Tommys long day of Nothing

Tommy had to pick up his check. He lived with his dad on the outskirts of the city and his job was on the edge of town.  He always figured that the simplest way would be to take the freeway around the city, but the problem was there were no exits to take him anywhere near his job and he had no car. His father refused to take him anywhere, so his only choice was to take the bus; three buses to be exact.
It was seven in the morning and Tommy, fully dressed, was ready to head out the door. His father, belly protruding out through a sweat stained wife-beater, was still sleeping in his old burgundy recliner. Tommy merely hit his father’s hand with his on his way to the kitchen because, sleeping or not, his father always got mad at him if he didn’t give him a salutation before he left. Tommy got so good at it; the two stopped arguing about salutations long ago. While in the kitchen Tommy drank some orange juice right out of the carton, and then made his way to the door. There he found his house key under the shoes in the shoe rack and made his exit.
It was cold outside, but Tommy didn’t think to put on any more clothes. He had on a white tee shirt with a tank top underneath, some blue ripped jeans, and some old beat up grey sneakers. He could see his bus behind him, but it was too many blocks back to warrant a dash for the bus stop; he merely kept his pace and the bus driver met him there with the door just opening as the bus made a complete stop. Tommy flashed his bus pass and made his way toward the back of the bus, where he sat back, similar to his dad in the recliner, and stared at the ceiling.
The inside of the bus was grey, with a hue of blue, from the floor to the metal bars to the ceiling with blue fabric seats. The sun was shining behind the bus and Tommy could see, with great clarity, the triangles of light illuminating areas of the bus; spots on the floor, seats, and metal bars for the people who have to stand to hold where sun-colored where the light hit them. These oblong shaped sun-colored spots of light danced all around the bluish grey bus so much that it caught Tommy’s full attention. His head went from facing the ceiling to looking straight forward with his eyes tilted towards the floor of the center aisle; this maximized his ability to see the light show holistically. He was all alone.
The show was short lived because Tommy soon arrived at his second bus stop. He exited the bus and sat on a bench to wait. There was an elderly lady with grey curly hair, and a brown hat and overcoat sitting to his left and a man in a blue stripped three-piece suit without the jacket to his right. Tommy could tell this bus would have people on it; which seldom bothered him. Waiting for the bus in this area was different than the one close to home because this area was industrial, while the first one was more residential. Across from where he was sitting was large construction site. The sign said the city was building an aquarium. All Tommy could see were men in white tee shirts, blue jeans, boots and yellow construction hats walking across steel girders and using chainsaws. He thought it was odd that the site was so close but the sounds of the chainsaws were so muffled. There were some men sitting high atop the future building eating bagged lunch. Tommy realized for the first time that day that he was hungry. He would have eaten at home, but he didn’t have time and his dad hated when he dug in the fridge. He would get a sandwich in the city.
Aboard the second bus it was Tommy’s other preference to an empty bus; that is a bus full of patrons with somewhere to be. These particular bus riders were mostly middle aged, the youngest to Tommy had to be the well dressed man formerly standing to his right at the bus stop, and everyone was quiet. The old woman who was sitting to his left on the bench was now towards the front of the bus on the left reading a newspaper. Tommy just sat back and enjoyed what was left of the light show; which was now only in the northwest section of the bus near the bus driver. Soon the sun would be too high in the sky and the lights would be gone.
Next was Tommy’s least favorite stop. It was in a city neighborhood known as Bellasville. This area was known for its many dance schools, crime, and the young teenagers around Tommy’s age that love to cause a fuss. Tommy figured it was as good a time as any to get a sandwich, but his plan was foiled by the guys he would eventually ride the bus with; the crew of boys with slicked back black hair, white or black tee shirts, leather jackets, blue jeans, and boots. He wasn’t scared to go inside; he had been in Bellasville enough times for these guys to leave him alone, he just couldn’t stand the noise so early in the morning. Tommy sat down right in front of the sandwich shop which had a bus stop right next to it. After about five minutes the bus arrived and even though Tommy was the first aboard, the crowd of young men that noisily emerged from the sandwich shop swiftly made it on the bus and past him towards the back seats. Tommy didn’t mind because not only did he know this was going to happen one way or the other, the other being much more violent and interpersonal, but one of the guys in leatherjackets handed him a freshly made sandwich free of charge; one of the perks of regularly traveling through Bellasville and not being a trouble maker. Tommy wasn’t sure if he knew the guy, but as the kid with the leatherjacket and slicked back hair stood over him chewing gum with his mouth open and starring at him, Tommy wasn’t going to do or say anything inappreciative. He didn’t even have to say thank you. Tommy just waited for the ruckus to start and the guy who gave him the sandwich to stand somewhere else; he would be on this bus for 15 minutes and few others will dare to board. Soon after, dozens of teenagers and young men were yelling, doing pull-ups on the metal bars, pushing each other, and a few were sitting a few seats ahead of Tommy starring at him to see if he would do anything so they could beat him up. Tommy sat quietly looking out the window to his left trying not to laugh. Normally he would be angry, but the sandwich put him in a good mood and now he was just along for the ride. When his stopped arrived, Tommy stood up gingerly, knowing that he was in for a gauntlet, the crew of boys and young men stopped yelling and looked at him silently and with straight faces before pouncing on him and giving him punches to his body and legs. The bus driver waited for them to pick Tommy up, who was laughing it off at this point, and push him towards the exit at the front of the bus; he tipped his cap at Tommy before combing his white beard with his free hand. He was all alone.
Tommy, free from the bus of rebel rousers, walked a couple stores down and picked up his check. It had been an uneventful morning, but he loved his life.
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