Day 1

Today’s my first shift on my new schedule. I start work at 1:30 and leave home at 11:30. I live and work on the northern line. These are my stories about my journeys. They might not talk about what I see and observe on my travels but they would include all I think about during my over an hour long journey time I spend underground.
I’m a 21 year old girl, and welcome to my life.
I got to the station at 11:58 with the sinking feeling that I would be late. Steel rod of determination to face off with my boss should he query me up my spine, I topped up my oyster and got on the escalator, stood and allowed it to carry me down to my platform. That bit is relevant because I never stand, I run up and down the escalators as their snail speeds make my insides turn.
I got on the train with a mother and her son who was uncannily smart. He couldn’t have been more than 4 years old. He had slightly rosy cheeks a testament to the somewhat milder temperatures 100 ft above, and was bundled up in layers of coats and scarves. His continuous chatter about the colour of the line we were on and the stops made for three minutes of his mother answering questions and trying to restrain him from pressing the door-release button.
They got off a stop later.
As if by clockwork, the three gentlemen sat beside me got into conversation as soon as the boy and his mother got off. From their conversation and dressing, I figured out that they were northern line tube workers. This made me chuckle a bit ‘cos I never see tube workers in their uniform travelling on the underground.
They eventually got off a few stops later. With no source of entertainment or education for me, my mind kept on going back to the conversation I had with a new friend last night. Of particular interest to me were his words “London is a beautiful place when you slow down and look, no one ever does. All they love is the pace of life.” He told me of going to the National gallery, walking to Hyde park, going to Embankment and walking along the Thames.
London is indeed a beautiful place, not only structurally but the views within the city. It’s a city I particularly love traipsing about. I’ve spent hours at museums and galleries, soaking in stories of the past and ideas of those in the present till I was told in whispers that the buildings would be closing in a few minutes. I’ve spent more hours just staring at ingenious window displays around Oxford and Bond streets. I don’t know where I’m going with this train of thought except that It’s a lot of fun running around this city, but finding someone that loves it a lot (and possibly more) like you do is always a nice feeling.

Return journey:
A long and boring day at work followed by a phone call to mom drained me of all possible energy, still I struggled to read the day’s paper. A quick scan of the paper led to a chuckle at the editorial berating society’s heavy reliance on acronyms and a raised eyebrow at how a column talking about girls sewing their “worn to tatters dresses” and discussing the “RSSI” repetitive sex strain injury for the rest of us (I know I know! You can’t make shit like that up) made it into the evening paper, I nodded off for a few stops and woke up to the sounds of a packed carriage with one voice ringing out above the din of the others. Craning my neck (I really just turned my head but the position I had assumed was too comfortable that even turning my head felt like the epic battle of Troy) to see who it was I did a double take. It appeared that my ex had cleaned up well and gained a few much needed pounds in the right areas. Alas it was only someone that looked like him. I kept on stealing glances at him and was only able to catch bits of his conversation to a typical London finance sector type - tall, good looking, scattered mop of dirty blonde hair, chiselled cheek bones, perfect day old stubble with kind eyes.
Kind eyes got off two stops before mine and ex-lookalike got off at my stop. Shame he turned in the opposite direction of my path home.
I’m looking forward to coming back from work tomorrow. I feel one of those hugely successful sitcom stories of boy meets girl in un usual circumstance and develops a friendship in the works.
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