[What you need to know to start your day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

On the N

Dear Diary:

It was midday on a Sunday. I was on the N train.

I was standing up. I had my headphones in and I was staring into whatever “space” there is in a subway car. I was eager to get where I was going. The guy in the two-seater next to me had his head hung over an open book.

Suddenly, my music cut out with the familiar thud of my phone finishing the three-foot drop from my hand to the floor.

“Thanks for dropping your phone.”

It was the guy who had seemingly been focused on his book. Was he bothered by the sound my phone made hitting the floor, or was he just mocking me?