An experimentation with first person and present tense...900ish words. Thanks to everyone who read monster of eastyn!!...would do it on that thread but I don't want to bump it up
Lauren

Common Courtesy

A lady with large red hair and even larger eye-bags knocks into me on her way into the ladies’ room.

“Oh my God. Why don’t you learn to say excuse me? It’s common courtesy,” she says rudely as she breezes by into the nearest stall.

I’ve had a bad day and disappointment burns in my sinuses. I want nothing more than to fling back a retort sharp enough to deflate those fluid-filled bags under her eyes, but all I do is wait until I am out of earshot and mumble, “Why don’t you learn to say excuse me?” Seething in silence, I leave the bathroom and walk into the bustling train station en route to the NJ Transit.

So what if I knocked into her? Aren’t pedestrian collisions usually mutual anyway? I mean, Jesus, about thirty people bumped into me on the streets of New York today and they all got over it pretty quickly. There’s no reason to be all irritable about it.

I stop thinking for a moment and realize that I have walked in a circle. Damn it! Why can I never find the ticket machines for the damn NJ Transit? I walk around the station a second time, only to find that I have once again spaced out and am still standing in front of the ladies room. On the third circle, I make sure to pay attention to the signs. This time, I spot the ticket machine and amble towards it.

My eyes are wide and unfocused and I do not smile. I wonder if anyone around me thinks I look like a zombie. Nope. No one is looking. Here I am, busting my ass, doing one hell of a zombie impression, and no one cares. But I guess that’s to be expected It’s not like anyone here has any time to look at anyone else anyway, let alone analyze someone’s monster-like qualities.

Deep down I long for a kind stranger to ask me about my day, so I can stop being a zombie and let everything spill out. But, then I nonchalantly pass a homeless man and realize what a stupid fantasy that is. I am not in a station filled with gods, just human beings like me.

I get my ticket and look at the schedule up on the board. The 3:33 train to Trenton leaves in two minutes, which means I could be at Hamilton by 4:40 and home before 6:00, but I have been sitting in a tiny room with loads of people and no back support all day, and I am really hankering for a snack. In fact, I downright deserve one. I decide to wait for the 4:01 express train and head on over to the nearest newsstand.

Six minutes later, I am sitting against a wall in one of the holding areas munching on trail mix because I saw a lot of skinny girls at the audition today and thought it might be wise to pass on the French fries just this once. All of the chairs are taken. Heh. Isn’t that always the way?

As it gets closer to 4:01, the holding area starts filling up. A rather large woman is intruding upon my patch of floor, and I can no longer see the train schedule. Her stubbly, sausage-y legs are dangerously close to my face and I am almost ninety percent sure that she is the one emanating that rank, meaty odor wafting into my nostrils.

A man standing next to me is speaking loudly into his cell phone in French. Normally, I enjoy a nice, sexy, melodious French accent, but this man’s voice is just so high and pointed and downright irritating that I can hardly stand it. To be completely honest, it is just adding to the nausea I am feeling as the peanut oil settles in my stomach and the sausage smell fills my nose.

There is a sudden surge of activity. I look up and see that the track listing for the 3:55 train that makes a stop at Secaucus has been posted. About half of the people in the holding area charge towards Track 11 like crazed wildebeests in a gorge. People start leaping over my legs, and I feel like Simba trapped beneath their mighty hooves. I pack up my trail mix and stand up to avoid getting trampled.

Once the stampede subsides, I lean lazily against the wall and begin making funny faces at the back of some businessman’s head. At least I am entertaining myself, because no one else notices.

At 3:57, the track for the 4:01 express train is listed on the broad, and I suddenly transform in a wildebeest, pushing and shoving my way to the door to Track 8. Before I walk through, I hear my cell phone ringing. I do not recognize the number, but it is a New York area code and my heart leaps. The herd is jostling behind me, so I step aside and flip the phone open.

“Hello?” I say timidly.

“Is this Maggie?”

“…yes.”

“This is Tina from Jason Smith Casting. I called your name a little while ago but we couldn’t find you. The director is interested in you for an ensemble role and we want to see you dance. There will be a second movement call in ten minutes.”

I feel like hugging someone. They must have listed callbacks after an entire group auditioned instead of telling you right in the room whether or not to stay. A rarity that I hadn’t expected.

“Really?” I say coyly. “Great! I’ll be there.”

I dart against the herd and knock into a woman on my way to the street exit. She looks kind of pissed.

“Oh! Excuse me,” I say, and smile.

“Well, aren’t you polite?” she responds sarcastically.

“Just common courtesy,” I reply. I do not stick around to gage her reaction. I book it up the escalator and venture out once more into the bustling streets of New York. All around me I see a sea of smiling faces, and I am in love with the world.

Lauren ~ I loved this! It may be posted in fiction, but it rings loudly and clearly of real life! An excellent depiction of how our moods affect the way we perceive and react to others. Good job all around.

~~flutter~~

Hi, Lauren

I think I said it before: you are a woman of many talents!
This is a great story, cleverly constructed, well told, and with one helluva moral to it too.
Your observations are spot-on. Terrific.

Jane

this made me smile, Lauren!
Kathleen

Very interesting and enjoyable read.

Jack

Lauren...it’s amazing how a simple event can change our whole perspective.

Wonderful story!

“ Lionheart
~

Thank you guys so much for you kind comments and for taking the time to read this!