Night Route Countdown

I bolted from under the cafe wicker chairs straight toward the glowing bus stop shelter. While waiting commuters stood glued to their phones, I scrambled up the painted steel frame right onto the edge of the overhead digital arrival board. An amber dot-matrix countdown was ticking away: 03 MIN. Perfect timing. I crouched on the cool metal casing, tapping out a rapid syncopated rhythm with my heels against the metal trim to match every flashing second. Just as the countdown hit zero and the giant bus hissed to a stop, I dropped down onto the sloped acrylic roof, fully locked into the city's night pulse.