The 34 bus
The 34 bus, bouncing down the State Highway for the Insane, pulled to a near-stop to pick up a woman in high heels. She boarded via the middle door, got one foot in, and the bus chugged on. A scream, a shriek, swear words in Chinese, all from the woman. The bus stopped chugging, and the engine died.
The driver looked back. The woman, elegantly dressed in a white silk tank-top, Saran-wrapped white jeans, and red high-heeled sandals, was in tears.
She pulled her right heel off the bottom step. It's rusted through, and when she stepped on it, her three-inch heel lodged itself in the hole. And for ten feet, her right leg being dragged by the bus, she hopped along on her left leg. It was a few hops before she could muster the energy to scream. The other passengers stared at the floor.
The driver yelled at the woman. She had forced him to stop completely, which kills the engine. The woman didn't bother to get on, because she had lost too much face. She'd wait for the next bus. The driver turned the key with his right hand, joined the two bare wires required for ignition with his left hand, the engine rumbled and we chugged on. Ah, China.
