The Wings Of A Caged Bird | First Draft

chapter 3 : jeremiah bridge

T/N : I can't figure out the difference between coach, carrier and bogie lmao if i wrote it wrongly anywhere, please point it out, or just explain the difference to me. Thanks a lot :)

------------------------

July and I play this little game of jumping from one bogie to another.

It is a silly game, but the first few times are actually kind of scary. We left our seats to get some coffee, because apparently the coffees in trains are 'scrumptious', as July said in his British accent, not forgetting to do a chef's kiss as he did. I left my bag in my seat, entrusted to Mr. Harold, who July thinks is trustworthy. Since he is lot better at understanding people than me, I didn't argue with that.

But after all the lies Dawn told me, I don't think I will ever trust someone fully again.

We can easily buy coffee from the next station the train stops in, but July claims that the coffee made inside the trains are somehow special. He has only ridden a train once in his life, when he came to my town to give some of the university entrance exams. When I got to know that, I was pretty shocked. July had stayed in the same town as me for three whole days, and though it was about two hours away from where I live, 'the world is so small' didn't come true for us. Maybe we have even walked past each other at some point. It is a terrifying thought, even more so, now that July is dead.

It makes me wonder, if he had passed even one of the exams, he would probably be out of his abusive household, living in the dorms in my town, and we might have met under different circumstances, circumstances that don't include him being dead. But fate did us dirty.

The thought is painful, so I don't go too far with it. Perhaps it is the same for him, which is why he didn't tell me before.

The place where they make and sell coffee is at the very last carrier, which is called the carboose. Or at least, that's where it was in the train July rode. There is also supposed to be a small snack shop in there. Usually, you can just order it from your seat, but July isn't sure about that, as he thinks it might be just a privilege for the first class passengers. And anyways, we wanted to stretch our legs a little, so a walk inside a trembling moving train isn't so bad.

The bogies are connected by this metallic joint thingy. It's called a Buckle Joint, as July informed. Though it is no big deal jumping from one bogie to the other with our long legs, a momentum is always felt which makes your legs unstable. Needless to say, if you miss the footing, your leg will get fall downwards in the space between the two bogies, and what happens next can be left up to our gruesome imaginations. This is what makes it so thrilling.

I do the first jump pretty easily, my heart throbbing inside my chest as I turn back and wait for July to do it. He has a grin on his face as he raises his leg and skips over the joint, reaching me. We chuckle and open the door to get inside the next coach. We walk through the corridor, passing strangers engaged in their own activities. This coach was more crowded than the one we are sitting in.

When moving to the next bogie, as I was slightly distracted by the train's whistle, my leg almost slips.

My soul momentarily leaves my body. With a scream, July pushes me forward and I somehow manage to place my feet properly on the other side. Putting a hand on my pounding chest, I breathe heavily as July and I stare each other wide-eyed.

"That was close," he says.

"It was." Oh my God. Then he does it easily, and we continue. After the first few times, it gets easier. After six bogie-jumpings, we reach the final coach.

Just like July said, at one end of it, there is a small shop. There is a counter, behind which a man wearing a red t-shirt is sitting and using his phone. Around him are packets of chips, cakes, chocolates and sodas. And there is also a coffee machine. I order a coffee and some more snacks for emergencies. I notice how after filling a small plastic cup with the coffee, the guy proceeds to add some more condensed milk and sugar to the cup. Diabetes patients need to stay away.