I got evicted.

But that is a story for another day. 

Today, I shall tell you a bus story. A tale of human interaction so bizarre that I really should go through old entries to make sure I haven't written it before. 

No, we're good.

It was late summer, 2010. This was before I abandoned the 16 Prospect as a bus to take to work when it became overrun by students. The bus was pretty full when I got on at Kings Place - I sat in an available easy access seat facing the other side of the bus. Across from me sat an old woman. 

 

"Hello!" she said.

"Hi." I said, smiling politely, but trying to seem as unengaged as possible.

"Are you going to work, dear?" 

Oh no, I thought to myself, "Um.. yup."

"I don't work, myself." She nodded at me, "On account of my health problems."

"Oh..."

"I have to wear this medic alert bracelet." The bus was already moving, she leaned forward a bit, and showed me her wrist, "In case I have one of my attacks!"

"That must be handy." I smiled, I stopped smiling, I didn't know how to appropriately react with my face.

"Oh I've had a terrible time of it." She shook her head, looking down at the floor of the bus dramatically. I took the opportunity to look every other direction on the bus, pleading for some kind of escape already. She would not have it be so, and piped up, "How old would you say I am?"

"Pardon?"

"How old?" She grinned, "If you had to guess, how old?"

"I wouldn't like to say..."

"If you had to!"

I erred on the side of extreme flattery, "Um... 58?"

"I'm 70!" the woman beamed, then pointing to her hair, "You guessed that because of my hair! I keep my hair dyed. I bet you never would've guessed that!"

I nearly laughed as she kept her finger pointing at her jet black bowl-cut, "No, I wouldn't have."

By this point we were driving through campus. She changed her finger point to the direction of a UNB Residence, "I used to stay there sometimes. In the summer."

"Oh yeah?" 

She looked into my eyes meaningfully, "You know dear... if you're ever in trouble, they let you stay there. When the students are gone, I mean."

"I don't need..." Does she think I need escaping from a bad home?

A woman got off the bus at the next stop.

"I have the same jacket as you!" she called out to the other woman, who scurried off the vehicle. "I have the same jacket as hers only mine is green."

"Yeah?"

"It's so much better in green," she said rather smugly, "More like spring."

"I can see that."

"I like your eyebrows. They almost look real."*

What?! "This is my stop."

"Have a good day at work, dear." she trilled, "Talk to you later!"

And I got off the bus. 

*My eyebrows are real.