Trapped on the D.C. Train! (2 page)

KC dropped her backpack on one of
the seats. “You want the window or aisle?” she asked Marshall.

“Window,” Marshall said. “Then we can switch later.” He reached over to raise the shade.

“I think we should keep them down until we leave the station,” KC whispered. “The vice president doesn’t want anyone to see who’s in this car.”

Mary Kincaid chose the seats farthest from the front of the car. She sat facing the door and kept her dark glasses and scarf in place. The two agents sat side by side in front of her.

KC turned around. “Ms. Kin … I mean Auntie Kitty, how far is it to your farm in Pennsylvania?”

KC and Marshall had been instructed not to call Mary Kincaid by her real name
while they were on the train. So for the trip, she was Aunt Kitty, and the two agents were Kitty’s sister and her husband. KC had also been told not to mention to any strangers that her stepfather was the President of the United States.

“A little more than an hour and a half,” Mary Kincaid said. “Plenty of time to relax or snooze!”

“Are we stopping anywhere?” KC asked.

“No, this is an express train,” Mary Kincaid said. “It goes straight through.”

Just then the door to the car opened. A whoosh of air blew in. A man wearing dark blue uniform pants and a short-sleeved white shirt stepped into the car. He had curly hair and a wide mustache. KC figured that he was a conductor.

“Everyone settled?” he asked.

“Yes, thank you,” the vice president said. “We’re very comfortable. How much longer before we leave?”

“Just a few minutes,” the man said. “But we’ve …”

Suddenly the lights went out in the little car.

KC heard the vice president gasp.

She also heard the two agents leap to their feet. KC knew they were standing in front of Mary Kincaid to protect her.

Someone grabbed KC’s arm.

“What happened?” Janet asked.

It was totally dark. The station platform was well lit, but no light came through the heavy window shades in their car. KC felt goose bumps tickle her arms.

“I was just about to tell you,” the conductor said. “We have a small electrical problem but …”

The lights came on.

“… it’s nothing to worry about, just a short circuit somewhere,” he continued. “It’s happened a couple of times today. We have a technician looking at it.”

“Thank you,” the vice president said.

“If the lights go out while we’re moving,
stay seated,” the conductor went on. “The engineer will probably slow or stop the train for a few minutes.”

KC glanced at Marshall. “Hey, Marsh, can I have my arm back?” she asked.

Marshall grinned. “I was protecting you,” he said, removing his hand.

KC rolled her eyes. She turned to look behind her. The vice president was calmly listening to the conductor. She had removed her dark glasses. Janet and Robert were standing in front of her.

The conductor nodded at everyone. “Have a good trip,” he said, and closed the door.

A moment later, the train began to move out of Union Station.

“Well, that was exciting!” Mary Kincaid said. The two agents smiled, nodded, and
sat down. The vice president began texting on a cell phone.

KC raised the shade so that she and Marshall could watch the city of Washington zip by them out the window. Soon they were passing farmhouses, green fields, and trees.

“This is my first time on a train,” Marshall told KC. “It’s awesome!”

“I was on one once before,” KC said. “When my mom was still married to my real father. We took a train down to Florida.”

“Let’s go out on that little porch thing!” Marshall said.

“Let me ask,” KC said. She walked back to Mary Kincaid’s seat. “Excuse me, can Marshall and I go out on the platform?”

The vice president smiled. “Sure.
Robert, will you go with them, please?”

The tall agent stood up. He followed KC and Marshall to the end of their car. KC opened the door, and they stepped onto the little porch. The floor had green carpeting, and the railing was black metal. Hot summer wind blew their hair all around as they stood and watched the city disappear.

“I feel like we’re flying!” Marshall yelled over the wind.

The kids pointed out old barns and funny buildings, but it was hard to talk over the noise of the wind and the train. Just before they reached a crossing, the conductor blew a piercing whistle. KC held her hands over her ears.

Robert tapped KC on the shoulder. “Let’s go back inside, miss,” he said.

“Okay, thanks, Robert,” KC said. They stepped into the car and sat down. KC tucked her long hair back under her hat.

“Does anyone want anything from the snack car?” the vice president asked. “I could use some coffee. Maybe a sandwich.”

“Do they have cookies?” Marshall asked.

“I’m sure they have everything,” Mary Kincaid said. “Janet? Robert?”

“Yes, ma’am,” they both said.

“May we go get it?” KC asked.

The vice president hesitated. “I guess that would be okay,” she said. “The snack car is two cars after this one.”

“Should I go with them?” Janet asked.

“Oh, I think they’ll be fine, Janet,” Mary Kincaid said. “We’re on a moving train, and the car is only a hundred feet away.”

KC pulled a small pad and pencil from her backpack. She wanted to be a TV journalist after college, and she always carried something to write with. She made a list of five names: KITTY, JANET, ROBERT, MARSHALL, ME. After ME, she wrote ORANGE JUICE.

“What do you want, Marshall?” KC asked.

“Grape soda and cookies,” he said.

KC wrote down the order.

“What an efficient waitress!” the vice president said. “I’ll have coffee with cream, no sugar, please. Oh, and a tuna sandwich if they have it.”

“A coffee, please,” Janet said. “Black.”

“Same for me,” Robert said.

“Here’s some money,” the vice president said. She handed Janet a twenty-dollar bill. Janet passed it to KC.

KC slipped the money into the pocket of her shorts. “See you in a few minutes!” she told the others. She pulled her cap on and tucked her hair under it. “Let’s go, Marsh.”

Marshall opened the door at the end of the car. KC felt the warm air blow over her face.

Between the two cars was a small platform. It connected their car to the next. They could feel the train’s wheels vibrating beneath the platform floor. They heard the wind rushing by. Straight ahead was another door.

Marshall shoved it open, and they found themselves in the next passenger car. The first seat on the right was occupied by the blind man they’d seen earlier. He sat facing the back of the train with his book
on his lap. The Seeing Eye dog lay on the floor with its chin resting on the man’s feet.

Across the aisle from the blind man, a woman slept in her seat, facing KC and Marshall. She had a small blanket bunched up around her shoulders and neck. KC could barely see the woman’s face, just her closed eyes.

KC and Marshall walked slowly through the car. There were about ten other passengers. Most were working on laptops or chatting on cell phones. A couple were doing both at the same time. The rest were sleeping, reading, or staring out the windows at the sunset.

“Doesn’t it feel weird walking through a moving train?” Marshall asked. “It’s like my feet are asleep!”

“It’ll be even worse when we come back
carrying the stuff!” KC said. Her body swayed as she tried to keep her balance.

They passed a conductor. It was the same one they’d seen outside the train. He moved out of the way so the kids could pass.

“Going for snacks?” he asked.

“Yes,” KC said. “Are we close?”

“Next car,” the man said. He used his bandana to wipe his bald head, then stuffed it into his back pocket. When he turned around, the hankie looked like a red tail.

Before KC and Marshall moved another inch, the lights went out.

“Oh no, not again,” the conductor muttered. “Find a seat, kids.” He moved quickly down the aisle.

The train car had grown dim. The train began to slow, then came to a stop.

“We’ll be on our way in a minute, everyone,” the conductor announced. “Please stay where you are.”

KC dropped into an empty seat, and Marshall took one across the aisle. None of the other passengers seemed to care that the train had stopped. One man held a small flashlight to see his book.

KC was thinking about what she’d write in her journal, when the lights blinked back on. The train began to move.

“Okay, let’s go,” KC said. She reached the door first and yanked it open. They stepped across the narrow connecting platform, and Marshall opened the next door.

The snack car was bright and cheerful. There was a row of tables on the right, under the windows. The tables were covered with crisp white tablecloths. In
the middle of each table, a small silver tray held jars of mustard and ketchup. Blue and gold menus stood between salt and pepper shakers. Gleaming knives, forks, and spoons lay next to folded napkins.

At one of the tables, two men sat playing cards. Both wore baseball caps. One of the men stared at KC and Marshall as they passed.

KC felt funny with her hair tucked under her own cap. She wondered if anyone would recognize her as the president’s stepdaughter.

She and Marshall kept walking.

“I smell pizza!” Marshall said. “Maybe I’ll change my order.”

Across from the tables was a long counter. Signs hung on the wall behind it, telling passengers what food and drinks
they could buy. Under the signs, KC saw a row of tall storage cupboards. Candy bars and bags of peanuts and chips were displayed on the counter.

Suddenly a woman’s head popped up from behind the counter.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you,” she said.

The woman was short and thick around the middle. She had blond hair and narrow glasses that sat on the end of her nose. Her bright red lipstick matched her uniform jacket. A name tag was pinned to the front. It said MANDY.

“What can I get you?” Mandy asked.

KC pulled out her list. “We’d like three coffees, one orange juice, and one grape soda,” she said.

“Aren’t you a little young for coffee?” Mandy asked KC.

“They’re not for us,” Marshall piped up. “They’re for the vice—”

“My aunt and uncle,” KC interrupted. “And my other aunt. Oh, and one tuna sandwich, please.”

“What’s in the coffees?” Mandy asked.

“Um, two are black, and one is with cream,” KC said.

“The cream will be on the side,” Mandy said. She turned to the coffeepot, which was behind her. It took a couple of minutes for her to fill three paper cups, snap on lids, and set the coffees into a carrying tray. “Anything else?”

“Yes, please, a slice of cheese pizza!” Marshall said.

Mandy slid a slice of pizza into a microwave. When the bell went off, she placed the slice on the tray with the tuna
sandwich and drinks. She rang up the order on a small cash register. “That’ll be fourteen twenty-five,” she said.

KC handed her the twenty.

Mandy pulled out the change, which she gave to KC.

KC wondered if she was supposed to tip, and how much. In her hand, she held three quarters and a five-dollar bill.

Then she noticed a metal dish on the counter with some coins in it. She dropped the quarters into the plate.

“Thanks, kids,” Mandy said.

“You’re welcome,” KC said. She picked up the carrying tray.

“Is it heavy?” Marshall asked. “Wait a sec.” He lifted out his soda and pizza.

“It’s okay,” KC said. “Let’s just hope the lights don’t go out again!”

They walked past the men playing cards. KC stumbled a little as the train lurched beneath her, but she kept her balance.

“Don’t drop it,” one of the men said.

“I won’t,” KC answered. “Marsh, can you get the door?”

They walked carefully through the next car. At the end, the blind man was passing his fingers over a page in his book. KC wondered what he was doing, then realized he must be reading Braille.

Across from him, the woman still slept, wrapped in her blanket.

Marshall opened the door, and they both stepped onto the swaying platform
that connected this car to their own.