a heart with a twist of lemon

after having been to the first day of class for all of my classes this semester, i have a taste of what they will be like. and it tastes like paper, a lot of paper. paper in the 25 books i needed for all my classes. and paper in all the political essays i will be scribbling down for my 4 poly sci classes. i have decided to finish my political science minor this semester. i am still taking a class for my major as well, basic media graphics. so there i will be printing a lot of paper.

i have a calendar to keep track of it all. i used red ink to mark all the days i have papers/projects/tests. red means it is important, and the life of my grades depend on it. black permanent marker tells of significant events such as concerts or even my 21st birthday, which falls on a saturday. the black sharpie also x's out days past.

the first four classes i had are also attended by numerous people i already know. the fifth and final class had only the faces of strangers (actually, i'm lying. i know one person in it, but it will sound like a better story if i don't know people in at least one of my classes). this mostly means that i will meet a lot of new people. i always like to scope out the class to see who is about. one girl from across the room smiled at me, so i returned the friendly gesture.

class got out early, as it always does on 'go over the syllabus' day, and i went to wait at the busstop, because my bag was full of the books i had just purchased for class and my feet showed no appreciation for the knowledge inside them but only contempt for the weight they put on my shoulders. i watched the smoke form from my breath as i crunched some snow with my ungrateful feet. the 16 pulled up and i got on and headed towards the back, because the back of the bus has been where i liked to sit ever since first grade. smiling girl also was riding the 16, and she decided to take a seat in the back as well. next to me on the seat that runs parallel with the bus not the perpendicular seats. i took this as her wanting to begin conversation. myself, being the master of conversing, with converse all-stars on my now satisfied feet, decided to play the role of conversation initiator. the best way to start is with a...

"hello"

"hi," smile girl replied.

my mind searched for something to converse about. my eyes found my converse on my feet, and between my feet sat my overstuffed backpack. as to clarify things with smile girl i said, "my bag is stuffed, i had to buy 25 books today. it is the most books i have ever had to buy, it kind of sucks." i did not want to be confused with someone who just likes to have a oversized backpack for no reason.

"yeah, buying books always hurts." smile girl said.

meanwhile this kid across from me in a black hat kept smirking, i think he found my talking to strangers amusing. there was also your token oddball on the bus. an older lady in the back corner began mumbling to herself, "there is a lot of snow...mumble mumble, mumble, and random made up words...one time i was a kid."

our conversation continued until we hit oak street. "this is my stop," she said.

"alright, see you next week," i responded.

she was replaced in the seats next to me by two new girls. i adjusted so they would have space, my wallet chain clanged upon the metal seat divider.

"what was that?" the new girl said as she looked down towards the seat.

i explained, "it was nothing, just my wallet chain. see?" i brushed my coat aside so that the chain was visable.

"oh, i thought it was a slinky" new girl said.

this sounded cool to me, "aww, yeah a slinky would have been way more exciting. next time i am on the bus i will bring a slinky for you."

she agreed, a slinky would be fun to play with on the city bus. smirking kid held back a chuckle as i began talking to strangers about slinkys (slinkies?). the bus reached huron blvd, this city bus adventure was over. i picked up my bag of knowledge, and crunched and slushed the few remaining blocks back to my apartment.

in my room i emptied my bag, like a thief would a register, and organized them into piles for each class. this days whirlwind adventure had come to a close. and i was ready to close my eyes to sleep, only to prepare myself for the adventures that i will have on the new day.