Knocking Around Inside My Head: Weekend Write-In

In the Event of an Emergency (#touch)

Trains enchanted T-Ly.

Loud and fast. Big and shiny. Delighted, he jumped bravely over the large scary gap onto a real train, his small sticky hand gripped tightly in his father's much larger one. A sea of knees greeted him. The heat and smell of the packed car hit T-ly like an unpleasant wave. His excitement quickly dissipated. With a smile, a young athletic man vacated his seat for T-Ly's father who sat down and pulled T-Lye up. Safe on a warm familiar lap, T-Ly's exhilaration resumed as the train pulled out of the station. 

He rested his chin on his father's shoulder and watched the city go by–buses, cars, big signs he could not read, and all sorts of people. The track began to elevate and he looked down at the streets, at the tops of buildings and bicyclists, trains and traffic. They entered a tunnel and the darkness consumed them. T-Ly lifted his head and looked around at the crowded car lit in iridescent blue. He stared at a tattooed girl absorbed in the sound of her headphones. Her nose ring captivated his attention with its purple crystal. Next to his father, slept a man wearing very dirty pants. He looked down at his own ketchup and grass-stained clothes. His mother would never have let him wear them out of the house, but she was at work, and Daddy let him dress himself. He resumed staring at the slumbering passenger, now noticing his unpleasant fruity odor. T-Ly turned his head and met the large eager eyes of a pump old woman sitting across from him. She smiled, waving enthusiastically, and starting talking to him with words he did not understand. Sometimes women like this tried to grab his cheeks and to avoid her attention, he twisted his head back to look out the black window.  

That's when he noticed the big red button level with his father's shoulder.

On its own accord, his arm reached out and his fingers brushed the smooth plastic. His fingers didn't hesitate, at least not long enough for him to think about what the button might be for. Instinct led him to do the most logical thing anyone should do to such a button. He pushed it. 

The train immediately slowed to a halt. T-Ly looked up, believing they must be at the next station. 

A man's voice boomed from above. "DOOO. NOT. TOUCH. THE. EMERGENCY. BUTTON!"

T-Ly craned his head up searching for the source of the voice. When he gazed back down at the passengers, dozens of pairs of eyes were watching him. For a second he couldn't move. A titter rose from the crowd. T-Ly turned, his face burning, and buried himself in his father's chest. The thudding of his own heart drowned out his father's scolding as the train again picked up speed.