I also went on a searching frenzy for Catching Fire, because of course I could not wait the 1 day it would take to get back to Madrid. After I found a copy in English and paid more for it than what I usually pay for leisure books, I promptly sat down at 7pm and read through dinner (oops), not stopping until I realized if I finished the book in one day, I would have nothing to read on the bus home and I'd be left with torturous anticipation at getting the third book.
Packing and checking out the next day went as usual, I walked the 20 minutes it takes to get to the bus station and arrived a bit early, so I began to read my book while I waited. A couple minutes into my reading, by which time I am completely absorbed in the action once again, I am startled by the "perdon" of a police officer with 3 of his fellow officers who have basically surrounded my bench. I am rather confused as he asks to see my bus ticket, followed by my passport, all while he and the officer to his left is scribbling things in a little notebook. The remaining two officers stand on my other side, nonchalantly whispering things back and forth between themselves. I had never had a "security check" of this type when traveling by bus, and it was a bit funny to see them scribbling away furiously in such a serious manner (what could they possibly be writing??).
He gives me back my ticket and passport and then continues asking me questions like "where are you from?" (didn't you just see my passport?), "what are you doing here?" (I study in Madrid), and by the time he asks "when does your visa expire?" (June), he trails into a series of questions and comments which could be borderline flirting but just add to the strangeness of the encounter. Mostly because I had all FOUR officers around me during the minutes of silence as they reviewed my documents and scribbled in their notebooks, and afterwards the officers spent a max of 15 seconds with any other passenger they questioned.
By the time they left, it was nearing my departure time, so I left the lobby for the bus terminal. I boarded the bus, looking forward to the relatively short time it would take to reach Madrid after having so many long bus/train trips in the last week. I settled in, whipped out my book, and 30 minutes later I had finished the second book. (Now what would I do for the next 3.5 hours??). I'm sure I looked like a crazy person with my nose centimeters from the page as I read those last few chapters- these books have just absolutely captivated me.
The rest of the trip was uneventful and was incredibly relieved when we arrived at the Madrid bus station. Unfortunately, it is another bus station from the one I took, which is literally the furthest point in the city in the opposite direction of my house on the Circular metro line. Grrr.
But I made it home and even got to hang out with a friend to ease me back into the comfort which is Madrid (holla, VIPS) Now I have real business to attend to that I have ignored all week (summer job, housing, financial aid forms, oh my!), and some more packing to do for Barcelona later this week!
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