At Other People's Expense

I was heading home on the train today, the first leg consisting of two stops. I don’t bother sitting down for this trip. At the first stop, the doors unlocked, and seeing a number of people wanting to board I open the door for them. The nearest person, a man in his late 30s or early 40s looks at me and beckons me to alight first while, noticing I’m not attempting to get off, simultaneously asking “Are you getting out?”

“Nope,” I reply, the only person standing at the door way and only one of about 4 people on the entire carriage.

“Oh, you’re just standing in the doorway,” he comments, still not moving. His passive aggressive tone doesn’t escape me as I respond with a smile and a cheerful “Yup!”

“That’s really smart mate!” he offers as he finally boards, sarcasm oozing from his pores.

“Thanks,” I beam, knowing he probably doesn’t realise I agree that my choice of location on the train is a smart one.

I don’t like to laugh at other people’s expense, but today’s encounter tickled me. I console myself with the thought that this person was obviously too stresses, busy or disenchanted to notice. I hope his evening and weekend are better than the day he had today.

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