Status: slowly updating
Rush Hour
I: I've gotta go now, I've gotta go.
Duran Duran's Ordinary World wakes me up. I reach for my alarm clock and try to turn it off. I finally find the off button, along with the courage/energy to get up. I drag my feet towards my closet, I rub my eyes and I open the white door.
"Note to self: Go to the laundromat", I whisper to myself, looking at the only two clothes hanging: A red flannel shirt and a pair of gray jeans.
I hope taking a shower wakes me up completely.
***
I wash my blue bowl and my spoon. I need to buy more cereal as well. I guess I'll get it after school. I won't go grocery shopping during a free hour again. I did last Thursday, everything was fine, until I saw apparently everyone had the same idea. The fucking line was long as hell. When it was my turn, the cashier started offering me some membership card and I was like "maybe later, I need to get outta here asap, thanks". I ran back to the campus, the class had already started and I couldn't even get my coffee.
Dammit! 7 am! I need to leave now! I take my backpack, close the door and run to the nearest subway station.
The turnstile doesn't read my card. I try again and again until it finally works. As I run upstairs, I hear the oh so familiar noise. Dammit.
I lean against a black notice, with huge white letters saying "Broadway Junction". I take my music player. I'll have to wait at least - I look at the screen beside me - 13 minutes.
As Evanescence's Understanding ends, I realize the number 6 on the screen becomes a 1 and then a 0, and a recording says "the L train is approaching the station". That's weird but hey, I'm not gonna question it. The train stops and I enter.
Dammit. It's more crowded than I thought. Obviously, it must be like 7:30.
We reach Halsey St., a long-haired woman with a blue dress gets out of the train and I'm finally able to sit down. The doors start closing but suddenly they open again. A tall guy with short brown hair and brown eyes, who wears a black shirt with the long sleeves rolled up, blue jeans and black Converse suddenly gets on the train and somehow ends up standing in front of me.
I think I've seen him before but I don't remember where. Maybe I haven't. Maybe I saw someone similar... but I don't remember. There's something... Something different I see. I see something in him. I'm not sure what that something is. I need to say something. Yes, I have to say something to him. Hello, how can I get to God knows where, whatever, before it's too late. But I can't speak. What if I start stuttering, as usual? Fuck, I hate myself sometimes...
I die a little inside at each stop. Five seconds, and everything's fine again (relatively), at least until the next stop. My mind's still racing.
This is 14 Street, Union Square...
***
When my stop was announced, I knew I wouldn't get out of there and that Wednesday wouldn't be just another Wednesday.
I wouldn't leave even if I tried, even if I could (I could, in theory, but in practice... the idea didn't even cross my mind).
Suddenly I saw him sitting beside me. Only two stops, maybe one...
His phone started ringing with a really cool song. He took it out of his pocket and answered the call. About 15 seconds later, he put his phone back into his pocket.
"Excuse me", I finally said, "Would you tell me what's the name of that song?"
He looked at me, then at his wrists.
"The ringtone? The World Has Turned and Left Me Here, by Weezer."
I took a pen out of my backpack and tried to write with it. Fuck, it doesn't work.
He took a marker out of his pocket and showed it to me, sketching a smile.
"What's its name again?" I said, taking the marker.
"The World Has Turned and Left Me Here by Weezer... Wait, it's kinda long... Lemme write it myself..."
He took the marker from my hand, then started writing on my forearm.
"Okay, there you have it. It's a really cool song, one of my favorites..." He said, putting the marker into his pocket.
This is 8th Avenue. This is the last stop.
"Well, I think we should go", he said, getting up. "Where are you going?"
"To school", I admitted.
"What school?"
"St. John's University... What time is it, by the way?"
"It's... 8:23", he said, looking at his watch.
"Shit... My class started at 8. Oh well... Where are you going?"
"Nowhere", he said. "I was planning to kill time until 10 am, when my classes start."
I looked at him, surprised.
"Yeah, I know. It's weird. I have this habit of getting to places extremely early, ya know, just to make sure, I don't trust public transportation", he said as we walked. "What do you wanna do... what's your name again?"
"Melissa", I said. "And I don't remember telling you my name before".
"Really? I thought you did. I'm Adam".
"Note to self: Go to the laundromat", I whisper to myself, looking at the only two clothes hanging: A red flannel shirt and a pair of gray jeans.
I hope taking a shower wakes me up completely.
***
I wash my blue bowl and my spoon. I need to buy more cereal as well. I guess I'll get it after school. I won't go grocery shopping during a free hour again. I did last Thursday, everything was fine, until I saw apparently everyone had the same idea. The fucking line was long as hell. When it was my turn, the cashier started offering me some membership card and I was like "maybe later, I need to get outta here asap, thanks". I ran back to the campus, the class had already started and I couldn't even get my coffee.
Dammit! 7 am! I need to leave now! I take my backpack, close the door and run to the nearest subway station.
The turnstile doesn't read my card. I try again and again until it finally works. As I run upstairs, I hear the oh so familiar noise. Dammit.
I lean against a black notice, with huge white letters saying "Broadway Junction". I take my music player. I'll have to wait at least - I look at the screen beside me - 13 minutes.
As Evanescence's Understanding ends, I realize the number 6 on the screen becomes a 1 and then a 0, and a recording says "the L train is approaching the station". That's weird but hey, I'm not gonna question it. The train stops and I enter.
Dammit. It's more crowded than I thought. Obviously, it must be like 7:30.
We reach Halsey St., a long-haired woman with a blue dress gets out of the train and I'm finally able to sit down. The doors start closing but suddenly they open again. A tall guy with short brown hair and brown eyes, who wears a black shirt with the long sleeves rolled up, blue jeans and black Converse suddenly gets on the train and somehow ends up standing in front of me.
I think I've seen him before but I don't remember where. Maybe I haven't. Maybe I saw someone similar... but I don't remember. There's something... Something different I see. I see something in him. I'm not sure what that something is. I need to say something. Yes, I have to say something to him. Hello, how can I get to God knows where, whatever, before it's too late. But I can't speak. What if I start stuttering, as usual? Fuck, I hate myself sometimes...
I die a little inside at each stop. Five seconds, and everything's fine again (relatively), at least until the next stop. My mind's still racing.
This is 14 Street, Union Square...
***
When my stop was announced, I knew I wouldn't get out of there and that Wednesday wouldn't be just another Wednesday.
I wouldn't leave even if I tried, even if I could (I could, in theory, but in practice... the idea didn't even cross my mind).
Suddenly I saw him sitting beside me. Only two stops, maybe one...
His phone started ringing with a really cool song. He took it out of his pocket and answered the call. About 15 seconds later, he put his phone back into his pocket.
"Excuse me", I finally said, "Would you tell me what's the name of that song?"
He looked at me, then at his wrists.
"The ringtone? The World Has Turned and Left Me Here, by Weezer."
I took a pen out of my backpack and tried to write with it. Fuck, it doesn't work.
He took a marker out of his pocket and showed it to me, sketching a smile.
"What's its name again?" I said, taking the marker.
"The World Has Turned and Left Me Here by Weezer... Wait, it's kinda long... Lemme write it myself..."
He took the marker from my hand, then started writing on my forearm.
"Okay, there you have it. It's a really cool song, one of my favorites..." He said, putting the marker into his pocket.
This is 8th Avenue. This is the last stop.
"Well, I think we should go", he said, getting up. "Where are you going?"
"To school", I admitted.
"What school?"
"St. John's University... What time is it, by the way?"
"It's... 8:23", he said, looking at his watch.
"Shit... My class started at 8. Oh well... Where are you going?"
"Nowhere", he said. "I was planning to kill time until 10 am, when my classes start."
I looked at him, surprised.
"Yeah, I know. It's weird. I have this habit of getting to places extremely early, ya know, just to make sure, I don't trust public transportation", he said as we walked. "What do you wanna do... what's your name again?"
"Melissa", I said. "And I don't remember telling you my name before".
"Really? I thought you did. I'm Adam".