Road Trip to the City that is Windy

Last weekend I went to the great city of Chicago with my friends Blessing, Annie, and Christina. We went up to visit my sisters Emily and Jenna as well as to check out the campus of Moody Bible Institute. Although the others had been planned on making the trip a while back, I was a late entry. I was planning on visiting them sometime during Spring Break so when I heard they were going up as well I decided to tag along. I was planning on surprising Emily and Jenna with my presence since they were still unaware of my plans. Little did I know, my little sister Kayla had already "spilled the beans" so to say.

We rode to Chicago via the MegaBus. The girls bought tickets from Ann Arbor to Chicago while I chose to purchase mine from Detroit to Chicago. Little did we know at the time the amount of drama that would come from this. The bus boards first in Detroit, then goes over to Wayne State University, next Ann Arbor, and finally to Chicago. I boarded in Detroit and was able to save three seats adjacent to mine. My main strategy was to overly recline to scare potential 'seat snatchers' away. I managed to save the seats all the way until Ann Arbor where the girls were going to board. Their initial lack of assertiveness lead to them ending up in the back of the line to get on making it increasingly difficult to save the seats. I redirected a few people who had their eyes set on the seats I was reserving to open seats on the other side of the isle. Most people totally understood but one individual gave me a disgusted look that was full of attitude. I didn't really think much of it at the time. I turned away a few people but I eventually gave up because they were too far back in the line. Long story short, Christina sat in the one seat the I was able to save while Blessing and Annie sat with strangers on the upper deck.

A little while later we pulled into a rest-stop area to do rest-stop related activities. I wanted to see if it would be possible for us all to sit together with a little bit of shuffling at the rest-stop along with the cooperation of a couple strangers who were sitting alone across the isle. There were two people in adjacent rows sitting alone. My plan was to ask them if they would be willing to switch seats and sit where Christina and I were sitting so that the four of us could sit together for the remainder of the trip. Most people exited the bus to go inside the little store area but I stayed in the bus so that I would be able to ask those two people if they would be willing to switch seats. This is where it starts to get interesting. Here is what happened when the first young lady (probably around 26 yrs. old*) got back on the bus:

Me - "Hi! I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind switching seats with me so that I can    sit with my friends."

Stranger - "(delay)... Sure. (pause) Sure... whatever..."

Me - "Thanks! Thank you so much!" 

Stranger - "(said with excessive 'sassy' neck motions)... But I just wanna let you know that what you're doing is EXTREMELY RUDE! It's so rude! You need to grow up! YOU NEED TO GET TO THE POINT IN YOUR LIFE WHERE YOU REALIZE THAT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO SIT WITH YOUR FRIENDS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!" 

Me - "Okay...(?)... Thank you! Thanks!"

It was a very interesting slash awkward confrontation. The content of said confrontation was enough to make it awkward but the fact that the ceilings in the bus were just above the six-foot mark made it impossible for me to  do anything that resembled standing up. So picture a ~26 year-old, maybe 5'8'' lady going off on the 6'10'' version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Yeah, it was awkward. But the way I look at it is now we have a good story to tell! :)

The other girl returned to her seat and very kindly switched seats with us. So in the end, we all were able to sit next to each other! The second half of the bus ride was MUCH more enjoyable than the first half!

Overall it was a great experience, although slightly unusual.

 *Approximate physical age. Not mental age. Physical age is not to be mistaken for levels of maturity.
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