I was riding the train today and when it came to my stop, I stood up to get out. As I stood up, a girl moved to sit in the seat in front of me. In the process of brushing by each other, I elbowed her on the head.
"OW!" she said.
"Excuse me," I said.
Her posse suddenly gathered around.
"What did you do to her?" they demanded in a variety of ways, in between insults.
"Uh. . . accident. . . mistake," I stammered.
Just then, I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder. I looked up to see the famliar cowled visage of Batman.
"You girls leave this guy alone," Batman said in his trademark gravelly voice.
"We were just playin," the leader of the girls said, and they all went back to their business.
"Thanks Batman," I said. "I thought for sure I was a goner."
"You're wrong," Batman said. "People are basically good."
"I just meant --," I began, but Batman cut me off.
"You either die a hero or live long enough to be a villain," he said.
"Sure," I said, edging passed him towards the door.
"I'm whatever Gotham needs me to be," I heard Batman continuing as I stepped off of the train and onto the platform.
The doors slid shut and I breathed a sigh of relief. Some people just don't know how to end a conversation gracefully.
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