Our Last Train

"You should have just let her jump the gate," myco-worker, Angela, said

"That's against the rules," I sighed. That's how all my fellow train station managers feel. If a customer's solution is too complicated, my coworkers let them go through the emergency exit gate.

I heard a tap on the glass and turned to find a confused-looking customer, card in hand. I hate when they tap on the glass as if I'm a fish in an aquarium. After I assisted them, I wrote "DO NOT TAP ON THE GLASS PLEASE" on a sticky note and taped it to the glass.

"No, why would I?"

"I don't know," she paused to look me up and down. "You seem like the nervous type."

Even though I had been a station manager for over amonth, I was nervous. I know what to expect for the day shifts, and mycoworkers make it seem like the night shifts are a whole other world.

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A few hours passed by, and I had the courage to ask Angela what nightshift was like, I asked as nonchalantly as I could, but she still gave me a smug look in response.

"It's pretty much the same as the day shift," she explained. "People won't have enough money on the card, they don't know which platform to get on, they missed their train and blame you. Ya know, the usual."

I nodded, feeling reassured. "Okay, that sounds easy enough."

I nodded, feeling reassured. "Okay, that sounds easy enough. "Oh, and another thing," she took a sip through her straw. "Every once in a while, there's a bunch of kids who come late at night. Never have cards, always jump the gate, and it's almost always after the last train."

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I'd had an uneventful night by the time midnight rolled around. Angela was right, it was more or less the same as the day shifts.

I tidied up my side of the station, packed up my bag, and walked out the door. As I was fumbling with my keys, I saw a red flash out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see a tall man with blonde hair in a red flannel walk toward the gate and jump over with ease.

"Hey!" I yelled. He looked over, not at all surprised to see me, and smiled as he continued walking to the escalator. "The station is closed. You missed the last train."

"Oh, did I?" he said as he walked backwards

"You need to leave, I'm locking up!" I raised my voice as he walked down the escalator.

I set down my bag and walked purposefully to the platform. When I reached the escalator, I saw the blonde-haired man in a group of other people. I frowned to myself as I hadn't noticed anyone else jump the gate.

That's it, no more gate-jumping on my watch.

"Excuse me," I said in my best authoritative-yet-respectful tone. The laughter only grew louder, but I couldn't tell if it was at my expense. "Excuse me!"

They turned to look at me, smiles still on their faces. I couldn't help but notice how light and happy they looked. I hesitated for a moment before I remembered that I was supposed to yell at them. They all looked at me expectantly, and I cleared my throat.

"I am closing the station now, so you all have to leave. You shouldn't even be on the platform anyways if you didn't scan your card, but I'm willing to forget that if you will respectfully leave without me having to ask again," I said.