Three twenty-something men play video games on the bus. Not noticing anyone else around them.

A man in his fifties, age spotted hands. Well-used backpack sits on his lap while he sifts through a stack of index-card-sized papers. Handwritten words in another language. Homemade flash cards.

Balding man. Mid-forties. Holds a book. An actual book. He appears lost in the words on the printed page.

Another man. Late forties. Long, goth-black hair. Balding in back. Sharp cheekbones that contrast with an otherwise sensitive looking face. Black fingernails. Heavy metal rocker? He gets off at the same stop I do. Try not to show too much surprise at the flowing ankle-length, black skirt he wears over black boots.

I keep my head down.