The loudmouth and the neon pink hat

On a crowded city bus one summer in Los Angeles, I found myself crammed between a man with a booming voice and a lady with an eccentric sense of fashion. As the bus trundled along, the man engaged in a lively phone conversation, seemingly oblivious to the public setting. Every word he spoke echoed throughout the bus, leaving no secret untold.

Who does this? Bro, I don’t need to know that you’ve been wearing the same socks for three days. Yuck!

Meanwhile, the lady beside me wore a neon pink hat adorned with plastic fruit and a mismatched outfit. Her attire drew the attention of fellow passengers, who stole glances and smiled.

A jolt from the bus caused the man’s phone to fly out of his hand. It landed right on top of the lady’s hat, sending plastic fruit cascading onto the floor. The bus fell into silence, everyone freezing in a mix of shock and amusement.

Without missing a beat, the man exclaimed, “Looks like my phone just found its way to the fruit aisle!”

City life.