Bit By El Gato

I feel like you should meet El Gato before I get to the story:

El Gato is one of a special group of buses we use for our commuter routes to Austin and San Antonio. There are five of them and they are equipped with special seats, reading lights, Wi-Fi, luggage racks, fare boxes, and university advertising shrink-wrapped around the outside of the bus. They are allowed on freeways. And this one was my favorite until this morning.

After driving to Austin and returning with forty (40) still-sleeping passengers, I was walking the aisle, looking for trash and left-behind belongings. I found a few newspapers, empty latte cups, and a Coke can. I don't blame Coke. I don't blame the passenger who left it behind. I don't blame anyone. My boss blames his clumsy driver. Whatever. It happened.

As I bent over to retrieve the Coke can, my forehead found the overhead luggage rack. I staggered back and swung my right leg out to catch myself. Unfortunately, one of the things El Gato is not equipped with is an extra wide aisle. My leg made contact with a sharp edge on the lower frame of a seat. My body, however, kept going. The result was an immediate headache and a 5-inch scrape from just below my calf to just above my ankle. Pain surged to the forefront of my vision in a rabid flash of red. I yelped, but in a closed bus, a treelike man doesn't make a sound as he falls.

I waited until I could stand without seeing Alpha Centauri and Polaris swirling around my head and then limped into the office to seek a first aid kit and an injury report. I wore a large bandage the rest of the day but was still able to drive my other route. However, I may call into work tomorrow with a case of becoming a werecat.