The Captain

About a third of the way through, The Captain closed his book and looked at the man next to him. The man next to him pretended to be asleep, but The Captain could tell by the muscles in his face that he was not asleep, so he asked a question: “Why's it always so cold on buses? Everybody's freezing. I'm freezing. You're freezing.”

The fake sleeper kept his eyes closed, but opened his mouth: “I'm comfortable.”

The Captain knew the fake sleeper was cold, just like everyone else. The sun had dipped below long ago. Except for a few spotlights, the bus was dark. Except for a few conversations, the bus was quiet. The Captain quit talking, opened his book and pretended to read.