after school, my friend drove me to the bus stop. at the bus stop a man asked me if i spoke spanish. i do not. he then struggled through a question about the bus we both intended to board, and whether or not it stopped at Chicago Ave. it did. he got on the bus and i followed. i closed my eyes for a brief moment and then when i re-opened them (several stops later) there was a group of high-school looking kids sitting in front of me, their 8 legs spread out into the hallway. they laughed loudly. then they whispered. and then i realized that one of the boys was busying his fingers with a hollowed out cigar wrapper in the purpose of rolling a blunt. he looked at me. i looked away. he whispered something to his friends and they laughed. i could smell pot. the bus stopped by a movie theater and they got off. i dozed again briefly before my stop. upon leaving the bus i walked to the bar for a whiskey. while inside three different people said hello or tried to start a conversation with me. i went home and waited for Thom. Thom called and asked me to meet him at the Costa Rican restaurant down the street. we ate a lot for cheap. home again to television and cookies and bed.