Elephant Bus

I woke up with a start. My friends were not around. And we were supposed to get to North Campus to give a tour to some Stuy kids at 1pm. My mother comes in and says that I should get ready. I say that there is not enough time; the HS-ers have probably left from RPCC as it is.

Shashi, Sheila, Zhenni and Rima walk in. We decide to try to catch the HS-ers on the third stop on the tour somehow. Along the way, Rima goes to buy tilapia fish that Brundha had raved about previously. The tilapia fish is out in the open; Rima cuts it, and makes a sandwich. Zhenni doesn't pay for her tiny green high heel shoes, just because the owners do not see her purchashing something.

We're on our way, but I am wearing no shoes. I wish I too had gotten some high heel sandals. The ground is burning hot because there is aluminum foil on the ground. I complain that I have no shoes and sit down to rest on the ground. I see someone getting henna done. Then I see another pair of feet that have looked worn and suntanned, and look like they have walked for many more miles that my feel ever did.

A bus passes us by; one of those Indian-y blue buses, but this one is run by a walking elephant within the bus. I see the bus traveling around town; people cheering as the bus bounces along with people in the pick-up truck-style back area. Waiting.

The alarm rings; I wake up with a start.