Sprint Through Hallway to Train Conductor Chief Engineer

Sprint Through Hallway to Train Conductor Chief Engineer

I was late for the morning train, sprinting down the hallway of my apartment building. The hallway kept getting longer, turning into the lobby of the office where I work, then into the grocery store aisle I pass every Saturday. I could hear the train's doors closing behind me, but the platform was still there, just a few steps farther away. I finally burst through the doors and found the conductor, who looked exactly like my old high‑school math teacher, except his badge said "Chief Engineer" and his voice was a little metallic. He handed me a ticket that was actually my student ID, and I tried to explain I was supposed to be at work, not in a parallel version of the school. He smiled, and the train started moving, but the windows showed the street outside my apartment, the office break room, and the grocery checkout all at once. I felt that weird mix of panic and relief, then woke up to the sound of my actual alarm.