To sit or to die?

It all started so well. The bus driver didn't have any sleeves for my weekly pass, so he let me on for free. I had a full loyalty card, so my coffee was free. There were more people than usual walking around this morning, and everyone was very cheerful. Complete strangers were smiling and saying hello, forming a happy little community of early risers braving the cold. And then there was the train.

I was 15 minutes early, so I was first on the platform. The trains didn't run at all last week and when it rocked up today, it only had two carriages. Somehow, I got jostled out of the way and because I was in such a good mood from the journey in, I didn't jostle back. So, I was left with the decision of taking a jumpseat in the unheated bit between carriages or standing in the aisle in the relative warmth. I had visions of my blue hand outstretched, frozen for eternity, season pass open for inspection. Now here I stand, swaying with the motion of the train, my backside jammed into a guy who was lucky enough to get a seat (but unlucky to get the one where my ass is), while the conductor inexplicably tries to shimmy past all of us in the aisle every 46 seconds to check tickets.

Next time, I think I'll risk frostbite.