CHAPTER 1 REUNITED Kara Nichols squeezed as close as she could to the window of the train The heavyset lady sitting next to her was sound asleep and tipping to her side as the ride went on Besides that she was snoring Even through the music playing through her earbuds Kara could hear the woman’s throaty rumbles She couldn’t even imagine imagine what it sounded like without something in her ear It made her wonder how often people who fell asleep on trains missed their stops and ended up in completely different cities than they intended Kara was very excited to see her best friend Natalie who’d moved to Chester New Jersey six months ago Three transfers and three hours on the train were worth it to see her again That’s a true friend for you Kara thought Waiting at the 30th Street Station nice and early and then sitting in a packed train with sleeping people crowding you for hours I think I deserve Friend of the Year honors for this A man in a suit sitting up near the door picked at
the inside of his ear while squinting at his smartphone Kara watched a woman try in vain to get her four-year old to stop kicking the seat in front of them An older teenager wearing a knit cap stood in the aisle and blew bubbles with his gum The ride may be long but the people watching is fantastic She smiled as a song from the band Yellow Lemon played through her headphones It reminded her of the time she and Natalie saw them play at the Allentown Fair last August They’d spent the day eating and drinking too many root beer floats No matter how hard she tried Natalie could not stop burping The look of embarrassment embarrassment on Natalie’s face was worth all of the dirty looks they got from the people in the seats around them The train rounded a slight bend and the snoring sleeping passenger next to Kara pressed against her shoulder She was pretty sure if she got up the lady would fall over Great Kara thought I’m basically a prop for sleepy people She glanced up at the ads that lined the inside of the train until her eyes zeroed in on the station map They’d just left the Far Hills station and Peapack was HAUNTED STATES OF AMERICA
next After that they’d reach the end of the line which was Gladstone Seven minutes away Kara thought As she moved slightly the lady leaning on her snorted Please wake up lady I need to get off this train soon Next stop the automated woman’s voice over the PA system announced Peapack Station Kara looked out the window as the train rushed down the track and past the trees along each side She saw houses through the gaps and wondered how long it took the people living there to get used to the sounds of trains coming and going Her smartphone rumbled in her hand She looked down to see it was a text from Natalie NAT You almost here Kara looked out the window for a moment as if she could see the station ahead of them KARA Just about Officially sick of trains:P She watched the little word balloon at the bottom of the screen pop up indicating that Natalie was writing back to her Within seconds a new message popped up NAT I bet I’ll be on the platform waiting for you KARA Perfect SYS NAT It’s been so long you prob won’t recognize me PHANTOM OF THE TRACKS
