Chapter 2
I stood there holding my phone while the old lady snorted impatiently. She pushed my hand away with force. “What are you. looking at? Don’t wave your phone in front of me. I can’t read. I’ll just sit here today. Why can’t I sit here?”
“Ouch!” I stood there clutching my wrist, my face contorted in pain. Tears instantly welled up in my eyes. It hurt like hell!
The old lady’s push had sent my hand crashing into the most challenging part of the seat back in front of me. My entire wrist throbbed with a burning pain.
I was so annoyed I wanted to hit something. “Sure, you can sit, no one’s
stopping you. But this seat? I paid for it! Sit anywhere else, but where am I supposed to sit if you’re in my seat?”
Some passengers in the compartment couldn’t stand it anymore and started to
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smooth things over. “It’s just a seat, why don’t you two just switch? They’re both seats, what difference does it make?”
“Exactly,” another added. “It’s no big deal. Young lady, you’re being a bit too stubborn. Learn to be flexible.”
I held back a torrent of words. Was it wrong to sit in the seat I paid for?
Finally, after a moment of silence, I said, “Fine, you can sit here. What’s your seat number? We can just switch.”
I winced as I nursed my aching wrist. It would be fine as long as I could go home.
I looked around the compartment, trying to spot her seat. But everywhere I looked, the seats were occupied. Strange. Was her seat not in this compartment?
The old lady’s face twitched slightly, avoiding my gaze. The excitement of going home for the holidays had vanished entirely. Now, I just wanted to get home as quickly as possible.
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After a long pause, under the pressure of the other passengers, the old lady finally muttered reluctantly, “Second class, seat 06F.”
“What?” I was stunned. Second class? I was beyond speechless, silently cursing my bad luck for the millionth time.
“I bought a first–class ticket and you’re offering me a second–class seat in
exchange?” I stared at the old lady, her face indifferent and couldn’t believe it.
The price difference between a first–class and a second–class ticket on this train was over $100. I’m not stupid. Why would I trade a seat worth $100 more for no reason?
“It’s a second–class seat. Take it or leave it! If you want to sit, go sit in second class,” she huffed. “First–class tickets are so expensive. Who knows how a young girl like you could afford one? Aren’t you embarrassed to brag about it?”
I was too furious to speak. “There’s a $100
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difference between the seats. Why should I go to second class when I bought a first- class ticket? Why don’t you sit in the seat you bought?”
It would have been fine if I had bought a second–class seat, just like the other passengers said. Changing seats in the same compartment was no big deal, but now the difference was $100.
The old lady was emboldened and clung tightly to the seat. The wrinkles on her face. formed a fierce expression. “If you’d gotten on the train earlier, this wouldn’t have happened! I thought no one was sitting here, so I did. It’s not my fault you came late.”
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“I’m even giving you my seat now. Why don’t you just take it? These days, young people have no respect for the elderly. Didn’t your parents teach you any manners? Were you raised by wolves?”
