In the wee hours of the morning, Philadelphia bus drivers pick up all sorts of characters.
But around 3 a.m. Friday, driver Harlan Jenifer surely got the shock of his shift.
A man flagged down Jenifer, telling him he found a little girl — decked out in a purple coat and snow boots — all by herself. Surveillance video shows the girl, named Annabelle, boarding the bus.
“Got to be kidding me! At this time, at 3 o’clock (in) the morning,” Jenifer told WPVI-TV. “She’s a small little thing. It kind of just shocked me.”
While Jenifer called police, bus passengers comforted Annabelle, the station said.
And her reason for venturing out so late alone?
“‘All I want is a slushie,’” Jenifer recalled. “That’s all she said!”
Annabelle was back with her parents within an hour; WPVI reported that they’ve since figured out a new door-locking system.
But later on Friday, it seemed Annabelle’s slushie craving remained unfulfilled.
“Mom, can you take me to Wawa and get me a slushie?” she asked her mother, Jaclyn Mager, while she talked to WPVI.
“I will take you to Wawa and get you a slushie,” Mager replied, the station noted. “But listen, promise me next time you’ll wait for me, okay?”
“Yeah,” Annabelle answered — sealing it with a big hug, WPVI added.
I can assure you my mother would not have been quite that loving if I had been found on a bus at 3 in the morning. In fact, I’m pretty sure that as soon as the cameras left, she would have spanked me. Of course, at 4 I knew better than to leave the house without parental permission. A little discipline goes a long way, ladies and gents.