The Shuttle Shuffle

My law school is located in downtown Minneapolis but has an undergraduate school located in St. Paul. To save on rent, I opted to live near the undergraduate campus. At first I was concerned about the cost of transportation, after all when I was choosing where to live gas prices were on the rise and parking downtown can be extremely expensive. Thankfully, the school operated a shuttle between the 2 campuses; this meant I could walk to the undergraduate campus and save on both gas and parking. 

I wasn't the only person from the Law school that had this plan. Over first semester I made a fair amount of Shuttle friends. One of these shuttle friends, Groucho, has had a few problems with the shuttle system, in particular the shuttle drivers. An important thing to know about Groucho is that she hates everything. I love talking to her because her hatred for everyone and everything is both hilarious and a stark contrast to my own enthusiasm for life. Uniformly I will look over at her during a class and see a look that reflects her disgust on the inside for whatever professor is currently wasting her time. Groucho's disgust apparently could be seen by one of the bus drivers that usually works the Shuttle route. As a result this bus driver from time to time would drive away when he saw Groucho running to try and catch the shuttle or other assorted minor slights. I always laughed at her and wondered how she inadvertently was able to make someone she had little to no contact with dislike her so. 

Then this morning I got a little taste of the spite of the shuttle route drivers. This morning I walked to the shuttle for the first time in about a month and when I got to the stop I realized I did not have my school ID (a requirement for admission to the bus). I had forgotten my ID before and it had never been a big deal, so long as it did not become habitual. This was not the attitude of this particular bus driver. He was a new guy on the route and I had never seen him before but he looked like the Marlboro man. He had a mustache and sunglasses and although I can't remember for sure I think he was wearing a cowboy hat. when I told him "I forgot my ID" rather than being met with the customary "ok just have it next time" he shoo-ed me away. I looked at him in disbelief. "Are you serious?" I asked "I can show you my state ID and my law school books, there are seats available on the bus are you really going to not let me on?" He growled back "you know you are supposed to have your ID to get on the bus... You don't have your ID so you can't get on." I stared for a second in shock and then continued trying to persuade him (after all, if I didn't get on this shuttle I would be late for class).  I looked around the bus and saw every other passenger watching this scene with the same incredulous look I had. One of my classmates behind me was looking at the Marlboro man like he was crazy. Eventually he grumbled that I could get on this time, but if I tried the same stunt tomorrow it would be a completely different story. 

After getting off the Bus a few of my classmates and even some faculty turned to me, expressing that they believed the drivers reaction to be just as odd and inappropriate as I did. Groucho, who had been on the bus, said to me "only to you... that would only happen to you." I don't understand why though? why is it that people needlessly being mean to me is something that my friends and classmates have grown to expect? 

Oh well... I guess I just better have my ID tomorrow.