Gonna make it!

The morning rush was always the same. People everywhere focussed on getting to...wherever.

Tom was running late. The fact that he was running at all was an acheivement.

He cursed his new Playstation 3 for hooking him into the online gaming world that now inhabited his evenings. Last night he had been close to making God level until tiredness had dulled his reflexes and he was shunted back to Favoured Mortal.

At 4am it hadn't really seemed worth going to sleep but he figured he needed to get some at least.

Tomorrow was going to be his day in the spotlight and he needed to make a good impression. It was partly his nervous energy that had kept him up so long.

No, Sleep was essential. Waking up was the difficult bit.

He can't remember how many times he hit the snooze button before he realised what it was trying to tell him.

He was up now and nearly ready to go. Reality was still a little rough around the edges but he could still make it to the station and catch his subway connection on time.

A pot of coffee had been brewing whilst in the shower and he poured it into his travel cup. It tasted glorious as the clouds of tirednes parted briefly from his eyes.

Outside he saw his bus coming and ran out, taking care not to spill his coffee. Thankfully there was someone at the stop already and so the bus waited patiently for him.

Tom's mind raced with thoughts of how he could make a big splash this morning. He already had his powerpoint presentation and few quips prepared. He still wasn't sure how to start it off with a bang though.

The bus was packed and Tom tried very carefully to take care of his drink. It was still a bit too hot to drink and he was aware that the slightest bump could cause either himself or someone else serious discomfort, but he'd done this plenty of times and he held the cup loosely so that it stayed level even with the sudden movements of the bus.

He got off at the station. There was a big crossing between the bus stop and the underground and Tom was thankful that some considerate driver, very rare in the city, had decided to be generous and gave him time to cross over without even revving their engine once to give him a fright.

He was eagerly anticipating his arrival. Even though he'd started late things were coming together well to aid his timely arrival. Tom loved synchronicity.

Just as he was halfway across a bus, coming the other way out of the station, nearly swung straight into him, stopping inches away.

Tom jumped a mile. His cup slipped from his grip but his instincts took over and he caught it again before its contents were emptied.

He made it across the road and shouted back at the driver who gave as good as he got.

Tom was about to take a long gulp to settle his nerves when he noticed the time on the clock above the station. Sighing heavily he made his way to the subway.

Passing through the turnstile Tom cried out in frustration. The escalator wasn't working.

He avoided the old lady remonstrating with a guard about the fault, half-wondering what she was doing up at this time of the morning.

He hated walking down a frozen escalator. They were dizzying at the best of times, when you could grip the side and just glide on down, but every time he put his foot down his mind was expecting the step to move and this unbalanced him.

His foot slipped and he fell backwards onto his bottom. He could feel his coffee about to slosh all over him.

He kept his arm moving to counteract the momentum already gained and angled the cup in the opposite direction.

Averting yet another accident, he breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't get long to contemplate his lucky escape. Already he was impeding the arterial flow of the city and it was showing no mercy in wanting him to relieve the build up of pressure behind him.

Getting up he carried on down. As he reached the bottom he could hear his train arriving. He picked up his pace again. Darting among the crowded tunnel he made his way to the platform he could see people moving ahead, they must be filtering onto the train, he thought.

A gap opened up ahead but he couldn't get to it.

Finally he bobbed and weaved his way to the platform. The train was still there!

Suddenly a beeping sound told him he was about to miss it!

Holding his coffee cup before him, he dashed for the train as the doors started to close.

With the tightest gap left he reached out to stop them. It was too late the door squeezed tightly on his hand, trapping it, coffee cup and all.

In a split second instinct took over and he reacted by pulling his hand back but the cup failed to make the journey and in what seemed like slow motion the doors came together as the cup met the floor and a wave of coffee covered the worn surface.

"Damn!" said Tom, "That's not the kind of splash I wanted to make."



















Character: Spill Plot: Patient Resolution: Subway