So I was on the bus to get to school the other day and as per usual, I headed straight to the back. I sat down and my purse brushed the plastic bag that was resting in the empty seat between me and the girl sitting to the left of me in the corner. She was youngish, about my age, and she looked stylishly hippy-like, wearing bell-bottom jeans and cute little nerdy red cat's eye glasses. Just your average university type, right? She freaked out and shoved my purse into me with an agitated arm to rip her bag out from under it. She was reading the paper. So I turned to her and said, "Sorry, is that your bag?" She she looked up at me with the aura of an attacking panther and snarled "None of your fucking business." Okay then. The older lady sitting across from us looked at her like she suspected the nutter had a bomb strapped to her chest. I shut up and looked straight ahead for the rest of the ride. Every once in a while the nutter would rustle her bag around and shove my purse into me, and look at me with that "what are you looking at" kinda look, even though I was staring anywhere but in her direction. Finally at one stop, she got up and off the bus, only to turn around and come right back on. This time she sat somewhere at the front of the bus. At the next stop, my stop, a bunch of us filed out with the nutter included. On the crowd's way to the cross walk, someone bumped into her and she let out a hell cat's yelp before barelling down the street in the opposite direction like she was on her way to bursting in on a cheating lover with a gun in her belt. At the cross walk, a group of teenage girls from the bus were laughing at her, obviously having enjoyed the sad display of agitated insanity. I felt sorry for her. And I felt bad that I hadn't tried to do something for her. She was obviously in need of a little help and kindness. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that if I'd tried to befriend her, she would've gotten Hanibal Lector on my ass and ripped my face off to wear under her glasses. Still, in all fairness, I could see her point. People can be so insensitive and downright rude. I did, after all, impose on her space with my purse. And that jerk did, after all, bump into her like she didn't exist. It's a mad, mad world we live in.