THE JEEPNEY slowly backed to the spot where the impatient daily commuters had formed a line.
“O.K. Easy does it, Leroy!” barked the lean stripling with tawny skin while his hand tapped the side of the slow-moving vehicle. “O.K. Stop! That’s fine!” he yelled, his cupped hand slamming hard against the side of the jeepney’s trunk. He strode to the rear of the vehicle and started counting the wayfarers who had begun to enter the rear access. “A little space to the left, please! That side is eight-seater! To the right, please. Hey! Lady, move a little! That side can still accommodate one more!”
The seated passengers reluctantly inched and moved on the long benchlike seat in obedience to the dry-nursing barker, who had mounted a foot on the steps of the rear access, his body now blocking the lined passengers outside waiting for their turn...
[Note: Read the complete story in the book "You Filibini?" Stories and Other Writings by Amador F. Brioso, Jr., published May 2010]
