A woman’s rush-hour subway ride in New York has gone viral after a brief run-in with a stranger on a packed train.
Sharing the incident on TikTok, @ava.manelis said she was heading to class when she boarded the 6 train at 5 p.m., amid a heat wave and peak-hour crowds.
The Text She Wasn’t Supposed to See
“It’s 5 p.m. I’m going to class. Everyone’s coming home from work,” she said. “You know it’s gonna be packed when you get on the 6 at five p.m. Just buckle up,” she further added.
The weather made matters worse. “It’s also a heat wave, so it’s, like, sweating. Everyone’s not in a great mood,” she said.
Still, she argued that close quarters come with the territory. “If you don’t want to be touched by people, don’t take the subway.”
Rush Hour Of Subway Created Chaos
With no room to move, she said, she was standing pressed against the edge of the seats. A woman about her age sat nearby with her hands resting on the armrest.
“I have my butt pressed up against where the seats meet the people that are standing up, because there’s nowhere for me to go,” she said.
“We’re trying to let in as many people as possible, if you know how the subway works,” she further added.
When she accidentally brushed the seated woman’s arm, she said, the reaction was immediate. “She looks at me like I just killed her firstborn son in front of her,” she further added.
She said she responded calmly but directly, “I was like, ma’am, we’re gonna be touching each other. Again, don’t take the subway if you don’t wanna be touching people. Point blank.”
Woman Glanced At Someone’s Phone, Texting About Her
Then came what she called the kicker. Bored in the crush, she glanced down at the other woman’s phone and saw a text to a friend.
“This stupid girl keeps bumping into me,’” she said. “And I literally wanted to be like, girl, you clearly are not from here,” she added.
She added a closing note: “Neither am I, but at least I can take the heat.”
