51 Bus Eastbound

At night the front rows of the AC Transit buses are lit blue and eerie, a haunting contrast to the bright white light that bubbles from the back of the bus. Tonight it feels extra surreal as the lights blue out everything and a slow motion duo boards the bus disheveled and drunken and so slow it almost feels like I am observing a performance or maybe just stuck on the wrong speed as I observe every move each one makes: two dollar bills slid into the machine as the bus waits through green light, red light, green light, red light, a white bread sandwich falling apart into a mouth and lap, spaced out stares, every watery gesture. Next a young man wearing blinking blinging earrings boards. He checks his cell phone, which is also flashing, and he checks it again and then again and again for the whole ride. It feels weird tonight and blue, very blue.