When the alarm clock buzzed, he woke with a terrible headache.
He shut it off quickly and listened. Yes, his flatmate had already left for work. He staggered into the bathroom. His head was pounding. After a wash and shave he fossicked around in the cabinet until he found a bottle of aspirin. He took one and dressed. It didn’t seem to be helping, so he put a couple more in his pocket. He’d take them later if his head didn’t clear. The walk to the bus stop was invigorating, but his headache was no better. He dipped into his pocket and swallowed both tablets. The bus came and he got on. The ride in usually took a few minutes. Hopefully, this would be enough time for the throbbing to stop completely.
The girl sitting in front of him was wearing a cap covered with tiny embroidered butterflies. The first inclination that something was not quite right was when the wings on a couple of them began to flutter. He squeezed his eyes shut, but it didn’t help. He looked across at the woman holding a poodle on her lap… but it wasn’t a poodle, it was a chicken! A chicken on a bus? He couldn’t wait to get off. When he did, he found that most of the people walking past had horns and nearly all of them were wearing red, clown noses. He leant against a wall looking at the blue rabbits perched on top of every street lamp. He took a deep breath. He really couldn’t go into work like this. With great care, he crossed the road, made his way to the bus stop and waited for a ride home.
When the bus came, he clambered on, and in a moment of clarity, mumbled to the gorilla that was in the driver’s seat, “They weren’t aspirin!”