The Rude Lady
I have been meaning to write about her for some time now. I think I will do it here.
I do not go out often, so I do not often have the misfortune of bumping into rude people. I So when I do, it always comes as a little bit of a shock, and I often don't know how to react.
This happened approximately three weeks ago.
I was on a train ride home, after a day out with my friends. It was the last day of my college/A Level exams, and it would be good to celebrate, although I wasn't quite in the mood. Chemistry was painful, and it was the last paper. It was my fault. But still, we went out- we ate this ridiculous amount of chocolate, and we basically hung around the mall like aimless people. I was already feeling rather bogged down by that time.
Perhaps I should say this first; when something "not-so-good" is about to happen, my heart does something strange. It feels a little heavy, like someone putting their hand atop of it, and pressing down. And it is a very dull ache, but it gets a little difficult to breathe. And this feeling has never failed me. So perhaps, you could say that it is my own internal alarm, a quiet little warning system.
The train at 7 pm is full of people. They are all coming home from work. There are a few students as well. They all look different, wear different things, carry different bags. Grey jackets, white collars, jeans. Leather shoes. Sports shoes. Sneakers and sandals. Chipped toenails.
They were all different, but they all had that same, tired feeling of someone who has slogged hard after a long day's work. Their eyes were vacant, their faces expressionless. It's very much like that. Have a train packed to the windows with these people, and even the air turns stale.
So you can imagine- with me feeling down, and that dull ache in my heart, and the stale atmosphere hovering about the train-- it was all beginning to get overwhelming. I was hoping to get home without any trouble.
The train has a row of four seats, on either side of the train. Orange, plastic chairs. For exactly four people. You could stand in the middle, and hold on to the steel poles or the handrails. Or you could sit on any of the four-seaters on either side of the train.
Unfortunately, that day- I chose to sit. I wasn't quite paying attention to who I was sitting next to- I just wanted to finish texting my friend, close my eyes, and be done with it.
As I was texting, I felt someone ribbing me from my left side.
I ignored it, since the train was so packed- the probability of someone coming into contact with me was high. Plus, I was sandwiched between a fat woman on my right, and a plump girl ( the one who was ribbing me ) on my left. I only saw her arm initially.
And then she did it again. And again, and again.
I could barely finish texting when her voice sounded. Have you ever listened to a typical Chinese-woman speak? Very dry, economic sort of speech. The feeling of one having to quickly say a word, or it would be time wasted. So there isn't enough time for the word to "fill out"- if it makes any sense. It always feels a little cut off in the most abrupt places. Ironically, it is also accentuated at the most abrupt places, so it gives one the feeling of going up and down some sort of strange, phonetic mountain.
"Ex-kus me. Ex-kus me. Can you sit properly ?"
I turned to her. Her eyes were big and glaring, her voice sharp.
My heart shrank a little. I wasn't used to being spoken to in such a condescending manner.
I apologized and tried to adjust myself. ( Although there wasn't much room at all for me to move in the first place. Our legs weren't touching, but her arm was bumping into mine. And the woman on my right took up her entire chair, thighs and all. )
I continued to text.
She continued to rib me. This was becoming less and less "incidental" and more and more violent. Aggressive, if you will. I was beginning to feel like this so called 'ribbing" was very deliberate. She was sitting cross legged, her arms folded. But she was moving her shoulders a lot so that it would knock into me. And this was accompanied by loud sighs of exasperation.
I continued to text.
"Ex-kus me. Ex-kus me. Can you sit properly?"
This time I turned to her.
"How to sit properly? I cannot move," I said.
She glared sharply at me.
"Your butt ! Move your butt !" she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
It's a freaking four seater.
The chair I sit on is literally a single chair in itself- even if I moved it wouldn't make a difference, you crazy bitch.
At least, that was what I wanted to say to her.
However, I kept quiet and ignored her. People sitting opposite me were beginning to stare.
After a while, she turned to me again.
"Ex-kus me, can you sit properly so that other people can be comfortable?"
What?
I was getting genuinely angry and annoyed by this point.
I turned to the fat woman on my right.
"Am I bothering you?", I asked.
"No," she replied.
I turned back to the rude woman on my left.
"I'm sorry, but I CANNOT move."
There was a brief moment of silence before she turned away in a huff, and began her ribbing again. This time she was pushing into my area, trying to exert her authority.
There was a free seat opposite us. But I didn't want to stand up and go there, no matter how much I hated this woman and her rudeness and our situation.
I am not doing anything wrong, I thought. I shall stay. She can rib me for all she wants and I will not move.
After a while, this rude woman stopped her ribbing, and turned to the young girl on her left.
"Are you okay? Are you sure?" she asked. Her voice that was sharp and rude to me was now soft and sweet. I couldn't believe how she was now insinuating that I was an insensitive bastard who couldn't be bothered to "sit properly" and is now causing everyone emotional and physical discomfort.
I still ignored her, and tried to keep on my side as much as possible.
I moved my arm a little because I wanted to take out my phone.
"Ex-kuss me...."
I swear, if I hear that bloody "ex-kus" me one more time, I am going to snap.
I turned to her, and was visibly angry. It showed on my face.
I said, "LOOK HERE. I AM NOT TOUCHING YOU. OKAY."
And I turned away.
She never said anything again after that, although her ribbing and exasperated sighs continued.
It was a long, long ride before she got off at a station before me. I have never been so relieved in my life to be rid of a person. When she left, the dull ache in my heart stopped. I fell asleep to the train operator's voice and the murmur of the tired, working people.
I thought I would never see her again.
Yesterday, I was on the same train home. Putra line, which connects Kelana Jaya, and Ampang Park, where I live. It was 7.20 pm, but the train wasn't too full. I like trains a lot when there aren't too many people. It's a lot easier to breathe. I sat down at a seat, the one right towards the end of a row. Corner seats are lovely, you get to lean on the separating glass.
I'm not sure what compelled me to look over to my right, where there was another row of seats a few feet away. And that's when I saw her- although I wasn't quite sure it was the same girl. She looked about the same size- rather plump, with straight, shoulder length hair. Her eyes were sharp, and she wore a grey suit.
She was sitting down. I got a little bit of a shock to see her- there was a strange, unpleasant sort of familiarity emanating from her body.
I calmed myself down, and reasoned.
"Since the train is rather empty, even if it is her, it's highly unlikely that she is going to come over to my row of seats."
A few stations later, more and more people came in. Some chose to sit at the same row where she was. After a while, she got up, and walked briskly towards my row of seats, where it was just me, and then three empty chairs. There were two chairs separating us.
Does she have something against people?, I wondered.
I tensed, but was also relieved that she didn't sit beside me. She did not seem to notice me.
Perhaps it was because I had cut my hair. Perhaps she has forgotten me. Either way, it works.
One station later, a petite girl in a black polka-dot top came into the train. She was talking on her cellphone, and she obliviously sat next to the rude lady. I silently wished her good luck, although I still wasn't sure why. I mean, it might not even be that rude lady. It might just be me, being oversensitive and things like that.
Strangely, after 3 minutes, the girl got up and sat next to me. People do not usually change their seats in a train ( especially at peak hours where there are more and more streaming in )
Ah?
This was getting interesting. I decided to observe this "rude- lady- I-may- have- met- before".
Another stop later, a fat Indian man in a plaid T-shirt came in. He sat at my row.
So now you have, from left to right-
The rude lady, the fat Indian man, the petite girl, and me.
The Indian man's belly blocked my view a little, but I could see that the lady was getting increasingly uncomfortable. She was pressing to her left side, where the separating glass was, and she was fidgeting a lot. Much like how she was when she sat beside me. Only, I don't think she dared to tell off an Indian man three times her size.
After a while, she stood up abruptly, and walked towards the row opposite us. She chose to stand up, so she held onto one of the poles connected to the row of seats. There was a boy seated near her- reading a Chinese newspaper.
Suddenly her hand came down, and slapped his paper. There was the sound of something snapping. The boy straightened his paper and glared at her. He had a nice, sharp glare. The woman looked away without a word of apology.
I got a little bit of a shock when that happened. That was just plain, bloody rude.
The woman continued to change her position throughout the train ride after that. First she stood near the boy, then she decided to stop holding the pole, and started to hold the hand rails above her. Then she walked over to my side again, and stood there. Then she went back.
It was very much the act of someone who couldn't stand to be around other people. ( Which, unfortunately- cannot be avoided if you are taking a public train ) She was uncomfortable, fidgeting, moving back and forth. Her face was unhappy and glum, like the world owed her something.
She answered a text message, and a phone call. Even then her voice was visibly irritated and annoyed.
And watching her, from where I was- it suddenly made me feel like laughing. Partly because, since my episode with her I was wondering what she had against me, and yesterday I found out that it really wasn't me at all- it was what she had against the world.
And partly because, it suddenly occurred to me that she was ( or seemed to be ) ,
-an extremely unhappy woman.
I stopped watching her after that point.
More and more people came into the train, station after station.
They enveloped her, the tall and gangly, and the short and squat, and suddenly she became insignificant and small. I lost her in the sea of new faces. Then, the train made its usual stop at Masjid Jamek, and a rush of people went out. And that was when I saw her again, walking briskly among everyone else, her eyes sharp, her mouth down-turned.
The train doors snapped shut, and the train moved on.
That was the last I saw of her.
I do not go out often, so I do not often have the misfortune of bumping into rude people. I So when I do, it always comes as a little bit of a shock, and I often don't know how to react.
This happened approximately three weeks ago.
I was on a train ride home, after a day out with my friends. It was the last day of my college/A Level exams, and it would be good to celebrate, although I wasn't quite in the mood. Chemistry was painful, and it was the last paper. It was my fault. But still, we went out- we ate this ridiculous amount of chocolate, and we basically hung around the mall like aimless people. I was already feeling rather bogged down by that time.
Perhaps I should say this first; when something "not-so-good" is about to happen, my heart does something strange. It feels a little heavy, like someone putting their hand atop of it, and pressing down. And it is a very dull ache, but it gets a little difficult to breathe. And this feeling has never failed me. So perhaps, you could say that it is my own internal alarm, a quiet little warning system.
The train at 7 pm is full of people. They are all coming home from work. There are a few students as well. They all look different, wear different things, carry different bags. Grey jackets, white collars, jeans. Leather shoes. Sports shoes. Sneakers and sandals. Chipped toenails.
They were all different, but they all had that same, tired feeling of someone who has slogged hard after a long day's work. Their eyes were vacant, their faces expressionless. It's very much like that. Have a train packed to the windows with these people, and even the air turns stale.
So you can imagine- with me feeling down, and that dull ache in my heart, and the stale atmosphere hovering about the train-- it was all beginning to get overwhelming. I was hoping to get home without any trouble.
The train has a row of four seats, on either side of the train. Orange, plastic chairs. For exactly four people. You could stand in the middle, and hold on to the steel poles or the handrails. Or you could sit on any of the four-seaters on either side of the train.
Unfortunately, that day- I chose to sit. I wasn't quite paying attention to who I was sitting next to- I just wanted to finish texting my friend, close my eyes, and be done with it.
As I was texting, I felt someone ribbing me from my left side.
I ignored it, since the train was so packed- the probability of someone coming into contact with me was high. Plus, I was sandwiched between a fat woman on my right, and a plump girl ( the one who was ribbing me ) on my left. I only saw her arm initially.
And then she did it again. And again, and again.
I could barely finish texting when her voice sounded. Have you ever listened to a typical Chinese-woman speak? Very dry, economic sort of speech. The feeling of one having to quickly say a word, or it would be time wasted. So there isn't enough time for the word to "fill out"- if it makes any sense. It always feels a little cut off in the most abrupt places. Ironically, it is also accentuated at the most abrupt places, so it gives one the feeling of going up and down some sort of strange, phonetic mountain.
"Ex-kus me. Ex-kus me. Can you sit properly ?"
I turned to her. Her eyes were big and glaring, her voice sharp.
My heart shrank a little. I wasn't used to being spoken to in such a condescending manner.
I apologized and tried to adjust myself. ( Although there wasn't much room at all for me to move in the first place. Our legs weren't touching, but her arm was bumping into mine. And the woman on my right took up her entire chair, thighs and all. )
I continued to text.
She continued to rib me. This was becoming less and less "incidental" and more and more violent. Aggressive, if you will. I was beginning to feel like this so called 'ribbing" was very deliberate. She was sitting cross legged, her arms folded. But she was moving her shoulders a lot so that it would knock into me. And this was accompanied by loud sighs of exasperation.
I continued to text.
"Ex-kus me. Ex-kus me. Can you sit properly?"
This time I turned to her.
"How to sit properly? I cannot move," I said.
She glared sharply at me.
"Your butt ! Move your butt !" she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
It's a freaking four seater.
The chair I sit on is literally a single chair in itself- even if I moved it wouldn't make a difference, you crazy bitch.
At least, that was what I wanted to say to her.
However, I kept quiet and ignored her. People sitting opposite me were beginning to stare.
After a while, she turned to me again.
"Ex-kus me, can you sit properly so that other people can be comfortable?"
What?
I was getting genuinely angry and annoyed by this point.
I turned to the fat woman on my right.
"Am I bothering you?", I asked.
"No," she replied.
I turned back to the rude woman on my left.
"I'm sorry, but I CANNOT move."
There was a brief moment of silence before she turned away in a huff, and began her ribbing again. This time she was pushing into my area, trying to exert her authority.
There was a free seat opposite us. But I didn't want to stand up and go there, no matter how much I hated this woman and her rudeness and our situation.
I am not doing anything wrong, I thought. I shall stay. She can rib me for all she wants and I will not move.
After a while, this rude woman stopped her ribbing, and turned to the young girl on her left.
"Are you okay? Are you sure?" she asked. Her voice that was sharp and rude to me was now soft and sweet. I couldn't believe how she was now insinuating that I was an insensitive bastard who couldn't be bothered to "sit properly" and is now causing everyone emotional and physical discomfort.
I still ignored her, and tried to keep on my side as much as possible.
I moved my arm a little because I wanted to take out my phone.
"Ex-kuss me...."
I swear, if I hear that bloody "ex-kus" me one more time, I am going to snap.
I turned to her, and was visibly angry. It showed on my face.
I said, "LOOK HERE. I AM NOT TOUCHING YOU. OKAY."
And I turned away.
She never said anything again after that, although her ribbing and exasperated sighs continued.
It was a long, long ride before she got off at a station before me. I have never been so relieved in my life to be rid of a person. When she left, the dull ache in my heart stopped. I fell asleep to the train operator's voice and the murmur of the tired, working people.
I thought I would never see her again.
Yesterday, I was on the same train home. Putra line, which connects Kelana Jaya, and Ampang Park, where I live. It was 7.20 pm, but the train wasn't too full. I like trains a lot when there aren't too many people. It's a lot easier to breathe. I sat down at a seat, the one right towards the end of a row. Corner seats are lovely, you get to lean on the separating glass.
I'm not sure what compelled me to look over to my right, where there was another row of seats a few feet away. And that's when I saw her- although I wasn't quite sure it was the same girl. She looked about the same size- rather plump, with straight, shoulder length hair. Her eyes were sharp, and she wore a grey suit.
She was sitting down. I got a little bit of a shock to see her- there was a strange, unpleasant sort of familiarity emanating from her body.
I calmed myself down, and reasoned.
"Since the train is rather empty, even if it is her, it's highly unlikely that she is going to come over to my row of seats."
A few stations later, more and more people came in. Some chose to sit at the same row where she was. After a while, she got up, and walked briskly towards my row of seats, where it was just me, and then three empty chairs. There were two chairs separating us.
Does she have something against people?, I wondered.
I tensed, but was also relieved that she didn't sit beside me. She did not seem to notice me.
Perhaps it was because I had cut my hair. Perhaps she has forgotten me. Either way, it works.
One station later, a petite girl in a black polka-dot top came into the train. She was talking on her cellphone, and she obliviously sat next to the rude lady. I silently wished her good luck, although I still wasn't sure why. I mean, it might not even be that rude lady. It might just be me, being oversensitive and things like that.
Strangely, after 3 minutes, the girl got up and sat next to me. People do not usually change their seats in a train ( especially at peak hours where there are more and more streaming in )
Ah?
This was getting interesting. I decided to observe this "rude- lady- I-may- have- met- before".
Another stop later, a fat Indian man in a plaid T-shirt came in. He sat at my row.
So now you have, from left to right-
The rude lady, the fat Indian man, the petite girl, and me.
The Indian man's belly blocked my view a little, but I could see that the lady was getting increasingly uncomfortable. She was pressing to her left side, where the separating glass was, and she was fidgeting a lot. Much like how she was when she sat beside me. Only, I don't think she dared to tell off an Indian man three times her size.
After a while, she stood up abruptly, and walked towards the row opposite us. She chose to stand up, so she held onto one of the poles connected to the row of seats. There was a boy seated near her- reading a Chinese newspaper.
Suddenly her hand came down, and slapped his paper. There was the sound of something snapping. The boy straightened his paper and glared at her. He had a nice, sharp glare. The woman looked away without a word of apology.
I got a little bit of a shock when that happened. That was just plain, bloody rude.
The woman continued to change her position throughout the train ride after that. First she stood near the boy, then she decided to stop holding the pole, and started to hold the hand rails above her. Then she walked over to my side again, and stood there. Then she went back.
It was very much the act of someone who couldn't stand to be around other people. ( Which, unfortunately- cannot be avoided if you are taking a public train ) She was uncomfortable, fidgeting, moving back and forth. Her face was unhappy and glum, like the world owed her something.
She answered a text message, and a phone call. Even then her voice was visibly irritated and annoyed.
And watching her, from where I was- it suddenly made me feel like laughing. Partly because, since my episode with her I was wondering what she had against me, and yesterday I found out that it really wasn't me at all- it was what she had against the world.
And partly because, it suddenly occurred to me that she was ( or seemed to be ) ,
-an extremely unhappy woman.
I stopped watching her after that point.
More and more people came into the train, station after station.
They enveloped her, the tall and gangly, and the short and squat, and suddenly she became insignificant and small. I lost her in the sea of new faces. Then, the train made its usual stop at Masjid Jamek, and a rush of people went out. And that was when I saw her again, walking briskly among everyone else, her eyes sharp, her mouth down-turned.
The train doors snapped shut, and the train moved on.
That was the last I saw of her.