Bus Story: Scissors! My Kingdom for a Pair of Scissors

I plunked myself into a seat this morning and was switching between music on Pandora and the iPod, so for a moment, I could hear the conversation in front of me. Tweens, a boy and a girl, are having what sounds like an existential discussion about fate, choice, and the nature of free-will. Then I realize he just asked her what classes she’s taking for extra credit. He’s a fairly innocuous boy of 12 or so. She’s slightly older and is doing ALL of the lecturing about how she is NOT going to do what is expected of her, because she will not be told how to live HER life. She has an entitled and indignant tone that makes me want to dunk her head in treacle. The topper for me is that she has her hair draped over half her face in a ridiculous affectation, made comic by her having to spit it out of her constantly moving mouth. She is also sporting earphones – and during her entire unload on this poor schlub sitting next to her, she leaves them on, as if he doesn’t even rate her full attention. I dream of big Alice in Wonderland scissors to snip the earphones and cut her hair. It’s all well and good that you aspire to carve your own path, missy, but not okay to behave like such a boor on the ole 54.