There were four in the queue already. The level crossing bells were ringing. The sound of the tooting horn was close. Marney looked at the people waiting to buy tickets. The person at the front was fumbling with change. The third person along hadn’t even taken her purse from her bag. Marney watched the train pull in. She knew if she didn’t get on, there was a very high possibility of being fired. On the other hand, if she got caught, the fine was more than she could afford after rent and bills. The doors opened people started to pile in. Looking up and down the platform, she saw no telltale gray jackets worn by the inspectors. She ran on and stood by the door. Each stop, she moved to the door as if leaving, just in case they got on. They didn’t, and by the time she got to work, she was a wreck. But she’d made it. She vowed to buy her ticket in advance tomorrow. Just like she had yesterday.
