My American friend, Susan, came to visit me last month. I had planned all sorts of exciting things for us to do. But to my surprise, one of the first things she wanted to do was to take a ride on a city bus! I thought this strange.
I agreed to accompany her although taking a ride on a K.L. city bus was not what I would call a friendly experience for anyone, much less a tourist. But Susan was quite determined to take a bus and even suggested doing it by her. My parents were horrified at the idea, of course.
One morning, we caught the bus which would take us to the Central Market. The bus was not crowded but there was only one seat left. I asked Susan to sit but she, polite as usual, insisted that I take the seat. While we were arguing, a young man got into the bus and plonked himself down on that vacant seat. I glared at the young man who did not seem to realize there was anything wrong. Susan saw the funny side of this and laughed.
At the next stop, a couple got down so we had seats. Susan looked out the window at the passing scene and asked me questions every now and then. The bus stopped for more passengers and was soon packed. It was a hot day. Although the bus was air-conditioned, it was humid because there were so many people. Since Susan did not complain, I kept my mouth shut.
I had heard many stories about rude and impatient bus drivers. Happily for us, the bus driver that day was quite a gentleman. I was especially glad because I did not want my visitor to think poorly of my country.
Near the Central Market, I rang the bell. The bus slowed to a stop. We had to squeeze through the crowd to get to the exit. But before we could get, off, the automatic doors closed and the bus started moving again. Another passenger who also wanted to get off banged the side of the bus to get the driver’s attention. However, he was completely unaware. Anyway, the bus was now too far from the stop and could only let us down at the next stop. I groaned. Now we would have to walk to the Central Market in the hot sun.
Susan and I looked at each other and grinned. I asked her what she thought of the ride. She said that it was quite enjoyable and that she would like to take the bus home after shopping. It was true. The ride turned out better than I had expected.
happily cheerfully
groaned cried in pain