104 Away

Heavy Smoke

After fifteen minutes of driving in an awkward silence, Marcie was actually relieved to have arrived at the train station at the border of her town. As her mother turned off the ignition and rustled around the glovebox for Marcie's train tickets, Marcie took this as her chance to look around. 

The  Ark Train Station obviously wasn't the most pleasant place for most, and many civilians were sitting on benches, leaning against the dark stone ticket booth, reading a newspaper or book.  Their faces were grim, full of boredom.  The distant ring of payphones rang through the area, and people were talking in hushed tones, nervous of their own privacy being broken.  What is it that people have to hide so often? Marcie thought to herself.  Unlike in her neighbourhood, the strong smell of exhaust from both the train and smoke from the cigarettes  combined  made her cough and her eyes burn. 

"Marcie, stop daydreaming and pick up your luggage. You don't want to be late!" her mother called, bringing her back to reality.

"I'm coming!"  she exclaimed, not feeling the need to be scorned again. 

Her mother opened the trunk, seized her purse and put it around her shoulder, tapping her foot impatiently waiting for Marcie to grab her suitcase. Marcie clutched its worn out handle and pulled it out of the trunk, and the feeling of her arms straining to keep it up was a little too much. "Can you help me?" She grunted.

Her mother looked at her, and just as Marcie thought she saw something like pity in her eyes, it vanished almost as quickly as it had come. "You're a strong girl, aren't you? This is good for you, now let's hustle."

Marcie looked at her in shock. "Why do you have to be so cruel?" She blurted out.  

Her mother stopped in her tracks. "Cruel?" She looked away, and Marcie couldn't tell if she was sad or just downright emotionless. "Marcie, this is not me being cruel, this is me doing what's best for you. What's best for the family."

"That's rich!" Marcie exclaimed, thinking she was to far in to turn back. "You're the one who wanted to send me to a boarding school in the first place! And then you used all of your little 'charms' to convince dad to agree, too!"

Her mother turned on her heel towards Marcie in a blink of an eye. Her face contorted with pure rage. "Young lady, you listen to me! This is the last straw! We are getting you on that train and I will hear nothing more! You are too much, Marcie! Too much!" she yelled.

At that, people all around the train station looked at them in shock. Marcie felt tears brimming in her eyes, and she struggled to keep them back. She watched as her mother's neck turned red with embarassment  when she turned around and saw the stares of judgement from the people around the station. Marcie realized this was the first time they had looked up from their books, newspaper and payphones. The entire area was covered in a thick cloud of silence for a few moments until the whistle of the train rang through the distance.  Her mother seized Marcie's arm and tugged her towards the train stop. "C'mon," her mother muttered.

The train came to a stop, and adults flooded out and on to the station ground. "Board!" the conducter yelled. 

 Marcie noted atleast three other girls her age get on, and a few people waving goodbye with tear-struck eyes. A few other adults climbed on,  and Marcie paused. "Well? Get on with it!" her mother said, and handed her the ticket. 

Marcie sighed, and a pit in her heart began to develop like the nervousness in her stomach. With a gulp, she stepped up the stairs to the train and heaved her bag up with her. Her tears made her vision blurry, so she quickly shoved her bag into the overhead cabin. She sat down on the seat underneath and leaned her head against the cold window and squeezed her eyes shut, feeling her tears overflow and wash over her cheeks.