The boy gulps. “Ah, n-no! We were just talking.”

“Is that true Janice?”

I crane my head just enough to see a young woman standing behind the officer, pointing to the boy. She looks to be about twenty-two, with a small figure and a cute face. She immediately starts making a few symbols with her hands, and I realize that it’s sign language. The cop watches her intently before turning back.

“My friend here says that you’ve been bothering this gentleman for a good five minutes, and I bet the camera footage here would support that.”

The kid stays frozen in place, unable to even defend himself. The officer frowns.

“Get out of here!” He snaps, pointing to the door.

“Y-yes sir!”

We all watch as the boy runs off, nearly slipping in the snow outside. I laugh a little, extremely satisfied by the enjoyable outcome.

“You alright?” The cop asks.

I nod. “Yes, thank you.”

The officer looks back to the rest of the people. “What a shame no one else was willing to step in.” He says a little too loudly.

Everyone is quick to avoid eye contact, clearly annoyed by his address.

I only sigh. “It’s fine. He was just being a little rude is all.”

At this, the young woman came out from behind the officer to make a few more hand gestures.

“Janice here says that they were making fun of you for being in a wheelchair. According to the law, that counts as harassment, and you could file a-”

I wave my hand. “What’s the kid going to get? A slap on the wrist? It’s not even worth my time to go to the police station.”

The man shrugs. “True.”

The young woman frowns and makes a few more symbols.

“My friend says that it would be good for society if you filed a complaint. Else the cycle of unfair treatment will continue.”

I shake my head. “No thanks. I have a bus to catch anyhow.”

She lets out a huff and begins to tap her foot with irritation. I’m both offended and amused by her pushy behavior. For someone who can’t talk, she gets her point across quite clearly.

“Come on Janice, leave the poor guy alone. He doesn’t want to file the report.” The officer says, patting her shoulder.

“Wait, did she call the police over this?” I ask.

“Nah, she texted me. I usually watch for speeders a few blocks away, so it wasn’t really going out of my way to come here.”

“Oh, are you related?” I ask, slightly intrigued.

The officer smiles. “Nope, we’re just friends. Janice works at the rehab clinic where my little sister has been going for years, so I gave her my number in case of emergencies. She’s really good at helping people.”

I smile. So, bossy and nosey? That’s kind of cute.

“Ah!” Janice gasps.

I turn to her, but she quickly points back out the window. I move to see where she is looking just in time to watch as the second bus for my stop pulls away without me.

The officer sighs. “Oops.”