No More Smells, Please!

You wake up with bleary eyes in the morning for class, rush through the morning regime of brushing your teeth, shoving breakfast into your gaping mouth, thrusting on that pair of socks, slathering on a moisturizer + foundation + sunscreen + mascara + whatnot.

You reach the bus stop and find the bus already beginning to pull away. You make a dash for it and the driver thankfully sees you run up and screeches the bus to a halt. You whisper a phew! to yourself as you climb wearily in, fighting that leg cramp you can already feel creeping in. The driver gives you 'the' look that says huh, her and her late timing! I just don't understand w-h-y young people can't wake up 5 minutes earlier in the morning! And on the real lucky days when he brings the bus to a shriek halt, a string of expletives could very well follow.

Anyhow, the process of 'getting in' is done with and you relax in your seat and begin tying up your as-yet untied shoelaces. You smell something sweet, not edible. The smell of a hand moisturizer. You look at your own hands but its not the smell of your brand. You look across the aisle at the girl waving her hands expressively while talking on the phone and realize its coming from her. You roll your eyes, huh typical girl, and look away.

In steps a suited man and you smell his aftershave as he walks past, then a woman whose moisturizer you smell, then a couple of school kids smelling all of Johnson's ® Baby Powder. Someone's shampoo, someone's hair conditioner, a stupid body spray, cigarette  smoke.

Smells.

Your nostrils begin to get flooded with them. You try to open the window to let in some air and release the sticky feeling in the atmosphere. You try to look at the rolling hills and plains as the bus moves along the road in an effort to take your eyes off people on phones, people laughing, people drooling as their heads loll with sleep, people finishing up breakfast.

You freak out, just get me off the bus! Rescue 101, haven't you got some kind of a Smell Crackdown Team or something?

Finally, university is here!

You get off at your stop and the bus whizzes by.

Thankfully some fresh air at last. Your lungs give a little jiggle and you begin to walk confidently towards class. Open the door and step into the lecture hall.

Only to be met with a confused infusion of body sprays and moisturizers and..

Oh no, please no more smells again!