"Hey Uncle," he said. "I wanna buy a book, Uncle." It sounded like he said "bayah buk".
"Sorry, we're closed."
"Ach, no man, Uncle man. I wanna bayah buk, man."
The girl on his arm giggled, and clutched at his pleather jacket. "Let's go, Luke."
"Nah, but I wanna book."
"Tomorrow, Luke. We'll get you a book tomorrow." She yanked his arm, and he stumbled after her.
"Ok, bye. Bye, Uncle."
I am learning to speak English. It does not matter that I already speak Russian, German, Romanian, Polish and Hungarian. I must learn English too. I have two Bachelors degrees, one Master's and I am halfway through with another.
The bus was fuller than usual for a Saturday afternoon. Perhaps there was some event in the middle of town or a gathering of fans; Rowena remembered the last time she'd unwittingly walked into the middle of a flash mob and had had to stand there, helpless, while they flailed and jumped to the tune of some Top 40 hit. She checked her local news app to see if anything was listed. Nothing. The time at the top of the screen snagged her eye.
