas and stopped having fun a long time ago.
In the Glebe, a clean-cut teen flips through a copy of Head, the magazine for dope enthusiasts. He’s reading about the legacy of Bob Marley. Nearby, stealing glances at him, sits a sweet girl in a pink top. At Bank and Cameron, without a second glance, they both disembark and silently head off in opposite directions. The fools, love was right there!
Boarding at Billings Bridge is a girl in a denim jacket. There are about twenty different depictions of cats embroidered on this jacket. Wearing Earphones, she delicately chews her fingernails and tugs at the sleeves of her jacket, making sure they hang at the right length. She looks nervous, like she’s not used to being around people. The bus lurches and some skin cream falls out of her bag. She doesn’t notice, but a heavy woman sitting at the back does. Pointing, she shouts this news at the girl, who looks startled and ashamed by the exposure.
A man with a ruddy face holds a red, plastic bag. Tattooed on each knuckle of his right hand is a letter that spells out the name Bill. He looks sad and tired, like he really hates job.
On Hunt Club, an elderly man wearing a Hockey Canada baseball hat picks up a copy of a tabloid newspaper. Absently humming, Oh Christmas Tree, his eyes linger on the photograph of a bikini-clad model, finding out that this green-eyes single gal is 20, and her kinda guy is outgoing and fun!