‘What,’ she
demanded.
‘Nothing,’
said Alex, trying to feign bewilderment.
‘What!’
‘Nothin’!’
‘Well stop
staring at me then.’
‘I’m not
staring at you.’
‘You are.’
‘I’m not.’
‘I saw you
from the corner of my eye.’
‘I was
reading my text feeds.’
‘I saw you
looking at me.’
‘How can I be
looking at you when I'm going through my feeds?’
‘Because I
know when you’re looking at me.’
‘How?’
‘You stop
tapping on your phone.’
‘Yeah. So?’
‘So every
time you stop tapping, you stare at me.’
‘Prove it!’
‘You’re doing
it now.’
‘What?’
‘Staring.’
‘I’m
talking.’
‘No you’re
not. You are arguing.’
‘I’m not
arguing.’
‘You are.’
‘I’m not.’
‘You are.’
‘Who started
this argument anyway?’
‘You.’
‘Me?’
‘Yeah.’
‘It’s you who
started it.’
‘No. It was
you.’
‘It wasn’t.’
‘You started
this argument. So let's finish it.
Christina
looked out through the window, arms folded. Alex continued texting. The train
conductor made an important announcement over on the speakers: ‘Good morning
ladies and gentleman. I am very sorry to announce that there is snow on the
line, and so everyone please stay on board. This train will continue along the
railroad once the snow has been cleared. We apologize for any inconvenience
this may cause you.’
The carriage filled with discordant chatter
and laughter. A woman pushed a buffet trolley along the gangway. The din of pop
cans hissing travelled throughout the entire length of the carriage, crisp
packets rustled like trees in a forest combined with the lingering smell of
salt and vinegar. The snow was still falling outside. The blanket had risen a
few more inches on the ground and the branches on pine trees were hanging down
from the weight of the snow. The battery on Alex's phone was winding down. He
connected a USB cable with his phone and plugged it into the socket. His eyes shifted
back at Christina again.
‘Stop staring
at me,’ she growled, clenching a fist in both hands.
‘I'm not.’
‘You’re doing
it again.’
‘Doing what
again?’
‘You know
well what.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t try to
fob me off with dumb insolence.’
‘Wow wait a
sec.’
‘No. You wait
a sec. You’ve been arguing with me since we’ve been stuck here.’
‘Now hold
on.’
‘No. You hold
on. If you don’t stop staring at me...’
‘I’m not
staring at you.’
‘I’ve had
enough of your insolence. I'm gonna sit somewhere else.’
Christina moved two seats away from Alex,
with her back to him.
‘Do you have
enough breathing space,’ teased Alex.
‘What?’
‘Don’t you
think you’re still too close for comfort?’
‘Jack off!’
Alex beamed a
cheeky grin as soon as Christina’s back was turned. The buffet trolley was
nearing Christina.
‘Can I get
you a drink,’ offered Alex.
‘What!?’
‘I want to
make it up to you.’
‘Forget it.’
‘Would you
like a coke?’
‘No.’
‘Pepsi?’
‘No.’
‘What can I
get you?’
‘Nothin’.’
‘Look, I just
wanted to say I'm sorry.’
‘I don’t want
an apology.’
‘I’m sorry.
Okay?’
‘Whatever.
I'm staying here.’
‘There's a
spare seat at the other end of the carriage.’
‘What?’
‘You’re the
one who wanted to sit far away from me, so the seat is free.’
‘Oh first
off, you pick an argument with me. Now you shun me.’
‘I’m trying
to be helpful.’
‘You’re not.’
‘As long as
you stay where you are, we’ll keep on arguing.’
‘Fine. I’ll
move on to the next seat, just as you suggested.’
Christina
jumped off her seat, and flew down the gangway. The automatic door slid open at
the end of the corridor. A middle aged man stepped in and took the seat. She
turned round and discovered that her seat had been claimed by someone else.
Christina wondered back up again. Alex gave a cheesy grin.
‘You
should’ve taken the seat like I told you,’ said Alex, gloating.
‘Suit
yourself. I'm going into the next car.’
‘The next car
is First Class.’
‘I can afford
to buy a First Class ticket.’
‘Wow! You must
be worth a few bucks since you can afford First Class.’
‘I am
actually, in case you didn’t know.’
‘Do you do
online gambling?’
‘No.’
‘So how do
you earn your bucks?’
‘I ain't
telling you.’
‘I bet you’ve
won loads of bucks.’
‘I don’t
gamble.’
‘Is that right?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Would you
like me to chip in with the cost of your ticket?’
‘No.’
‘I’m just
offering financial help.’
‘You don’t
need to offer me anything.’
‘Are you
sure.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Let’s hope
it’ll be paid...in full.’
‘That’s none
of your concern.’
‘Trust me. I
am not in the least a bit concerned. I only want to show that I care.’
‘Huh! You
insult me.’
A group of
teenage boys jeered and cat whistled. Christina stormed into the corridor. Alex
followed her.
‘Hey, do you
really think I’ll let you go in here, asked Alex.
‘Why are you
following me?’
‘I’m not
following you.’
‘Would you
please go away?’
‘No.’
‘I’m sick and
tired of you. You’ve been getting under my skin ever since we’ve been stranded
here.’
‘And we’ve been
arguing with one and other since we’ve been stuck here nonstop.’
‘Oh really?
Well done for noticing that because I have news for you.’
‘What?’
‘I’m calling
off the argument.’
‘Is that right?’
‘From now on,
I’ll be continuing with the rest of this journey by myself, and I don’t want to
speak to you again. Ever.’
‘It’s a deal.’
Alex clung
onto Christina’s arms, and drew her towards him. There lips pressed against
each other. Her hand tousled Alex's hair. She slid her other hand round his
back. The engine revved up, and the train pulled away. Alex and Christina were
too immersed with one and other to notice that the train was moving. There was
cheer and applause among the passengers.
3 comments:
The arguments are great to read and I suspect the participants enjoyed their arguing alot! I hope it was the start of something really good! The cheering at the end is clever, because we have been listening in, just like the other passengers 😊
I really like this, Adam; the descriptive work was great, and I like works that are set on trains. In terms of feedback, although I like the dialogue-centred format, I feel that it needs a bit more time to develop -- ie: I think it ends prematurely. But, other than that, I thought it was a good read -- entertaining!
Alex
Oh, and great title!
Alex
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