My "Friends" on the Bus

Riding public transit is a new experience for me. Before high school, I had never even been on a school bus (small, private Catholic schools usually can't afford or even need a bus system), and before college, the only public transit I had ever used was the Metro system in Washington DC. Sad, I know. In high school, I always had my car, and a private vehicle was a lot more reliable than a bus, especially in agricultural areas, aka the boonies. This being said, my first adventure on the bus was a unique one. I didn't sit next to anyone, and thought that only weirdos rode the bus. I was so thankful when my parents let me have my car at school 2 years later. The rest of my time at school, I avoided taking the bus whenever possible. The MAX system, though, was entirely acceptable. Don't ask me why.
Now that I'm on my own and working downtown, I was faced with a tough choice: either take the time, money, and stress to drive downtown every day and pay for parking (it's $15/day in my building, and $11.50/day across the street -- my job doesn't pay for parking), OOOOOOOOR I could just get a bus pass and take the bus to work everyday. I had it in my mind that the bus was the last possible resort, but after doing the math, I realized that $40/month for a bus pass was the much cheaper way to go (it's actually more expensive than that, but I have an awesome borhter-in-law who has agreed to buy them for me with his student discount).
And so, on my first day of work, I showed up to my bus stop a bit apprehensive of what was to come. The last time I rode a bus, I ended up next to a guy who had an aura about him that made me think he hadn't showered in quite some time, and the time before that, I sat next to a guy who picked his nose and ate it...for the entire ride. See why I wasn't too keen on getting on another bus?
After a while, I've now noticed who the regulars are on my buses. We don't ever really talk to each other, except to say "Good morning!" and maybe comment on the weather. And since I don't know their names and try to pass the time on the bus, I've taken to naming some of them. For example:

Frank: Frank is a nice guy. Somehow, he always manages to arrive just 2 minutes before the bus comes, while I'm always the one standing there for at least 8 minutes. Frank wears a wrist brace for some reason, but seems pretty normal. Plus, he has an OSU backpack that he carries everyday, thus making him above par. Frank is a good guy to sit next to.
Pam: Pam is always on my bus on the way home, rather than in the mornings. She has white hair, and seems pretty nice, even though we don't talk.
Lester: Oh, Lester. He's a mystery to me, but I've started to come up with a life story for Lester, even if it isn't true. Every day, he's on the bus when I get on, and manages to stare at me with icy blue eyes (don't worry, it isn't uncomfortable at all). And every day, he's wearing dirty blue jeans, a jean jacket with the elbows worn out, and his baseball cap. Every day, he gets off at the stop on 17th and McLoughlin, with a 6-pack of cheap beer in a 7-11 bag. Either Lester is the popular guy on the construction site, or he's had something rough happen in his life that leads him to have a relationship with his beer. Since I'm not brave enough to talk to him, let alone ask him about it, I guess I'll never know.
Michelle: Michelle also rides the evening bus, and has some pretty cute clothes, which I could also wear if I was a size 4. She has a tattoo of a paw print on her foot, and is currently reading the 4th Twilight book (Breaking Dawn, one of the better in the series). She's pretty punctual, too.

And then there's me, the girl who usually trips going up the stairs or manages to fall into someone's lap when the bus takes a sharp corner. Riding the bus is always a unique experience.