I dig my earbuds out of my back pocket, and jam them in my ears. I thought it was a clear sign meaning 'Don't talk to me because even though these headphones make me look super interesting, I am not very interested".

Obviously I was wrong. I fish out my latest novel and try to find my place. I am dreading when he starts to make conversation with me, and then i hear it: 'That's an awfully long book!' his boring voice drones.

I pause, look up, and slowly turn my head to the left. I pointedly remove the right earbud, pause, and say, "What's that?" with a forced smile.

'Not exactly light reading,' he said pointing at the author.

'No, it's not. It's pretty tough, actually...requires a lot of concentration,' I growled the last words with gritted teeth, and stuck my earbud back in and turned away.

'Where you headed?'

Oh, yes. Awesome. Super. I was blessed with a talker. Someone had better get a megaphone, if I have to suffer, everyone does.

'New Jersey,' I say in a monotone voice, flicking my head in his direction dramatically, then back down just as quickly- this time without removing my earbuds.