Bus boy

Another day, another surreal experience.

I rode a bus today. (Nope, that's not the surreal part.) Since it was fairly full, I took the first available seat - it was on a 3-seater row where a guy already occupied one seat. While the bus was traversing EDSA, the guy beside me (Guy 1) started talking to the guy seated at the row across us (Guy 2). From what I gathered from their short and staccato conversation, the 2 guys were friends and Guy 2 was asking Guy 1 to pay for his fare.

The conductor reached our row and immediately reached out for the money that Guy 1 took out.

GUY 1: "Dalawang Letre, ho. Estudyante."

Since I was the one sitting beside Guy 1, the conductor looked at me, then looked back at Guy 1. He glanced back at me, and with an authoritative voice ordered Guy 1:

CONDUCTOR: "Patingin nga ng I.D. mo!"

While the guy was fishing his I.D. from his wallet, the conductor got the tickets and gave them... to me! At that point, the guy and I were both surprised.

GUY 1: "Hindi po siya ang kasama ko."
CONDUCTOR: "Eh sino?"
GUY 1: "Siya po." (pointing to the other guy across.)

After giving Guy 2 a once over, the conductor barked at him:

CONDUCTOR: "Patingin nga ng I.D. mo?"

The two guys showed their Identification cards, and all was well and good.

When it was my turn to pay, I gave the conductor my money and told him where I was going. At this point, he said:

CONDUCTOR: "Estudyante ka, diba?"