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
KARA Ha ha 6 mos is a loooooong time The woman next to Kara shifted and snuggled in even more making her really wish the train would just hurry up and get to the station already She sent a quick message to Natalie KARA At least I have some company on the train the woman next to me is practically sleeping on my shoulder Natalie responded within seconds NAT OMG Kara laughed as quietly as should could which made her shoulders bounce up and down a few times As luck would have it the sleeping woman next to her snorted and woke up Now approaching the PA’s robotic voice said Peapack Station The woman looked up as if she’d never fallen asleep and grabbed her purse She looked through it quickly as though making sure everything was still there Without a word she stood up as the train slowed to let passengers off at the station Hope you enjoyed your nap Kara thought She suddenly suddenly felt like she had all of the room in the world to stretch out HAUNTED STATES OF AMERICA
She watched as the woman left the train and walked across the platform to wherever she was heading As the PA system warned everyone to please stand clear and that the doors were closing Kara felt a smile spread across her face Almost there When Kara stepped out of the train with the rest of the passengers at Gladstone Station she considered considered heading right back into the train Standing on the platform with a big colorfully decorated sign that said WELCOME TO NJ KARA was her best friend in the world Natalie Willen Kara Nichols Natalie cried waving the sign up and down Over here We’re over here Kara Nichols Kara felt her face burn red What a dork If her hair wasn’t cut so short Kara would’ve hidden her face behind it She could feel the eyes of dozens of strangers looking over at her It was a strange combination combination of being happy and experiencing complete embarrassment As she approached Kara and her mom she shook her head her smile bigger than ever You are the worst Kara said and gave her friend a hug And by that I mean you’re the best PHANTOM OF THE TRACKS
