Missing the Cruiser Over Saturn's Rings

Missing the Cruiser Over Saturn's Rings

I was late for my usual morning commute, but instead of the subway platform, the station had floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows looking out over Saturn's rings. Nobody else seemed to care; everyone was just drinking coffee in their work clothes. I ran into Marcus from high school, except he was wearing an embroidered high-collared admiral's jacket over a faded graphic tee. He told me the docking bay for the shuttle to our sector was moving to Sector 4 and we only had three minutes. I kept trying to scan my plastic MetroCard at this glowing airlock door, but it kept buzzing red and saying 'insufficient imperial credits.' Marcus went through ahead of me and was waving for me to hurry up, but my shoes suddenly felt completely glued to the metal grating. I watched the massive cruiser slide away from the glass into deep space, just feeling that familiar, sinking embarrassment of missing the last train and knowing I was going to be in trouble with my boss.