my first assignment in short story writing class was to write one scene in three completely different ways. the sequence of events had to be the same in each one: a character pulls the stop cord on the bus, gets up, steps off onto the sidewalk, and sees an old woman walking her dog.

How beautiful this place is! she thought, as the bus neared her stop. How much the way I imagined it! Look at this little red bus full of Londoners on their way to work or school or tea! She pulled the yellow cord near the window to tell the bus driver to stop. Sheíd been dreaming of coming to London since she was a little girl, and now here she was! Collecting her purse, backpack, camera, and shopping bags from the seat next to her, she made her way to the front of the bus with the other passengers, stopping just outside the bus to take in the sights: Big Ben piercing the crisp blue sky, the Thames rippling in the sunlight. Even the little old woman walking her dog along the river seemed to fit perfectly in merry old England. He was already slowing down for the next bus stop, but the blonde girl a few rows back pulled the cord anyway. Pushing the lever to open the passenger door, he watched in the rearview mirror as she collected her things from the seat next to her. These girls are all the same, he thought to himself as he watched her thin short skirt ride up on her thigh as she stood to exit. Always tarted up as though everyoneís watching them. Still, as she stepped off the bus and stopped to watch an old woman walking her dog, he got a nice look at her ass. Fucking tourists, he thought as he watched her pull the yellow stop cord. Theyíre never going to realize that theyíre not the only people here. He was tired and hungry and ready to go home, and he didnít appreciate the fact that she had used the last available seat for her mountain of useless purchases, forcing him to stand in the aisle next to some smelly old geezer. As he walked behind her toward the exit, he decided that London could go to hell for all he cared, with its disgusting river and dirty old pseudo-landmarks and hordes of ignorant visitors. It figures, he thought, as she stopped directly in front of him to watch some old woman walking her dog, sheíd block the way and keep us all from getting off the bus.