The perfect ending to the perfect day
Hannah Finlayson
"Hannah, wake up!" I sat up drowsily and peered over to the NYC clock hanging on my bedroom wall. Great, it was 7:30 am. I must be the only teenager on the planet who was awake at seven thirty on a Saturday morning. I hauled myself out of warm, cosy bed and up the stairs. There was an unusual sight at the top. My mother wearing her best clothes, holding two small rucksacks and beaming down at me.
"Morning babe, I've decided we're going to Glasgow today, we're gonna go shopping and stay in one of those nice hotels."
This was one of my favourite qualities about my mum, she was so spontaneous. I ran down the stairs to get ready.
We were standing outside at the bus stop in the warm sunlight, munching on croissants we had just bought from Starbucks. The streets seemed rather empty. Then again I was never outside at ten past eight on a Saturday! The bus pulled into the stop and we paid our fares. There was only one other inhabitant on the bus, an old women, dressed as though she was going to a posh dinner party. She gave us a very stern glare and shook her head at us as we walked past. As if we were invading her bus. We arrived at the train station to find crowds of Saturday shoppers, dashing to their platforms, trying not to drop their bags, or spill their hot coffee. We made our way towards platform 8. The last time I had been at a station was to go camping with friends. I stopped to reminisce. "Hannah don't stop, the train leaves in 2 minuets," shrieked my mum in her high, giggly voice.
The train was packed. We travelled up and down the hot, sticky carriages looking for two seats together. Eventually we found some in the last compartment, next to a mother with her screaming baby and a gang of older teenagers, obviously coming home from a night out. The smell of stale beer and cigarettes was nauseating. "At least it's only a short journey," smiled my mum. That was another thing I loved about her, she could put a positive spin on anything. When we pulled into Glasgow, I could hardly see anything outside for the "stoatin" Glasgow rain.
"Hm... Maybe we should take a cab to Primark," laughed my mum. We ran full pelt from the warmth of the train station into a nearby taxi. "Can you take us to Primark please?" She asked. "You know it's only a five minuet walk from here?" The driver replied. I looked out the window then back at him. "You actually think we are going to walk in this rain?" When the taxi pulled away, we stared up and the infuriating sign stuck to the doors, 'Closed for refurbishment'. "This day isn't really turning out the way I imagined it," I said gloomily. "I have an idea, let's find a hotel, order room service and watch films." Encouraged by the prospect of warmth, food and entertainment we traipsed down the road and into the nearest hotel. It was like a palace inside. Everybody was dressed very formally and it was very quiet. We got some peculiar looks as we squelched over to the front desk, hair stuck to our heads and mascara all down our faces. "May I help you?" Asked the woman behind the desk, her eyebrow raised. "Yes, do you have any free rooms tonight?" "No sorry we are totally and completely full," the woman said, a big smile stretched across her face. "Oh what a shame, thank you anyway!" Mum practically sang at the woman. After an hour of wandering around Glasgow in the rain, and six full hotels, even my relentlessly optimistic mum was feeling worn down. "We're just like Mary and Joseph - minus the donkey!" I joked. "Yeah, I don't think we're going to find anywhere to stay; maybe we should just go home," she said disappointedly.
The train home was a lot more peaceful. No screaming babies or gangs of rude teenagers. It was dark outside and mum had just drifted off. I was looking forward to being back in my own bed soon. It hadn't exactly been the best day. Just as I was thinking that, the train slowed down, lurched forwards a few times and stopped. The lights flickered on and off. The train had broken down. The perfect ending to the perfect day.
