The History on the Reserved Seat.

There’s a place on which people speak only in hushed tones; to mention it by name will cause great discomfort to anyone in the vicinity, including the speaker. It’s a place which contains a violent history and past which is too well known in the community.

For this case, we shall call it, the Reserved Seat.

The map, back when everything was fine.

The Reserved Seat was, ironically, a non-militarized zone which was well known for politeness and generosity. It was often shared by the different countries with the mutual agreement that the place should be used by nations that badly need it on the occasion, especially countries like Elderly People and Handicapped People.

The agreement was honored at first by all countries, and rarely were there outbreaks by the countries sharing the zone, which even if there was, would quickly simmer down.

Until the rise of power of Aunties as a growing, prospering country, the Aunties were formerly from the huge country of Adults, which split away after a bloody civil war. The Aunties felt that they deserved the Reserved Seat as they needed more land to ensure their survivability as an independent nation, and began mobilizing troops to slowly invade and conquer the zone as their own.

The 21^st Redhair Auntie Brigade fighting near the borders of Reserved Seat

At first, the other nations went on a soft approach to the Aunties, they allowed a certain quota of Aunties troops in the zone and offered a lease of the land as their own. However, the Aunties rejected the offer and began invading the Reserved Seat with their full force, claiming that they were a weak country, despite having a strong economy to last them for centuries.

During one of the Auntipendence day rally speeches during the soft approaches, President Auntiti was quoted saying:

President Auntiti during the Auntipendence Rally Speech

“Aiya, not fair la! We just finish one civil war and now we tired, the other nations say we still fit to stand for our long journeys as a nation, they no manners!”

Finally, the Teenagers and Adults felt enough was enough, and began launching counter-offensive operations against the Aunties in the zone, most notably;

(Operation: PTBASTWTMS [PRETEND TO BE ASLEEP SO THEY WONT TAKE MY SEAT]): Employed most notably by Teenagers to great effect, driving most of the Aunties troops away from the zone with clever deceptions and ruses.

A teenage soldier during Operation: PTBASTWTMS

(Operation: YCOSSWSIOMYS [YOU’RE CAPABLE OF STANDING SO WHY SHOULD I OFFER MY SEAT]): A fierce retaliation attack after aggressive threats made by the Aunties troops which successfully drove off the would-be invaders, but leaving staggering casualties for both parties.

In the counter-offensive, other parties were hit in the crossfire, dragging every nation into the devastation wrought by the Aunties transforming once a non-militarized zone is now a deadly battlefield, with casualties piling up every day in the conflict, whether innocent or participant.

The map, today

Fiends and Passengers.

Really, I use a plastic sword and a flashlight to exit a crowded train. Works every time, though, I always get chased by men in white for some strange reason. Hurr durr.

Bus Wars

You know that little game they play in the bus. The one where the players would give each other stern gazes and determining glances to see if their opponents would crumble under the building pressure and be the first to give up. But giving up can bring dire consequences, especially in your reputation and stature in everyone in the game, and of course, no one wants to be that person.

“Did you guess it? So clever.”

Yep, that’s right, it’s the bell.

If you’re a regular bus rider, you would know pressing the bell early in the stop would seem uncool to the people in the public. And many people would rather wait for some other person to press the bell for their stop.

“That’s right, they’re looking at your unzipped fly.”

Now, this is how the game works. Everyone doesn’t want to press the bell; rather, they’ll wait for the bus to travel closer to the bus stop, with the mindset that someone else would press the bell first out of fear that they would miss their stop, and hence, receive the glances and stares from other passengers.

It’s incredibly amazing how most of us would go lengths just to avoid looks of irritation and a little “tch” of annoyance from people who you would never see again, unless you bump into them after taking the same bus dozens of times.

It’s great fun to see adults glancing back and forth at each other from the bus seats when the vehicle in question is approaching a bus stop and the subtle looks of triumph on their faces when someone finally presses the bell at the last possible moment.

“Your argument is invalid.”

But I guess, it’s unfair to say that fear of humiliation plays the entire role of people pressing the bus bell at the last possible minute. Maybe it’s because of by pressing the bell if they are sitting on the inside seat while someone is currently occupying the outside seat would physically mean:

“Hey, fatass, it’s my stop and you’d better get your limited edition Snorlax belly out of the way.”

“And you already used up your Master Ball.”

Thus, this would cue them either standing up or making a way from their seat to make way for you to get out. Now, I wouldn’t complain about this, if it was just before the bus pulls over at the stop in question. But to do so when the bus is 100 meters away from the stop? Wow.

Now you can’t possibly ignore the low-self esteem man/woman making way for you, because that would make both of you look like complete idiots. So, you take the easy way out, and move out from your seat, while the bus is rocking and jerking. It’s like getting out of a roller-coaster mid-ride, and you lose your comfy seat in the process too.

“NIRVANAAAAAAAAAAA”

So, next time you’re riding a bus, here’s a word of advice: don’t press the damn bell. The other passengers will be watching your moves like hyenas, and pressing it would mean getting devoured mercilessly. And hey, it’s a free game show on a bus; surely you don’t want to ruin your only entertainment pleasure on the move?