Trouble n' Transit

Melody-Sue Johnson III is a very earnest college kid who studies hard, does well in school, and tries to do just as well in other aspects of her life. She lives in the Sunset district in San Francisco. She takes the bus to SF State every day, and always makes sure she heads out early enough to catch a bus that will get her to class on time.

This is, of course, all before calamity strikes. On Valentine's Day, Melody's boyfriend Ben breaks up with her. She is devastated. She's bummed out. Now that she's very depressed and can't focus on anything or keep up with her intense schedule, she heads to the bus stop a little later than usual. As she arrives, the bus she needs is just pulling away. She runs after it, but the driver doesn't stop.

It begins to rain. Melody doesn't have an umbrella. She starts to cry. She won't make it to school on time. She's soaked. She's been dumped on the worst day possible. 

As she stands there, weeping in the rain, a hot-air balloon drifts along right above her. A monkey sits in the dangling basket and plays an accordion and sings. Melody doesn't notice this at all until a voice calls out to her: "Hey, you look like you need a piping hot mug of hot cocoa, a blanket and a fireplace to sit in front of," the monkey shouts. Melody looks up in disbelief. Who could this possibly be? 

"Who are you?" Melody asks. 

"I'm Uma. Hop on board!" the monkey answers.

Melody grabs a rope ladder that Uma throws down to her. She climbs up. Melody asks the monkey if she can give her a ride to school. Uma agrees, but suggests that they stop by her place first to get her into some dry clothes, and maybe also have some hot cocoa. Melody thinks this is a great idea, so she agrees. As these two new friends drift toward Uma's house, they get to talking about their lives. When Uma hears what terrible things Melody has been going through, she decides to teach her a few things about what you can do when you're bummed out. 

"Look here, girl," Uma says. "You gotta look at yourself long and hard and think about who you really are. You need to relax, and look at the end of one chapter as the beginning of another. If you're faced with a problem, try to look for a solution. Everything is a challenge and a lesson. Remember that." 

Melody thanks Uma for her wise words. They get to Uma's and Melody puts on some very nice, warm dry clothes, and the two friends drink hot cocoa and laugh and tell stories in front of the fireplace. Melody will not make it to class today, but she is getting very good grades and has never missed class before, so everything is going to be just fine. She's not bummed out. She's learned a lot, and has a made a good friend who has helped her in a time of great need.

Later, Melody thanks Uma, and goes home. She can't help but laugh when she gets back home. She's not bummed out at all!