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My car is in the shop and I’m on the bus to work today. I enjoy the extra daydream time, but the ride is bumpy. I hold my breath with every screech of opening doors at each stop, for some reason. Most riders read the paper or gaze out windows, lost in thought. Some talk loudly to each other over the noisy engine works. Two teen girls burst on board with backpacks. One texts on a cell phone. Both are Hispanic. Each wear heavy black eyeliner, dark lipstick and school uniform khaki pants, white t-shirts. They take seats in front of me. Their beautiful long black hair flows over the seat backs and nearly touches my knees:
Girl 1: Shit. I’m hungry. You got anything to eat?
Girl 2: Again? You’re always hungry! Are you pregnant?
Girl 1: Shut up bitch! I’m not pregnant but you look like you are!
Girl 2: Whatever.
(Her friend bounces around in her seat, bobbing her head up and down)
Girl 2: Hey! Relax, man. Shit.
Girl 1: I can’t help it. I am pumped UP! I can’t wait to beat her ass! I can’t wait, man!
Girl 1: Shit. I’m hungry. You got anything to eat?
Girl 2: Again? You’re always hungry! Are you pregnant?
Girl 1: Shut up bitch! I’m not pregnant but you look like you are!
Girl 2: Whatever.
(Her friend bounces around in her seat, bobbing her head up and down)
Girl 2: Hey! Relax, man. Shit.
Girl 1: I can’t help it. I am pumped UP! I can’t wait to beat her ass! I can’t wait, man!
The bus stops across from a downtown high school and the girls exit. I strain my neck to watch them out the window. They join a group of girls waiting on the corner. Several pat Girl 1 on the back and head. She is jumping up and down pumping her fist in the air.
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scary & sad.
...and you wonder what happened after that. Nice job capturing the mood and setting. A great story would be to follow them off the bus and create what happens next.
Oh...if those girls only knew! Wow...a glimpse of our future. I guess it's a little more than I want to know right now!
Hi Mr. Grudge, I really did want to do that. Thankfully I kept my senses and stayed on the bus! I've imagined a few different endings to the story. As disheartening as it was, the situation was a great writing prompt.
Leann, I know what you mean. This must be the exception, right? Or am I that out of touch with high schoolers?
It's always about drama with teenage girls.
I agree. Teenage girls can be a real pain.
I hope the one all pumped up got her little butt whipped! Sorry, I'm in a foul mood today.
DS
What a shame I wasn't left with a princess and blossoming youth image. :D I'm glad I'm older and wiser. What a waste of energy.
Great blog!!!
Deathsweep, you're allowed! I actually wanted to yank her hair from behind and make her see the err of her ways. But then I'd be sued for a million dollars for laying a hand on someone else's little angel.
Hi JJ, thank you! I, too, cherish my wisdom and age, well maybe not so much the age part. But it's the price we pay for the wisdom part, right?
Thank you for coming to my blog. Thought I'd drop by and say Hi! I love your eavesdropping. It's something I suggest in the authors' groups I facilitate--that riding a bus and listinging, listening, listening! (-: Obviously it works well for you.
Very best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
www.howtodoitfrugally.com
Hello Carolyn, thanks for checking Eavesdrop out. I always like to hear about writers using eavesdropping as a tool. It's a great imagination marinade for me! I might just ride the bus for the fun of it, trolling for ideas.
Good grief - I am having PTSD - first thinking about being "met" after school and then when think about riding the bus. Nice story - great capture.
Hello Ghost, I'm sorry about the PTSD. High school these days sure sounds like it can be combative. Guess we as a society kissed childhood innocense goodbye years ago!
Sorry to say but those girls sound pretty mild to me. I've heard plenty worse from teenagers and younger. But it's most probably just some of the areas I've been too! You have a really good concept for a blog by the way.
Thanks, Craig, welcome to Eavesdrop. It's true, I am sure kids experience worse things at school than a 'meet and fight'. Still, I guess I'm comparing it to my childhood experience where such things never even crossed our minds. Don't know if it was the different time or the different place...maybe a bit of both. (I'm 38)
Most probably a bit of the both. I think kids are growing up a lot faster these days. My 9 year old cousin has a "boyfried". Which I thnk is so wrong. But of what I heard from my parents things were pretty wild back in their day too.
I encounter a lot of loud students on the bus. Today the decibel level was especially high. Still, your story was a new one for me. That's just awful. And they're supposed to learn in that environment too?
Hi MS, this conversation was kind of surreal for me. As I said to Craig, it's so far removed from how my school days were. I remember thinking about those girls' teachers and how futile their efforts might be if the most exciting thing for students about their school day is beating someone's arse. Impossible odds stacked against them, I'd say.
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