Subway Station

A story that I had to write for school but I actually like it. . . .

 Lauren was taking the subway home from school.  She was holding a baby blue package that she would be presenting to her mom at the surprise party that they would be throwing in three hours.  Then she got a call on her cell phone.

        “Lauren, honey, can you pick up the dry cleaning for me?  If you pay for it in cash now I will give you a fifteen dollar bonus on your allowance this month,” her dad bribed.

        “Okay, fine, but now I have to switch trains,” Lauren grumbled.

        “You’ll survive.  You know, you hardly ever argue.  I love that about you, but you really should stand up for yourself more, Laurie,” he said as he hung up on her.  Lauren shrugged and  jumped up out of her seat, racing to the door to get off before it closed.

        An old woman sat down where she had been sitting, nearly squashing a baby blue package.  The woman exclaimed, “Goodness!  Did that young lady forget her present?  Oh, I dearly hope it wasn’t important.”

        The dry cleaners didn’t take very long.  It was twenty minutes after Lauren left the subway station that she decided to splurge on a cab ride home.  When she got there, her dad grabbed the dry cleaning and said, “Thanks honey.  Where’s your mom’s gift?”

        Lauren stopped dead in her tracks.  “I left it on the subway,” she whispered.

        “You what?” he asked.

        “I left it on the train.  You called about the dry cleaning and I was concentrating on that so much I must have forgotten it and put it on my seat or something.  I ordered those, too!  Ten whole books, all of them classics,” Lauren whined.

        “How much did you pay?”

        “Fifty dollars, plus tax and shipping and handling and whatever else they charge you for these days.”

        “It’s not that bad, is it?  You can get her something else.  I’m sure the gift shops have something that she would like that you’d be able to find in the next two hours or so, right?”

        “But Dad, that wouldn’t be the gift.  I wanted to give her the gift this year, not just any old gift from the gift store, but the gift.”

        “Maybe you can still get it back, if you go back to the station and-”  He wasn’t able to finish his sentence before she was out the door and running after the cab that was fast retreating.  He chuckled lightly and continued setting up for the surprise party.

        Catch up to the cab she climbed in again and she went back to the subway station that she had been at before her dad had called.  When she got there she immediately ran to the lost and found, hoping that someone kind had found it and put it there.  But it was gone.

        “Can I help you with something?” an employee at the station asked.  The employee was a man about middle age with a large stomach and graying brown hair.

        “Was there a baby blue square package with silver ribbons on it placed here by any chance?” Lauren asked, filling up with hope.

        The employee put his finger on his chin.  “Now that you mention it, I believe so.  An old woman had it, and she gave it to her son.  She had opened it on a train and saw that it was a collection of old classics, Mody Dick, A Tale of Two Cities, stuff like that.”

        “That was it.  You said she gave it to her son?” Lauren asked, all that hope leaving her as fast as it had come.

        “Unfortunately yes.  They were talking for a few minutes before they left.  Maybe if I can remember what they were saying. . . .”

        Lauren filled up with hope yet again.  “What is it?  What were they saying?”

        The man thought for a bit more, but then he sighed and shook his head.  “I’m sorry, Miss, but I can’t remember at the moment.  If you give me a bit maybe I can-”

        “No, that’s okay,” Lauren replied, downcast yet again.

        Another employee, a woman this time who looked to be in her thirties, “Are you talking about that old lady with the gift box from half an hour ago?  The one with the son?”

        The man nodded.  “Yeah.  Do you remember what they were saying?”

        “I was standing right next to them, so I should.  The old lady said that she had found the gift on her seat and was going to try to find the young girl that had left it on the train, but the son talked her out of it when he found out that it was a set of books.  I think he said he owned a secondhand bookstore around here somewhere,” the woman replied.

        “Did he ever mention the name of his bookstore?” Lauren asked politely.

        “He said that it was about a block west from here, and it was Dylan’s Books or something like that, but don’t take my word for it.”

        Lauren nodded and said, “That’s good enough for me.  Thank you ever so much.”

        “Hey, don’t mention it,” the man, who had been no help at all, replied.

        Lauren left the subway station and turned west, looking at all of the stores, hoping that one would be a secondhand bookstore.  When after half a block she found one, she went in before she had even looked at the name of the store.

        “Hello, welcome to Magical Secondhand Paperbound Books, how may I help you?” the voice of an old woman asked.

        Hearing the name she stopped, but wanted to be polite so she said, “Can you point me in the direction of Dylan’s Books?”

        The old woman looked at her over her glasses and replied, “I’ve never heard of Dylan’s Books, but if you want a nice secondhand book then I’ll be able to sell one to you for five dollars at the most.”

        Lauren shook her head.  “No, I’ll just keep looking.  Thank you anyway.”

        “No problem, dearie,” the woman replied curtly, her tone going at odds with her words.

        Lauren left the store and continued walking down the block.  A street vendor stopped her, holding out his wares, which was just a banana mango smoothie.  “Would you like to try a sip?  It’ll be the best thing you’ve ever tasted.”

        “I’ll pass,” Lauren replied, trying to step around him, but he stepped in her way again.

        “Oh, come on.  It’s just a little sip.  And if you agree I’ll give you a discount.  Instead of three dollars, it’ll only be two.  How does that sound?”

        “I’m really not thirsty,” she insisted, trying to step around him yet again, but yet again he stepped in her way.

        “Really, they’re fantastic.  Don’t you want just a little sip?”

        Lauren’s eyes flashed with annoyance.  “I can make one at home for fifty cents, so no I don’t want just a little sip.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m in a hurry.”

        At that the man stepped out of her way, and just past him was a shop called Dylan’s Books Galore.  Seeing the name Lauren quickened her pace and walked up to the counter where a man in his thirties or forties was standing.

        The man said, “Hello.  What can I get for you today?”

        “Actually, one of the employees at the subway said that you took my mom’s birthday present.  It was a baby blue package with ten classics it in, and they said that your mother found it on the seat of the subway.  I was wondering if I could have it back.”

        The man smiled.  “The young girl that Mom was talking about was you!  I must say, you and your mother have some great tastes in books.”

        Lauren smiled back.  “Thank you.  Can I have those books back now?”

        The man’s smile faded as he said, “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to pay for them now.  I’ll give you a discount, though.  Twenty dollars instead of thirty, since they were in such good condition.”

        “Are you kidding me?  Those are my books.  I just paid for them last week!” Lauren snapped.

        “You left them on the subway.  I was under the impression that you didn’t want them anymore, so they’re mine now.  You have to pay for them if you want them back.”

        “But-”

        Lauren was interrupted by an old woman walking into the room.  She said, “Braden, dear, are you causing trouble for this nice young lady?”

        “No, Mom, I’m being nice to a paying customer,” the man, apparently Braden, replied.

        Lauren huffed.  “Sure I am.  But those are my books and you are going to give them back to me.  Just because I forgot them doesn’t mean that I don’t want them anymore.”

        “Braden, this doesn’t sound like a happily paying customer.”

        He rolled his eyes.  “We’re find, Mom.  Aren’t we, Miss?”

        “We will be as soon as I get my mom’s books back.”

        The old woman took out her reading glasses and gasped.  “You’re the girl who forgot her gift on the train!  Was that your mother’s present?”

        Lauren nodded and looked at her watch.  “Her surprise party is starting in an hour.”

        The old woman turned to her son.  “Braden, get those books out, rewrap them, and give them back to this nice little girl.”  Lauren flinched at the word ‘little.’

        “But Mom-”

        “No buts, just do as I tell you to, unless you don’t want your brownies tonight.”

        Braden glanced down at the ground, and Lauren was surprised that he was seriously considering it.  Couldn’t he buy fifty brownies for himself with thirty bucks?

        Finally he sighed.  “Fine, here are your books back, but I’m not wrapping them.”

        “Braden,” said his mother sharply.

        “It’s okay, Ma’am.  I can rewrap it myself,” Lauren replied quickly, not wanting to waste any more time listening to their arguing.  “I just want the books back so I can get back to the party.”

        The woman smiled and watched as Braden took the books off of a shelf and placed them in a bag for her.  Thanking the woman one last time, and making sure that it didn’t include her son, Lauren left the store and caught another cab to get back to her house.

        When she opened the door again her dad and their friends were just finishing up with the preparations.  “Did you find the present?” her dad asked.  She smiled and held up the bag.  He smiled back and said, “Good.  Rewrap it and help finish up.  We had to go out and buy cupcakes because we couldn’t find a cake that she would like.”

        “How can you not find a cake?  This is New York City, Dad,” Lauren laughed.  She went into the kitchen and, grabbing a metallic purple wrap this time, taped the paper onto the box and set it on the table next to the Chex Mix.

        After half an hour of just talking and waiting around, the door opened and Lauren’s mom walked in.

        “Surprise!”

Author's Note

I don't really like the title so if you can think of a better one that would be awesome!!

Reviews

[Bella-Marie]

I actually don't mind the title but agree something else would do better. This was a awesme piece of writing!!! I really liked the way you wrote it from third-party but made the reader so invloved, good job.

[GirlPower66]

I like the title :)
Oh, there's a character in my story named Lauren =) Great minds think alike, huh?