This has happened to me zillions times I lost count. With accuracy of more than 99% (that's better than the protection a condom offers in preventing pregnancy) I can say this: the seat beside me in the bus would be the last one to be occupied.
It happened again this morning. I was riding in this big bus with lots and lots of empty seats. At every stop people were getting on, one by one passing me by. Male, female, corporate workers, students, each one looking for a seat yet persistently avoiding the one next to me. Then came the ultimate chance: no more seat left, and this lady reluctantly took that one.
What is so wrong with that seat next to me? Is it me? Is it my light skin and my highlighted hair that make them think I'm a 'bule' or something - a stranger? Aren't we all strangers? Am I emanating messages that say: Keep Off! Trespasser: Enter at Your Own Risk! Beware of Menacing Dog!....?
Sit beside me, I won't bite. Chances are, I won't even give a damn about you. Or maybe this is it: that people are actually looking for friend, even among strangers, even for a short ride in the morning to their workplaces and I don't look like a friend. I believe I don't look threatening in any way, but somehow I may have the feeling of someone 'off-place'. I am a perfectly safe companion.
Next time you see this young lady with light skin, short redish hair wearing sunglasses in the bus, sit beside her. She won't bite. I promise.
Have a good day....
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