you could be a model.

With one seat left she takes her place between a petite Mexican woman and a tall elderly man wearing what she imagines to be his denim uniform. As not to invade her neighbors personal space she leans forward and perches her elbows on her knees, not realizing that she's taken an almost photographic pose. The bus is absent of human voices until an old woman chimes shakily, "You're going to be a model, you're so tall and beautiful". Taken off guard, sheepishly she smiles and half whispers "Thank you" while a girl towards the front peers over and giggles. All of the sudden she's aware of herself and feels everyone on the bus looking to see if the old woman is right, she can feel them thinking "Tall, yeah, pretty? Eh". Subtly she recoils by folding her arms and slouching back, no longer concerned with brushing shoulders with her neighbors, hoping that the jeans and forest green beater she's wearing will help her to blend once again into the background. The bus whirs on and she get's off before the old woman does, but not before she informs her "Don't go on the train with those flip flops, they'll getcha". After years of being told she could "be a model" she wonders if she should follow her reply of "Thank you" with "But they don't take girls with bad skin and big butts".