I had an encounter tonight with a woman who was obviously not herself. She stumbled up to the bus stop where I had parked my ass and was talking to a co-worker of mine as we waited for our buses. She kinda looked like she was on some kind of drug and she slurred that she wanted to go to the casino and which bus took her there.
I told her to get on the same bus as me, and I’d tell her where to get off so she could get to the casino. My friend rolled her eyes at me and got up to get her bus. As the doors closed behind her, the weird glassy eyed chick started talking. I wasn’t really paying attention as I was staring off into the darkness wishing she’d go away and leave me alone. But somewhere in her mutterings she said that she didn’t want to go alone to the Casino, she had a friend there but wanted company, and if i didn’t mind.. if she paid for my food and drink, did I want to go with her?
What the?!
“Uhh no thanks.” I don’t like going to the casino, it’s a bit of a dive these days. Lost of sleazy old men or poor desperate fuckers sitting in front of the only legal slot machines in the state staring at the pretty lights as they feed the slots.
Oh - why? and here am I thinking, shit, another 10 minutes of sitting next to this freak. I mentioned something about finishing work not too long ago and wanting to go eat, and sleep. (I had beef and noodles tonight.. mmm). She went quiet and then really started me wondering what she was on when she said that she really wanted some pepper spray and wasn’t this a creepy place to be.
The bus arrived, I was on it so fast and sat on a seat and ensured that no one was going to sit next to me (ie HER) and she just sat up the front, and sang to herself till she got off the bus.
This brought back memories of a kid that lived upstairs from me when my parents lived in a 2 Br flat when we first moved to Perth. Her mum always used to have fights with her partner and frequently we could hear her screaming “help help he’s killing me” and then some old biddy would call the cops, and they would arrive and by the time they were there, she’d be like “no no nothing happened”. This kid came up to me once when I was unlocking the front door after school, and she gave me $10 in change and asked me to be her friend.
I took the money inside and when mum got home, showed her the money on the table. Mum told me to take the money back, to never accept money from anyone, and not to talk to that girl again. I felt bad, I went upstairs and knocked on the door and asked to speak to the girl. She came outside and I gave her back the money, and told her that my mum doesn’t want me to talk to you. She took the money back and started crying. Fuck I felt bad.
They moved out a few weeks later. I never thought about that girl again until tonight. I could have sat there and said nothing when it was obvious she wasn’t going know that the casino was moving past. So I moved across to where she was sitting, and told her the casino was the next stop and to press the button. She nodded, pressed the button and stumbled off into the darkness at the next stop. I felt bad tonight too.
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