Bus Strike! (Part I)

A few months ago, I chose to ride the "early bus" to work, aka the bus that picks me up before 7 am.  I was behind on school work and decided to take this bus a few times over the course of two weeks.  The bus happened to have added bonuses.  One: a bus buddy from last year had a shift change, so I now only see him when I ride this bus. Two: the driver is a stereotypical Long Islander: loud, cynical, and sarcastic. I enjoyed listening to her talk to other passengers with her pessimistic undertone throughout the bus rides.  One of the major topics was the upcoming bus strike.
"It's coming.  You better be ready."
"I don't know how they're gonna do this thing, but it's on it's way."
"Sorry guys.  It's not my choice, but don't expect me to be here next week."

These were some of her warnings, and I didn't take them lightly.  I don't understand all the variables that go into a strike.  Would I have advanced notice?  Would all the buses disappear?  Did the drivers collaborate and decide on a secret time to pull over and stop driving?  I hadn't a clue.  I continued to ride the bus, but stayed hypersensitive to the bus strike threat.  Despite Long-Island-Lady bus driver's warnings, she continued to show up to work each morning.

One evening, soon after my "early bus" rides, I had to take the "late bus" on my way home, aka the bus that picks me up after 6 pm. I got onto the bus as usual, settling in for some knitting and book-reading. Two miles into the trip, the bus driver pulled over and stopped. Of course, this is typical bus driver behavior since it's the only legal way to pick up passengers, even though the "Little Miss Sunshine" approach to riding a vehicle would probably save some time. The bus waited for a few minutes, which is also typical behavior because buses are supposed to stop at certain streets if they are ahead of schedule. But we weren't at one of those certain streets and we were already behind schedule. I looked around, but few people showed any concern.

Disrupting my thoughts came the bus driver's shouting, "Everybody off!"
Well, here it was: the Bus Strike! What would happen? How would I get home? While I debated whether to call Craig for a ride or to brave the walk home, I walked off the bus amongst a group of confused passengers.