Disturbing Train Ride
It was Saturday night, my friend’s birthday, and we had been bar-hopping. After the first three bars, I got a little tired and a little drunk and took the metro home from Dupont Circle to Columbia Heights alone, around midnight. After I’d switched trains at Gallery Place, I leaned back and fell asleep, being the only one in the car. I woke up just after the train left U-Street, because a man was saying something. He was sitting in the handicapped seats, just two seats away from me, muttering, “Oh, pretty baby, sweetie, honey, you so hot…”, with one hand down his pants, staring directly at me. I was so surprised to see him that at first I wasn’t even angry. I just stared at him. He realized I was awake and looking at him, and he slowly took his hand out of his pants and smiled at me. I frowned slightly and continued to stare at him. He looked away. I said nothing, but I stared at him all the way from U-Street to Columbia Heights, which is about a five minute ride. Every now and then he’d sneak a glance at me, confirm I was still staring, smile, and look away again. When Columbia Heights was announced, I stood up and walked to the doors. Immediately, I heard him begin muttering his weird little mantra again, “Sweetie, pretty baby, etc.” As the train stopped, I turned around and gave him the finger, saying, for the sake of clarification, “You see this? This is for you.”
Submitted by K on 11/16/2009
Location: Between Shaw-Howard & U-Street Cardozo metro stops
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