1:23 am

1.) Gwendolyn

Gwendolyn Manners boarded the Metro at 8:01 pm on a Tuesday night. The events that transpired before 8:01 pm that led her to board the Metro were left behind her on the platform, as the events that were about to transpire opened up before her when she took her first step through the door.

The events inside the Metro were in the form of people at the moment. The car was mostly empty save for four other people. Gwendolyn noted that despite the empty seats on either side of the car, the four others were seated almost next to each other in the center, as if gravitated to one another by some unseen force.

Gwendolyn glanced surreptitiously at the four other passengers. Sitting on the side closest to the door was a young woman of maybe 20 who looked strikingly like a video game character to her. Her clothes were all neon and stunning, and beside her on the bench was a pair of bright green roller skates. Her curly fro was done all up in a large bun, and over her ears were massive candy-apple red headphones that were connected to the glowing, flashing PSP console she was jabbing at furiously with her thumbs. Her lanky figure was hunched over and her dark face dressed with bright make-up to match her clothes. She gave Gwendolyn a disinterested glance before looking back at her vibrant video game.

Across from this young woman was another young woman. This girl was reading a coverless hardback novel, her back as perfectly straight as her auburn hair. She gazed with critical brown eyes through peach -framed glasses, first at Gwendolyn in acknowledgement, then at the girl across from her with distaste, then back to her book. Gwendolyn was not a judgmental person, but she did not like this girl at first glance. The frowning, pale lips and Polo Ralph Lauren pants and sweater made her want to roll her eyes.

Gwendolyn took a seat away from these women, next to what looked at first to be a pile of thin, ratty blankets. When the blankets shifted, she realized that the sleepy head of a young boy was on the bench next to her, turning slightly then stopping, eyes still closed. Gwendolyn gazed at this boy for a moment. He was young, maybe thirteen, with hair done back in cornrows and a tiny mole beneath his lower lip on the left. 'A homeless lad,' Gwendolyn thought, and felt a wave of sorrow for this boy. 'Will I become like him?'

On the other side of the sleeping boy, to the right of the girl with the peach-colored glasses, was a man. He was an older gentleman, his black hair peppered slightly with silver and his amiable-looking face wrinkled around the dark eyes and thin mouth. To Gwendolyn, this man was very much the stereotype of a proper, busy Japanese businessman; crisp black suit with a striped blue tie, shiny shoes, thin-framed glasses, clean brown briefcase resting on his lap beneath his folded hands. He spared Gwendolyn only a tired glance as she looked up at him, then away.

The homeless boy moved his leg in his sleep, and Gwendolyn noted the way the businessman glanced down at him with something like repulsion. At almost the same time, the two young women took a peek at one another with similar expressions of judgment before looking away once again.

Gwendolyn realized this was the overall tone of the train car; judgment. The two women were judging each other; the businessman was judging the homeless boy, while the young lad merely slept. An anxious voice spoke to Gwendolyn in her head, asking if she thought maybe she was being judged too, but she brushed it off. The opinions of these strangers didn't matter to her, not when she had so much ahead of her after she stepped off of this subway.

Approximately forty-five minutes of socially acceptable silence later, the Metro came to a halt. The doors opened and light conversation floated in with two more passengers. One was a pretty young Indian lass of maybe 18, a little bit older than Gwendolyn. Her dark hair was perfectly straight and pulled back from her face with a red bow that tied in the back. Her shirt was likewise red, and her long, flowy skirt was as soft and white as a cloud in a summer sky. With her was a blond boy with sparkling blue eyes and surprisingly feminine facial features. He was a bit chubbier than Gwendolyn, dressed in cargo shorts, a black t-shirt, and red short-sleeved flannel over that. The two paid no mind to the rest of the passengers as they sat down to the right of the girl with the headphones. The boy's arm immediately went around the girl's shoulders as they spoke in hushed, light-hearted tones to one another, confirming Gwendolyn's suspicion; that they were a couple.