Good people

I left work one day this week and it was late, I was hungry, it was raining and I was not wearing the proper London-gear. When I got to the bus stop, my bus was standing there - Yes! Lucky girl! But the doors were closed. I knocked, but the driver didn't open. He just said 'no' and kept looking ahead - to my despair - at the traffic lights.

Aha. The bus was not stopped at the bus stop. It was stopped in traffic. But the coincidence of these two "stops" being in the same place wasn't enough for the driver to open the door to me. Hungry. Tired, Wet, and now Really Pissed Off Me.

Just behind him another bus pulls up. Not the Right one, not the one who would take me to the station, where I change to another bus, the one that takes me to Warm Dry Home.

Damn.

I just stood there, already starting to live with waiting in the rain, when I saw the driver of Not The Right Bus calling me. "Come on, jump in!" And I said "No, you are not the one I need". But he didn't give up and just insisted: "Jump in!"

I don't know why, but I did. I just jumped onto the Wrong Bus.

Before I was able to open my mouth to protest, the driver said:

"We're going to get him!"

And we set off. At speed - taking every possible chance to overtake the Right Bus, in a manic kind of way, yes. But all I could see was his red cape, flying behind him, in what was now this crazy pursuit of the Right Bus Villain.

And before I knew it - he'd done it! My superhero-driver had overtaken the Right Bus and stopped in front of it, at the next bus stop.

So I jumped off, put on my smuggest face, and entered, triumphant, the Right Bus.

I looked the Villain right in his eyes, and said:

"Thanks for waiting".