Subway Sadness

I stand at the platform, casting furtive glances about. Near me, I see the morning crowd starting to show some signs of annoyance. I can understand them completely---I have an exam coming up, and I should have been on the subway en route ten minutes ago, but here I am, still standing at the platform, behind the yellow line, lined up at one of the two snaking rows at the edge of the eye-high barrier doors.

The morning began cool, dry even. I had taken the short walk from home to the subway station, leaving home at roughly the same time as I always do. I reached the subway on time, and met the usual throng of vaguely familiar faces of people who take the same subway as I. A silent acknowledgement of each other was had by all.

But now, visible beads of sweat can be seen on our collective faces as the minutes ticked on by with no train in sight. The indicator panels located above us were of no help---they first showed an estimated time of five minutes, which did not change as each minute passed on by.

At first, I thought it was just a regular delay, as the subway was prone to having these days. Two minutes passed and I started to feel that something was wrong. Three more minutes passed and I was reaching a small state of panic.

Ten minutes on and I am where I am now, starting to be annoyed. Still, there was no indication of what had gone wrong. There were no announcements over the public address system, no display changes on the panels. The crowd increased as the next two to three batches of commuters have made their way up to the platform.

The dry and cool morning turned quickly into a fetid mass of sweaty, angry people as the scarce information and increasingly overcrowded situation worsened. I found myself pushed almost compulsively towards the barriers by those behind me who were gently nudged by someone from far far behind to make way for them to be on the platform. Just when it seemed like a riot was about to break out, the public address system sounded.

``We regret to inform you that due to a train fault, the next train will be delayed by fifteen minutes. We apologise for the inconvenience and hope for your understanding. Thank you very much.''

I looked at my watch. Without realising it, twenty minutes had already passed on by, and with the added fifteen-minute delay, I would be at least half an hour late. I turned my head to look behind me, and spotted the mob of bodies behind me; few of them were even attempting to leave the platform to seek alternative travel arrangements.

I examined my options and realised that there was no way I could get to my exam in time.