Stephanie and No
I wonder if there’s something Obama or Oprah would be able do for her, thinks an older lady who carries an umbrella even though it was a sunny day.
What’s in her backpack? Looks like she’s got nothing. I wonder how she decided what to keep, thinks Brandon while pretending to read The Financial Times.
Can you really make that much money from panhandling? Looks like more than I get for a days work. But she’s prettier than me underneath it all, thinks a 20-something on her way home from the Macy’s perfume counter.
She’d be hot if she cleaned herself up, thinks a young Hispanic guy.
No jumps up and puts his front legs on top of Stephanie’s thighs. He licks her chin. She reaches her arms around him. The train is slowing. He’s wobbling around.
“This is Bedford Avenue,” says the female computer voice over the intercom.
Stephanie pushes No down and stands up. She pulls her backpack back up and situates No’s leash comfortably in one hand. She holds her folded cardboard sign in another. Commuters shuffle closer to each other and away from No. The train stops. The door opens. Passengers stand to the side to form an aisle for her to walk through. They all stare at her. One woman clutches her purse tight to her side. One guy in a pinstripe suit turns his head away and pulls the flap of his blazer tighter around his hips. Stephanie bustles off the train. The flash designer and a few others also get off. Stephanie stops on the platform. The detrained subway riders walk around her toward the stairs. But one guy stops behind her, a few feet behind her. She takes a moment to free up a hand by slipping the cardboard sign between her back and her backpack. Then she walks toward the stairs. And so does he.
August 25th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
I love that the entire scene takes place in the subway. The different conclusions people draw on looking the girl over are eye opening. The subway generates so many creative thoughts and allows us to watch and form opinions on others. I look forward to your next subway piece!
Just last night, Dan and I rode on a subway car with the heaters on below the benches. We tried out other benches to see if somewhere in the car we could find a cool seat to relieve us from the summer heat, but no such luck. Then we laughed to one another as we observed others do the same while trying to be discreet thinking they were the only ones questioning the temperature of the benches…ahh, NY!
August 28th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Hey — Great website and great stories! Congratulations!! and good luck.
August 30th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Dam it, which guy follows her ? Is it the druggie ? Will No protect her ? Would my fatherly instincts come into play and have me follow her to make sure she is safe ? Would I intervene if he attacked her ?……… Or, would I just walk on and tell myself she’ll be fine ? …………..Obviously a well written story if it causes me to imagine so many endings, and the endings could change depending on what sort of mood I’m in.
September 21st, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I happen to be a Flash programmer who gets off at the Bedford stop
Once, I had to wait outside the station for about a half hour for a friend and was able to observe a white girl with Anime-style pig-tail buns, probably in her early to mid-twenties, beg for money as each caravan of hip haircuts unloaded every 5-8 minutes or so. I studied her approach, her targets. She wasn’t very good at it at all; her aggressive desperation reeked of the need for a fix. She got increasingly frustrated as she was turned down over and over, eventually lighting a cigarette and pacing nervously as she awaited the next group to exit. I wanted to ask her how she got where she was, or if she understood that begging to kids her own age coming off the train at rush hour with the proud sense of fulfilling their role in capitalist society, were least likely to be stirred to generosity. Of course, I refused to help her, so I could hardly engage her in her life story. I was just left wondering if she’d have to give out blowjobs for food and shelter later that night.