Transit

Melanie takes a seat at the stop to catch the 304 bus that takes her to work, with the downside being she has to transfer from one bus to another to get to work on time. What is an eleven minute car drive for some of her co-workers is about an hour and a half commute for her that takes up an unnecessary amount of time out of her day. With the money she makes, half of those savings go to that hour and a half bus ride, in addition to the transfer. Melanie also doesn’t take lightly to being late either, which is like asking to be late if she’s to commute by bus, but it is all that she could afford. Her job as a Sales Associate isn’t her favorite thing in the world, nor is it a passion enough for it to become her lifelong career, but she’s committed to showing up when she needs to. That’s what makes her so reliable and why she never calls out for work.

The bus arrives, and Melanie digs into her coat pocket to grab her phone to scan her ticket. The scanner isn’t registering the bus WiFi, which is likely for 304 bus, but because the driver knows her by face and the look of her uniform, he allows her on. Walking to the back seats of the bus where she finds herself the most comfortable, Melanie sits by the window and places her tote on her lap. Preferably she would not wear her headphones on a long commute like this, and would rather listen to her surroundings. The sounds of the engine and the honking of the driver’s restlessness to get to the stops on schedule, the audible announcements on which stop is next, the yellow rope signaling a stop request, or the singular person that doesn’t follow the bus rule to not be on speaker phone there was a lot to take in, even if it was a bit of a nuisance on some days. To her unsurprisingly , today is one of those days where nuisances occur. A man dressed in black work attire, much older compared to her, loves to pull out his usual afternoon lunch of a half eaten breakfast sandwich, which he most likely takes a generous bite out of before catching the bus multiple stops before hers. To Melanie, the sounds of his chewing is enough to want to rush out of the bus emergency exit and walk the hike to work instead. She digs through her bag right before the man that sits behind her could get to his sandwich, and grabs her headphones, putting them over her ears and switched to the noise cancellation setting, listening to her music. Now she’s settled for the ride.

Because the commute stretches for so long, it’s enough to put Melanie in a trance where it’s as if it’s only her and her thoughts, or just her who seems to exist and be the singular passenger on the ride, and the bus simply takes her to where she needs to go. The ride makes her tired, but not enough to sleep. With how reliable of an employee she is to her job, she’s always on the alert, so sleep was never an option unless she’s snuggled in her own bed. She gazes out of the window so intently that it gives off the impression her soul has left her body and is looking beside her from another passengers point of view. Despite the two years, going on three, she’s been working as a Sales Associate at her local mall, the commute never gets easier, but it’s what she’s used to. It’s what her body is used to. To even think up the possibility of a day where it’s like her body, time, or sitting for the bus doesn’t seem to run on a cycle like that of an old record was only a possibility she could dream about while watching the cars go by through the bus window.

Should I call in sick? Melanie thought. A common thought she’s always had but never executed. Her coworkers were brave enough to call in sick and fill out leave requests, boasting about how excited they were for their trip or how they’ve planned months and months ahead of time to avoid consequences that Melanie herself has never experienced. The consequences was as simple as don’t turn in leave requests late and be mindful of others, otherwise it’s being written up or worse. It’s become natural for Melanie to wake up, take the bus to work, clock out at 6pm, take the bus back home, sleep and repeat. She always wants to show up and do her best, especially if it’s what it takes to make it into her dream career as a photographer, but at what time of day does she have to take out her camera and take pictures of the beautiful sights around her that she never seems to notice outside of her usual work routine? Her coworkers get to somehow get by with no consequences weighing on their shoulders by not coming in to work to enjoy themselves, so why can’t she? Her heart began to pound out of her chest and she can feel her pits sweat from underneath her shirt. Just the slightest movement Melanie made, she could feel herself shaking at the thought of calling out of work to have the day off. When was the last time I took a day off? She cannot remember, no matter how much she tried. Never mind that. She’s going to do it.

Melanie digs through her bag and pulls out her phone. She pauses her music and dials her manager. The anticipation was enough to make Melanie throw up where she sits, but she took a deep breath and kept her composure. Her manager picks up the call.

“Oh-“ Melanie stammers, but she clears her throat trying to keep professional. “Good morning, Kelly…” I need to come up with a lie, she thought. In the very little time she had, she said the first thing to come into mind.

“Something unexpected came up earlier with my family, so I’m going to have to take today off.”

There was a silence between the call. Her manager spoke. “It cannot be accommodated.”

Melanie’s heart sank, but she continued to advocated for herself. Plenty of her colleagues were able to call out day off and be off the hook just fine. Why with her is it any different?

“I’m sorry, but it’s something that was unexpected and I can’t make it in today. I’m sure Bri can cover my shift, she should be off today-“

“You’re on the bus, Melanie” her manager interjected. Melanie froze. What could she say to that? It’s no lie she’s on the bus, but it’s odd for her manager to assume there’d be no other reason would there be than not commuting to work, and Melanie vocalized that, now with a bit of irritation in her tone of voice.

“Well, yes, that’s because it’s my only way of getting around. I really can’t come in today…”

“And I’m telling you it can’t be accommodated.”

No words were exchanged for what felt like an eternity, then her manager picked back up the conversation to end it right here and now. “You’re resigned to continue working with us effective immediately.”

The line falls flat, and the atmosphere of the commute changes drastically. Melanie blinks a couple times to process all that just happened from asking a simple request that many of her coworkers, old and new– her own manager even– were able to do with ease. Why me? Is all she could think about. She looks out the window and can see that the bus was no longer taking the route it takes. The route has stayed the same for ages, so why is it changing now?

Melanie takes a look into the commuter app on her phone, and all the listed stops from the bus route is no longer showing up, with the exception of one and her phone pinging that this is her upcoming stop, as if she requested this is where she was headed, but it was not.

The overheard speaker announces the stop has been requested despite Melanie never pulling on the yellow rope that hung from beside her window seat. Freaking out, she rushes to the front of the bus to ask the driver where she was headed only to see that the driver is unresponsive and unmoving like a mannequin. What the actual fuck is going on?!

The bus slows down and breaks. The doors open, and the sight before Melanie was unbeknownst to her. It was like a never ending abyss from where she stood. She turned back to see if the man with his sandwich was still on the bus with her. To her shock, he was gone, a she remained as the only passenger on the 304. The doors close in front of her and the bus continues operating, but it seems like the route is taking her to nowhere. Melanie takes a look at her commuter app once again, and all but one stop shows her a single destination that continues to loop and never ends; The transit line where the feeling of commuting to work and never returning back home remains.

Limbo.