She rode home on the same bus every day. The bus made stops on Harris Street, Green Avenue and Hillsbury Road before her stop at Sullivan Court. It made stops at Winslow place, Kennedy Lane and Morris Circle before she got on at Main Street. There were ten people on the bus when she got on. It was 5:41. The bus ride home took twenty-two minutes.

    The man across from her sat stiffly, staring at the seat in front of him, a briefcase on his lap. The old lady in front of the man with the briefcase grasped assorted shopping bags and a gaudy, tattered purse. The young woman behind the man with the briefcase held a baby in her arms, trying to rock it to sleep. And the man in front of her was tall and balding. She herself had aching feet.

    The bus started down the road, rain smacking against the windows and the roof. It had been raining all day, and the road was slightly flooded. The floor of the bus was wet and slippery from everyone's shoes. The bus was silent aside from the engine's roar. It had been a long day. Everyone was tired. Everyone was strained.

    She road home on the same bus each evening. She had seen the man across from her every day for over a year. He always sat in the same seat. She had seem the old lady before a few times too, but the young woman was new. The man in front of her was tall and balding. That's all she knew about him.

    Since she rode the same bus home every day, she saw the same buildings flicker by in a blur. A salon, a school, a hardware store. A grocery store and a bank. It was all a familiar sight. She wondered what buildings were on the other side of the street. She had never sat on the left side of the bus. She had always sat on the right, across from the man with the briefcase.

    Her feet hurt. She worked at a pharmacy, and spent most of the day on her feet, filling prescriptions.

    "What time is it?" The young woman with the baby asked the man with the briefcase.

    He seemed startled by the question, and fumbled for his watch. "5:47," he replied.

    The young woman thanked him and went back to the baby.

    She had never heard the man with the briefcase say a word in the year she had been riding this bus. Then again, no one had ever bothered to say anything to anyone. She went back to the window, the rain and the flickering buildings.

    The bus stopped at Harris Street. The old woman with the shopping bags got off, leaving her gaudy, tattered purse behind. No one bothered to say anything. Her feet hurt. She was tired. And she was stressed. A young woman in red got on. She took the old lady's seat. The old woman realized she left her purse but by then the bus had pulled away. She watched the old woman disappear through her foggy window.

    The baby started crying, and the young mother tried to calm it. The woman in red caught sight of the old woman's gaudy, tattered purse and began to sift through its contents.

    The man with the briefcase heaved a sigh and checked his watch. The young woman managed to calm the child. The tall, balding man did not move. She watched the blurry buildings go by.

    The young woman in red was not familiar to her. The old lady's purse now aside, she took out a compact to tidy up her make up.

    The bus stopped at Green Avenue. The young woman with the baby gathered up her many bags and struggled her way off the bus. She nearly fell when she slipped on the wet floor. No one bothered to help her. She managed to step off the bus without further incident. The young woman in red got off at the same stop holding the old lady's gaudy, tattered purse.

    Two teenagers, a boy and a girl, both soaked with rain, stepped onto the bus laughing. They took the seat vacated by the young woman with the baby.

    Her feet still hurt and she was still tried. She watched the young woman with the baby try and shield her child from the rain as she struggled down the street with her many bags. The young woman in red had gone into a salon. The bus pulled away, back into traffic.

    The two teenagers talked and laughed quietly together. The man with the briefcase checked his watch and stared longingly out the foggy window. The tall, balding man remained motionless.

    She checked her own watch. It was 5:54. The bus stopped again at Hillsbury road.

    The two teenagers got to their feet.

    "I'll race ya," said the boy.

    The girl replied, "I'll beat ya."

    They ran off through the puddles.

    No one boarded the bus. The next stop was hers. The bus ride home was twenty-two minutes and she had sat through fifteen.

    The man across from her loosened his tie. The man in front of her, from what she could see, seemed more dead than alive. She wondered where he worked.

    The man across from her seemed very anxious to get off the bus. He kept fidgeting --loosening his tie, tightening it again. She knew it was impolite to stare, and yet, she couldn't help it. He looked as though he had had a rough day. So did she. Her feet still hurt. When she finally got home, she was going to put on slippers.

    And it was only Tuesday. Three more days of the work week to go. Three long, tiring days. Then she would get her paycheck, buy groceries and make a trip to the bank. Sometimes she wished she could go to the movies, but there just wasn't enough money.

    The rain was coming down as hard as it ever had. The bus eased to a stop at Sullivan Court, and she gathered up her purse. Didn't want to end up like the old lady now. She wondered if the young woman in the red dress was planning to return the purse or not.

    The man with the briefcase got up too and once again loosened his tie. He lived across the street from her. The driver opened the door. She pushed her way in front of the man with the briefcase and stepped off the bus. Her feet hurt, and she had to get home. She wish she had an umbrella.

    The man with the briefcase didn't have one either. He ran up ahead to his home on the right side of the street.

    The bus pulled away behind her and she trudged up the hill towards home, her feet aching with every step. Perhaps tomorrow, she thought, I'll try sitting on the other side of the bus.

    She went inside and put on her slippers. The man with the briefcase was locked out of his house. No one in his family had gotten home yet. Her feet free from pain, she got up out of her chair and shut the blinds.