I sat back, intrigued. He was tapping on the corners of the table. Left, right, left,

right, left, right, and perfectly spaced intervals. It was almost hypnotic. It wouldn't

have caught my notice if not for the look of utter concentration and anxiety on his face

as he tapped carefully with the two fingers of each hand on each corner. I put my shades

on so that I could observe undetected. I bought mirrored shades just for this reason, but

I'm not a creep. I just like to watch what others do. The quirks they have and the little

details in their actions. Well, okay, I realize that still sounds kind of creepy. But

well, it's people watching anyway, and nothing more. I find human behaviors fascinating. The

door to the train carriage slid open, and the noise of the tracks and buzz of conversation

crowded in. I looked at the passenger opposite me, still dedicatedly tapping on the tables

corners. But now with an increase in the intensity of his frown, a chirpy young lady was

at the door. Her presence poured into the room, energetic, lively, unstoppable. I contemplated

pretending to be asleep. Then I saw the distress rolling on the taper's face as he tried

desperately to keep his beak going, determinedly ignoring the lady. I sighed and then plastered

a bright smile on my face to match her sunshine vibes. Hey, oh, we've got the bottom

of the box. I hope that's all right. Both pop-unks are free for you to choose.

Great. Thanks. She smiled at me. Then her gaze drifted to our fellow carriage-bunker.

She looked confused, then concerned for a moment. She opened her mouth and I immediately

spoke up again. Let me help you with your stuff. I grabbed hold on one end of her heavy backpack.

That did the trick. She shifted her attention back to me and grabbed hold of the other end

of her backpack. We heaved it onto the upper bunk. She looked back at the taper, but this

time she didn't try to say anything. She just raised an eyebrow, then turned to climb

...