Chapter 2

You whip open the door to McDonald's and nip inside, welcoming the warmth and the unmistakable aroma of mystery meat and bubbling fryer oil. It is surprisingly quiet for a Saturday, perhaps other people have stayed at home because of the weather reports of a storm moving in overnight. Too bad you don't watch the Weather Network...

The few patrons in the restaurant include a gaggle of teenaged girls laughing loudly and a rather rotund (or Rob Ford-esque, if you will) gentleman sitting alone in front of a veritable feast of fast food. You hurriedly order your Big Mac and fries from the sour-faced McDonald's employee and rush back out into the street.

At the bus stop you check your watch, you still have a couple minutes before the bus arrives. A bitter wind is blowing down Yonge and the temperature is quickly dropping. You seek relief from the elements inside a nearby bus shelter. The shelter smells of urine and half of it is filled with a heaping mound of garbage. You cough, and stomp your feet to stay warm. You open up your McDonalds bag and begin to munch on the french fries.

Suddenly the shelter begins to shake and rumble. The pile of garbage starts to shift, then slowly rises up. You've disturbed Hobo Joe! "graaaggghhhrrrr!" You stumble backwards clutching your takeout to your chest in fear. Through the darkness you can see the glow of his cold grey eyes. He gnashes his teeth together and sends out clouds of hot stinking breath into the cold air. His black hair is matted thick to his head and his face is smeared with grime. He begins to reach out an arm towards you, his weathered hands are tipped with long yellowed fingernails which look like the talons of a vulture.

You look up from this horrible scene and spot your bus coming up to the lights. You,

a) run for it!
b) give the homeless man your McDonalds
c) give the homeless man your hat and mittens, its cold tonight!


(http://www.toronto.ca/housing/needhelp.htm << for more information on help for the homeless in Toronto)

Chapter 1

It is 1:45 am on a windy and frozen night in mid January. You've just stumbled from a house party in Leaside. Your friend in the doorway is still offering to call you a taxi. "Nahimgoood ima jus tak the blue night home!" you slur. All you have to do is make it from East York to your apartment in the Junction. A trip requiring just 4 separate buses. Yes a taxi would take about 25 minutes, but who can afford to pay for a cab in this economy? pffft. Your friend has a concerned look but resigns to your decision and tells you to send a text when you make it home. Under the cold glow of a full moon you embark, staggering off towards Eglinton Avenue East to catch the bus.

When you reach the bus stop, the number 54 has just pulled up, you hop on board and pay your unreasonably high fare. You even remember to grab a transfer from the unusually chipper driver. "Hmm, maybe this won't be such a bad journey after all..." you think.

The bus makes it to Yonge and Eglinton in 9 minutes, woo hoo! You exit the bus and start to head for the stop on Yonge, but wait what is that delicious aroma? You slowly turn around to find yourself basking in the fluorescent glow of both a McDonald's and a Burger King, your stomach rumbles expectantly and you begin to salivate. Its now 2am and you haven't eaten since 6.

You have 12 minutes until the 320 Yonge Blue Night arrives. Will you-

a) get Burger King- the whopper is calling your name
b) get McDonald's- a few chicken nuggets and french fries is just what you need
c) neither- you're watching your figure and besides you don't want to chance missing the bus

Introduction

Any Torontonian worth his or her salt has embarked on an epic journey on the blue night bus. This is a network of TTC buses and streetcars that run after 1:30am when the subway and regular bus service stop. Affectionately known by locals as "The Vomit Comet," every weekend this late night form of public transit throws together a colourful assortment of drunken characters from all walks of life. The resultant chaos at best can be described as "entertaining!" and at worst it can be described with a long string of expletives.

With this blog, I'd like to pay homage to this quintessential Toronto experience in the form of a "choose your own adventure," fiction. Each week I will post a chapter followed by choices of where the story will go next. Leave a comment on the post of what you think the character should do and the most popular selection will lead us to the next chapter. As this is an interactive work of fiction, please pass it on, the more people participating the more fun this will be! If you have ideas for things that might happen in this epic, feel free to e-mail/message me your ideas.

Cheers!
Angela

"Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide... - Homer, The Odyssey