It started out so innocently.
My friend, Rae from Listen to the Raen Fall (See the Awesome Thing List, mmkay?) invited me to go shop for books with her. 
This seemed brilliant. I had seventy-five bucks in Barnes and Nobles gift cards, and besides. It meant I could go out and see the world and develop tolerance for light. Every day I don’t go outside, I grow to hate light just a bit more.
Grab everything I need, namely my hat and jacket (Which were already on, of course…), some money (ten dollar bill. Remember this.), gift cards, and a metro student pass. This thing works only at DC stops and some
The walk to my station is uneventful. I’m listening to my iPod, cruising along, feeling like awesome. Train ride is also uneventful. Still listening to iPod, pretty excited over its surviving of battery crash and figuring out playlists count as albums. (Technology hates me, okay?)
It doesn’t get bad until I leave. Stick my fare card in and get this:
I blink, surprised, but none the less do as it asks me to and go to the exit fare machine. I stick in my card through the first slot I see, and it takes it then spits out. I assume it is magically fixed and resume my happy iPod listening to leave. I’m greeted with this.
I return to the exit fare machine and look at it, dumbfounded. It hits me after I force feed my card two more times. Ooooh! Bill return! I’m such an idiot! I stick my card through the proper hole, and am pleased when it seems to function. I stick in my ten and…
Nothing. It spits it back out. I make a sad face, than see this:
I only have a single ten and I’ve officially hit panic mode. So I whip out my cell and call Rae.
Rae: Hello?
Me: I’m trapped at the exit fare machine.
Rae: What?
Me: Help meeeee. I’m traaapped….
Rae: What? I was wondering where you are.
Me: It only takes ones and fives and I’m trapped and my card won’t work and I’m trapped and I’m scared and pleaaaase. Heeeelp me!
Rae: *sighs.* I’ll be down in a few.
I sit there, waiting miserably at the machine. I spot my friend and run over, near tears. She loans me a few dollars so I can recharge my card. I make my way over and stick in my card. It brings up a number. 2 dollars and 20 cents. Okay. I stick in a dollar, and it drops a dollar.
I smash the cancel button before my loaned money can be eaten by the machine and return to Rae.
Me: It doesn’t work. It went down a dollar.
Rae: Was there a negative sign?
Me: No, there wasn’t!
Rae: Are you sure?
Me: Positive.
Rae: Go check.
Me: Okay…
I go back, and sure enough, no negative sign. Finally, I looked at Rae, on the other side of the gate, while I’m still trapped. I’m sitting here, nearly sobbing in fear, terrified I’ll be trapped in the subway forever because I can’t get out. I’d have to live with the creepy hobo people, armed only with ten dollars cash. I’d die out there.
The station watcher looks at me, and finally decides to step in.
Him: What’s the matter?
Me: I have this station pass thingy because I’m a student and it lets me go anywhere in DC except it’s not working and it’s still December so it should work, but it’s not and I’m going to be trapped with the Metro homeless people…
Him: You know it only works in DC, right?
Me: *sniffling.* Yeah…
Him: And this isn’t a DC stop…?
Me: Wait, what? Why did nobody tell me this? Since when was this a
Rae: When you crossed the
Me: Oh…I..can’t get through. *sniffles again and begins to put on “Sad-Puppy-Panic-Now-The-World-Is-Ending- look.*
Him: Okay…just, go through here. Okay? Have a good one.
Me: Thanks, mister!
The rest of the trip was rather uneventful. I did however learn that my mother is right: When you freak out and start crying, a guy will usually do whatever you want just to get you to be quiet.
You got off lucky. When I tried to go to Silver Spring with my fare card thing, it took five dollars from me, two of which were not mine, and still didn't let me out. The station manager let me through, but not after warning me against using it in his station again, an if I did, he threatened to make me pay the maximum fare every single time I cam through. And I was on my way to eat yummy chinese food with people who did manage to get through!
ReplyDeleteOkay. That's pretty awful.
ReplyDeleteStill, very scarring experience. And next time, I recommend you panic.
Love it! And told you!
ReplyDeletePoor Azu. :-(
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's... just about what would happen to me, I'm sure. If something CAN go wrong, it WILL go wrong. Only to me. Everyone else will be perfectly fine.
Exactly. It was pretty disheartening to watch all those people go by while I was stuck.
ReplyDeleteUgh, similar stuff happens to me. All. The. Time.
ReplyDeleteLike the time I forgot my subway card in the machine. Or when my subway card took a trip trough the dishing machine. Or when I had it in a keychain to not forget it again and it got stuck in the machine and the whole queue were glaring at me, waiting to get past, and I was struggling to get it out.
It gets better, too. I head over to a friend's house for New Years and whatnot, and decide that my Dec. metro card will magically be fixed now that I'm in DC.
ReplyDeleteNope. Same error. Luckily, I had three bucks left on my smartcard and manage to get to my destination. But it was pretty disheartening and definitely sent me back to "D:" mode.