They hadn't planned a meeting spot before heading out. They agreed to call each other and triage live. But his phone was about to die. So he sent a text saying ' meet at the corner of Jacob and Penny '.

When he arrived at the intersection there were about seven others. All of them stood except for one large, bearded, long-haired guy wearing sunglasses. This man was sitting on the stone wall. There was a 

bus

stop here. Reasons why he'd suggested it. He had to think of a place you could hang out with a dog before his phone died. This was that place.

Although on his walk here he had passed by a school with a playground. That would've been a better spot. But he couldn't think of that on the spot.

The person and his dog hadn't arrived yet. He wondered how late the other would be. They were usually not on time. Because they didn't believe in

time

.

He took a seat on the stone wall next to the large bearded guy. Decided that he would wait until three buses came by. Then he would leave.

A girl carrying an instrument with an awkward walk limped over. She excitedly said hi to the long haired bearded man. He said hi back. The pitch was surprisingly high. He thought he recognized it from somewhere. But the guy didn't look familiar.

The girl asked how things were going. The familiar 

voice

made some sound effects. Then finally expressed how he felt. Something about this semester being tough. But not knowing that it was tough because the previous one was so incredibly tough.

Things were not run like they should be, he said with a snort. The girl laughed for him.

The bus came. Almost everybody got on. Only two others besides himself were there after the bus roared off. The girl and the long haired guy were no longer there. He thought about his 

college

days. When he'd gotten so used to being incredibly stressed. It felt so foreign now. Listening to that guy describe his current situation.

He looked around the corners to see if the other person with the dog was coming. No sign of them in sight. More people came to the stop. Another bus came. An older 

Asian

lady crossed the road and got on just in time.

After that, no third bus or passengers came to the stop for awhile. After ten minutes he looked at the sign of buses that ran there. Looked like those were the only two routes. And they must not come around so often. He got off the stone wall and began walking down Penny Lane.

Cars whizzed by, spewing smoke. After a block he turned left to walk down a quiet neighborhood road. He hadn't taken a bus in years. Something about sitting at that stop with the students. Listening to that familiar voice talk about a stressful semester. it reminded him of all the people he had met over his years in 

Westcity

. So many of them were either newcomers or people who had returned after some time away.

One thing they shared was 

optimism

. Bright hope about this new chapter of their life. In this place called Westcity. Where they found something they couldn't before. Either a respite from the big city. Or an interesting flavor to stimulate their previous boring town.

These starry eyed people seemed to always be coming and going. He never knew any of these optimistic people long term. They always seemed to disappear. Like people at a bus stop. Always coming and going.