Bubblegum

Sitting on the bus, half asleep from a long, boring day at work, she watched the other riders. Old women, unsteady on their feet, bent over from a life of hard work and loaded down with groceries sat near the front. Young mothers carrying little ones, strollers and bags of gear took forever to get on and off the bus. Gaggles of teenagers stood by the rear doors, giggling, flirting, being rowdy. The rest of the passengers were like her - indiscriminate age, working types, many in cheap suits with tired looking faces. When she looked around she saw the same look of bored frustration that stared back at her from the mirror every morning. Where was the excitement? That spark that made it all worth it? What was she missing?

She snapped her bubblegum impatiently. It was almost her stop. She rang the bell and began weaving her way through the teens. The bus lurched into the stop and she fell on a 15 year old boy. They both blushed furiously as the boys friends laughed and teased him. She hurried off the bus mumbling apologies.

The grey sky above looked threatening, and she hoped it wouldn't start raining 'til she was safely home. She'd hardly gone 3 steps before it started spitting down. She stopped at the convenience store to grab some milk and chocolate. She definitely needed chocolate today.

When she left the store the rain stopped spitting and started pouring. Drenched within seconds, she hurried down the street and inside. She stripped down in the hallway, leaving the wet clothes behind for later. She slipped into her jammies and put on the kettle for tea. As she waited for it to boil, she stared out the window at the rain, wondering "where do I go from here?"