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By Root 487 0

47 people do this and I memorized what to do. Then I imagined a red line on the floor and I walked over to the wall where there was a poster which was a list of places to go and it was alphabetical and I saw Willesden Green and it said £2:20 and then I went to one of the machines and there was a little screen which said PRESS TICKET TYPE and I pressed the button that most people had pressed, which was ADULT SINGLE and £2:20, and the screen said INSERT £2:20 and I put three £1 coins into the slot and there was a clinking noise and the screen said TAKE TICKET AND CHANGE and there was a ticket in a little hole at the bottom of the machine and a 50p coin and a 20p coin and a 10p coin and I put the coins in my pocket and I went up to one of the gray gates and I put my ticket into the slot and it sucked it in and it came out on the other side of the gate. And someone said, “Get a move on,” and I made the noise like a dog barking and I walked forward and the gate opened this time and I took my ticket like other people did and I liked the gray gate because that was like something in a science fiction film about the future, too.

And then I had to work out which way to go, so I stood against a wall so people didn't touch me, and there was a sign for Bakerloo Line and District and Circle Line but not one for Jubilee Line like the lady had said, so I made a plan and it was to go to Willesden Junction on the Bakerloo Line.

And there was another sign for Bakerloo Line and it was like this

And I read all the words and I found Willesden Junction, so I followed the arrow that said ← and I went through the left-hand tunnel and there was a fence down the middle of the tunnel and the people were walking straight ahead on the left and coming the other way on the right like on a road, so I walked along the left and the tunnel curved left and then there were more gates and a sign said Bakerloo Line and it pointed down an escalator, so I had to go down the escalators and I had to hold on to the rubber rail but that moved too so I didn't fall over and people were standing close to me and I wanted to hit them to make them go away but I didn't hit them because of the caution.

And then I was at the bottom of the escalators and I had to jump off and I tripped and bumped into someone and they said, “Easy,” and there were two ways to go and one said Northbound and I went that way because Willesden was on the top half of the map and the top is always north on maps.

And then I was in another train station but it was tiny and it was in a tunnel and there was only one track and the walls were curved and they were covered in big adverts and they said WAY OUT and London's Transport Museum and Take time out to regret your career choice and JAMAICA and British Rail and No Smoking and Be Moved and Be Moved and Be Moved and For Stations beyond Queen's Park take the first train and change at Queen's Park if necessary and Hammersmith and City Line and You're closer than my family ever gets. And there were lots of people standing in the little station and it was underground so there weren't any windows and I didn't like that, so I found a seat which was a bench and I sat at the end of the bench.

And then lots of people started coming into the little station. And someone sat down on the other end of the bench and it was a lady who had a black briefcase and purple shoes and a brooch shaped like a parrot. And the people kept coming into the little station so that it was even more crowded than the big station. And then I couldn't see the walls anymore and the back of someone's jacket touched my knee and I felt sick and I started groaning really loudly and the lady on the bench stood up and no one else sat down. And I felt like I felt like when I had flu and I had to stay in bed all day and all of me hurt and I couldn't walk or eat or go to sleep or do maths.

And then there was a sound like people fighting with swords and I could feel a strong wind and a roaring started and I closed my eyes and the roaring got louder and I groaned really loudly but I couldn't