The Seat of Judgement Is On The Bus
Jul. 12th, 2007 12:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
plumtreeblossomI took a seat near the back of the bus, but right away I caught wind of a horrible stench.
After 60 or so seconds I couldn't take it anymore, so I moved to the fresher front end of the bus. But I glanced back, speculating over who the culprit might be. From face to face, I searched for signs of guilt, or shame, or even smug self-satisfaction. I was worried that the girl I'd been sitting next to thought I blamed her, which I didn't (for the completely illogical reason that she was pretty).
Then the source passed by me. A toddler with cargo in his dipe. His mom was hustling him off the bus. I hadn't even noticed him back there. Somehow this solution to the mystery made everything feel more okay.
But then I had to silently apologize in my mind to all the innocent adult suspects I'd considered as possible perpetrators.
After 60 or so seconds I couldn't take it anymore, so I moved to the fresher front end of the bus. But I glanced back, speculating over who the culprit might be. From face to face, I searched for signs of guilt, or shame, or even smug self-satisfaction. I was worried that the girl I'd been sitting next to thought I blamed her, which I didn't (for the completely illogical reason that she was pretty).
Then the source passed by me. A toddler with cargo in his dipe. His mom was hustling him off the bus. I hadn't even noticed him back there. Somehow this solution to the mystery made everything feel more okay.
But then I had to silently apologize in my mind to all the innocent adult suspects I'd considered as possible perpetrators.