Roseanne's Summer Vacation- Chapter 8
The sound of a crackling announcement spread across the platform. This was the attribute that one could encounter at nearly every Po station—inefficient speakers that barely give any sound. The passengers hear only individual syllables, which are occasionally white noised by a passing locomotive.
The Po State Railways Company attempts to introduce computerised announcements and digital boards with information on arrivals and departures, hoping this would remedy the problem. It doesn’t. The announcements are still far from audible, and the boards are difficult to read.
Roseanne and Natasha, who just climbed the steps to the platform with their hiking, military-coloured backpacks, barely heard the notification:
The train IC 6504 “Mieszko” from Wrocław through Leszno, Poznań, Bydgoszcz, Tczew, Gdańsk, Gdańsk Wrzeszcz, Gdańsk Oliwa, Sopot to Gdynia will arrive at platform four. Carriages numbered thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen are located at the front of the train. Carriages numbered seven, eight, and nine are located in the middle of the train. Carriages number ten, eleven, and twelve are located at the end of the train. Conductor consignments are received and dispatched by the train manager in carriage number eight. This is a train with all seats reserved; you cannot board without a reservation. Please do not approach the edge of the platform.
It was 10:03 a.m. already. The digital board began flashing, signalling that the train arrived on time—a rarity in the Land of Po. It was due to depart in three minutes, which is another rarity. Usually, the trains stay just for a minute at a station, and the passengers have to rush to the carriages as if it were a Chariots of Fire sprint, but with luggage.
“To which carriage are we heading?” Thally asked.
“No. 12. At least that’s what Mom said,” Milena explained.
The two began moving towards the end of the platform, and so did Natasha and Roseanne. The pairs of friends were from different classes, which meant they had a nodding acquaintance only. Students generally stick to the small communities of classes they are assigned to, and arguably, exceptions to this are chain smokers who spend breaks behind the school and get to know each other while enjoying mutual puffs.
Thus, Nika knew all the smokers at school, including Thally. After all, they were members of the same class. However, Thally kept the unsafe hobby a secret from her parents, unlike Nika. The minuscule girl was far behind the rest on the platform. She kept gasping for air while toddling along.
The Mieszko train rolled onto the station with formidable impetus. Roseanne always hated being close to an arriving train because the ground was tumbling up and down, and it was so intense she felt the tremors in her bones. Who in the right mind built this kind of transport? she thought. It was a battering ram but with seats.
“Hey, where is Mr Orville?” Natasha asked as the train came to a halt.
“I have no idea. He didn’t write anything on Messenger yesterday,” said Roseanne.
“Over here!” They heard suddenly in the distance.
Mr Orville was standing at the automated door of carriage number twelve. He waved hesitantly at the approaching students.
***
“For heaven’s sake, where’s my carriage?!” Old passengers panicked, running back and forth the platform. The conductors ignored them completely.
Mr Orville helped the students climb up the steep steps. All of them said enthusiastically at his sight, “Good morning, Mr Orville,” which made him wince internally. Nika could barely utter a salutation while climbing with her bags. She tripped and fell down like a log within the narrow passageway.
“Are you alright?” Mr Orville helped her get up.
“I’m… fine…” she wheezed out. “IC trains… ought to be forbidden. They’re like… extraction choppers in Vietnam.”
“Thankfully, you made it in one piece, Rambo.”
The students and their teacher had one compartment reserved entirely for them. They placed their bags on special racks and sat on uncomfortable seats. Mr Orville took out an envelope and prepared tickets for an upcoming inspection.
“You don’t know this, but the train goes through Squidburb, so I boarded it there,” Mr Orville said.
Thally snapped her fingers. “That’s why you were at the door. I get it. For a second, I thought you had the ability to teleport or something.”
The conductor whistled, signalling the departure. Passengers who still couldn’t find their carriages clung to random doors as the gargantuan machine moved slowly forward.
“We’re going!” Milena exclaimed.
“Yes, indeed,” Mr Orville said.
“It’s good to see you, Mr Orville,” Roseanne smiled from the seat directly in front of him.
“You too, Roseanne,”
“I was afraid there would be more students.”
“To be honest, I’m surprised you wanted to come.”
“Well, I’m surprised myself.”
“Have you ever been to Gdynia?”
“Nope,” Roseanne shook her head. “It’s my first visit to the seaside, actually.”
“Are you for real?” Natasha asked with her eyes wide open.
“My family used to take me to the mountains when I was little, Nat.”
“Oh, if you haven’t been to the seaside previously, then I’m sure you will enjoy the sights,” Mr Orville brought up a genuine smile on his face. He rarely smiled this past year, and Roseanne wondered why.
***
Just when the train passed the town of Pruszcz, the compartment doors opened. A middle-aged conductor with a huge bag hanging around his belly declared in a tired, bureaucratic tone: “Good morning, tickets please.”
Mr Orville opened up an envelope and showed the IC tickets he bought the previous day.
The conductor flicked through the yellowish pieces of paper and scanned the barcodes. “So, you’re going on a school trip, eh?” he asked.
“Yes, but I had to buy tickets individually with a discount. If I bought them for a group, I would have to go to Bydgoszcz instead of Squidburb to collect them.”
“Those are the regulations. Group tickets only at the main stations.” The man looked at the students. “Show me your school IDs.”
Roseanne, Natasha, Milena, and Thally did as they were told. The students searched through their pockets and took out typical school IDs. The front side has a photograph and personal details, whereas the back contains stamps under each completed grade as proof that a student fulfils their compulsory education requirement.
Nika, however, took out her phone and, with a poker face matching that of a professional gambler, she showed a photograph of her ID.
“What does the Rail Transport Act say?” the conductor asked irritably. “What does the Rail Transport Act say? It says that a student can travel only with a valid identification. That’s not it. It’s just a picture.”
Mr Orville screamed, “Are you out of your freaking mind?! I told all of you that you need to bring your IDs! Was that so difficult to understand? Do you suffer from brainrot because of the amount of smokes and booze you consume? Are you out of order or what?”
“I knew you would get angry,” Nika lowered her head.
“ANGRY? You haven’t seen me angry. I swear I will twist and tear that empty head of yours!” Mr Orville stood up, but the conductor touched his shoulder.
“Calm down, man. My inspector didn’t board the train in Poznań, so let’s forget about the whole thing, eh?” he began laughing.
“So we don’t have to pay up for anything?” Mr Orville asked.
“No, but your student should be more careful in the future. Anyways, what are you teaching, my man?”
Mr Orville raised his eyebrows. He was taken aback by this question. “I… I teach English.”
“Ah, okay. Cheers.” The conductor disappeared in the tiny carriage corridor.
Nika let out a loud sigh of relief. “Mr Orville, I don’t know how to say it. I’m sorry…”
“It’s fine, Nika, I’m not angry,” he said, interrupting her. “I pretended to be mad, so he wouldn’t fine us with 500 Po credits.”
“Well, it worked!” Milena exclaimed.
Thally said, “It worked not because Mr Orville went full Al Pacino, but because that conductor guy didn’t have an inspection from his superior.”
Natasha turned to her and said, “Let me get this straight. Even though the conductor inspects the tickets, he has someone above him who inspects him inspecting the tickets?”
“What did you expect? Railway is a company, and every company has its food chain.” She sneered. “I will never work at a company.”
“Can I go to the toilet?” Milena asked.
***
The girl left the compartment together with Thally. Milena was afraid of using the toilet in places other than her home, so she always needed her friend to accompany her, even at school or a shopping mall.
Toilet cabins in Po trains were located at the tail ends of each carriage. They wanted to get to the closest one on their left-hand side, but a waiter with snacks and a trolley blocked them off. Thus, they took the longer route on the right and squeezed through a man who was talking loudly on the phone.
“Yeah. We can set up a date for the floor panels. The renovation is not a problem for me… Listen mate, I’m catching a plane in Gdańsk. I’m not going to make it this week… Can we make it next month?”
“SHUT YOUR ASS UP, YOU BIMBO!” someone screamed suddenly from one of the compartments.
“YOU SHUT UP, YOU FILTHY ANIMAL!” the man on the phone screamed back.
“YOU’RE LOUDER THAN THE FUCKING ENGINE. I CAN’T HEAR MY THOUGHTS!”
“TELL IT TO MY FACE, YOU FUCKING MORON!”
“I’M COMING TO SHUT YOUR YAPPING, SCUMBAG!”
The men continued to yell at the top of their lungs, but neither came up to the other. The tirade of threats and insults stressed Milena so much that she didn’t use the toilet at all. Thally held her hand in the cabin to cheer her up.
Back in the compartment, the group attempted different ways of distancing themselves from the loud shebang. Nikka began watching TikTok, whereas Natasha suggested to Mr Orville that they could play the Uno game, because the student brought the cards with her. Roseanne, on the other hand, put up her headphones and played “Come See About Me” by The Supremes. She looked outside the window and observed the white clouds travelling like a pack of birds against the blue sky.
I’ve been crying (ooh, ooh)
‘Cause I’m lonely (for you)
Smiles have all turned (to tears)
But tears won’t wash away the fears
That you’re never ever gonna return
To ease the fire that within me burns
It keeps me crying, baby, for you
Keeps me sighin’, baby, for you
So won’t you hurry
Come on boy, see about me (come see about me)
See about your baby (come see about me)
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