public transport anon 2
"My names Katherine, and I use Public Transport"
"Hello Katherine"
"So, Katherine, what would you like to talk about this week?"
*deep breath*
"I was at the train station, mid-eastern suburbs, zone 2."
*exhale*
"Yes, Katherine? Go on"
"I was waiting for my train into the city, when the ticket inspectors came onto the platform, a burly lot, white, tall, male, stocky, you know, standard ticket inspector fare. Well, I stand there waiting to be asked, but they breeze on past me... I'm a bit surprised, they move as one towards a young couple, going past ten, fifteen, of us who are the same age, similiar economic status (judging by our dress), same reaction - semi-ignoring the ticket inspectors, so they walk up to this young couple, and encircle them.
There's five inspectors, two short, slight of build, early 20's folk stuck in the middle of this ring of tall, imposing, men. I'm nearby so I hear the questioning when it starts. 'tickets!' the young man leans forward a little, 'Sorry? tickets? You want to see tickets?' 'YES! Of course, why don't ya got 'em? what's your name' 'my name? Tony, my ticket, just one second, please, it's here' 'Your Full name' 'oh, uh, Tony, Tony Chen' the young man rummages through his pockets, turns to his girlfriend and speaks in Mandarin(?), she starts to look in her bag, 'Right, having a bit of trouble finding it hey?' the man who's been doing all the talking, a brown haired man with a beard, smirks as they search for their tickets. 'It's - my girlfriends bag, will be, one moment, please' 'we've got all day mate,' the men laugh, it's not a pleasent sound.
The girl pulls two tickets from her bag, the young man takes them and presents them to the inspectors - whose smiles fade when the tickets appear, 'you can't use that, that's zone 1' 'sorry?' 'You're in zone 2, you're breaking the law, you know that? You understand that? You're breaking the law, I'm giving you a ticket, where'd you get this anyway?' 'uh, sorry, what? we're not in zone 1 now? Bought in city, uh, Flinders Street, it's zone 1 yes?' the young man looks concerned, his girlfriend asks him something in rapid Mandarin, he replies 'Yeah well you ain't in zone 1 now kid, what's she saying anyway?' 'She wants to know what's going on, I tell her, that's all' 'you sure about that? show me some ID' 'I don't *he gestures sweapingly, shows his wallet which is clearly devoid of cards* any' 'what?' 'we're here visiting, not Australian.' the men make experated noises 'well, we need your address, where you're staying, for the ticket' 'oh right, xx street, in xxx, with George'
'right you got a cell?' 'a, what? sorry?' 'a cell! a mobile!! You got one?' 'ah, no, no I don't think s-' 'empty your pockets' 'wha? Oh, I, okay' he draws out a hankey, some loose change, and a mobile phone 'You liar!' 'what? sorry?' 'you said you didn't have one' 'what, phone? You didn't ask, I...' 'it's a mobile, you idiot' 'oh, I didn't know, sorry' 'you got a number in there, someone who speaks english, someone who can verify where you're staying, who you are?' 'ahhh, English? One person, George, I call him?' 'Yeah, yeah, you call him, now.' 'oh, okay.' he dials, nobody answers.
A fine mist of rain starts to drift down on us and myself & a fellow soon-to-be-passanger approach the group, to listen, to intervene if this gets any nastier, I'm reassured by the valid, over-priced ticket in my pocket. 'he, he's not home' he stutters over his English, obviously putting all his effort into the grammar and lexicon of this foreign language. 'anybody else, there must be somebody else' 'no, all Asian, in asia mostly, don't speak English,' 'show me, there, that guy, Tom - he must speak English, call him' 'no, he speaks Mandarin, nick-name, not Australian'"
...to be continued
"Hello Katherine"
"So, Katherine, what would you like to talk about this week?"
*deep breath*
"I was at the train station, mid-eastern suburbs, zone 2."
*exhale*
"Yes, Katherine? Go on"
"I was waiting for my train into the city, when the ticket inspectors came onto the platform, a burly lot, white, tall, male, stocky, you know, standard ticket inspector fare. Well, I stand there waiting to be asked, but they breeze on past me... I'm a bit surprised, they move as one towards a young couple, going past ten, fifteen, of us who are the same age, similiar economic status (judging by our dress), same reaction - semi-ignoring the ticket inspectors, so they walk up to this young couple, and encircle them.
There's five inspectors, two short, slight of build, early 20's folk stuck in the middle of this ring of tall, imposing, men. I'm nearby so I hear the questioning when it starts. 'tickets!' the young man leans forward a little, 'Sorry? tickets? You want to see tickets?' 'YES! Of course, why don't ya got 'em? what's your name' 'my name? Tony, my ticket, just one second, please, it's here' 'Your Full name' 'oh, uh, Tony, Tony Chen' the young man rummages through his pockets, turns to his girlfriend and speaks in Mandarin(?), she starts to look in her bag, 'Right, having a bit of trouble finding it hey?' the man who's been doing all the talking, a brown haired man with a beard, smirks as they search for their tickets. 'It's - my girlfriends bag, will be, one moment, please' 'we've got all day mate,' the men laugh, it's not a pleasent sound.
The girl pulls two tickets from her bag, the young man takes them and presents them to the inspectors - whose smiles fade when the tickets appear, 'you can't use that, that's zone 1' 'sorry?' 'You're in zone 2, you're breaking the law, you know that? You understand that? You're breaking the law, I'm giving you a ticket, where'd you get this anyway?' 'uh, sorry, what? we're not in zone 1 now? Bought in city, uh, Flinders Street, it's zone 1 yes?' the young man looks concerned, his girlfriend asks him something in rapid Mandarin, he replies 'Yeah well you ain't in zone 1 now kid, what's she saying anyway?' 'She wants to know what's going on, I tell her, that's all' 'you sure about that? show me some ID' 'I don't *he gestures sweapingly, shows his wallet which is clearly devoid of cards* any' 'what?' 'we're here visiting, not Australian.' the men make experated noises 'well, we need your address, where you're staying, for the ticket' 'oh right, xx street, in xxx, with George'
'right you got a cell?' 'a, what? sorry?' 'a cell! a mobile!! You got one?' 'ah, no, no I don't think s-' 'empty your pockets' 'wha? Oh, I, okay' he draws out a hankey, some loose change, and a mobile phone 'You liar!' 'what? sorry?' 'you said you didn't have one' 'what, phone? You didn't ask, I...' 'it's a mobile, you idiot' 'oh, I didn't know, sorry' 'you got a number in there, someone who speaks english, someone who can verify where you're staying, who you are?' 'ahhh, English? One person, George, I call him?' 'Yeah, yeah, you call him, now.' 'oh, okay.' he dials, nobody answers.
A fine mist of rain starts to drift down on us and myself & a fellow soon-to-be-passanger approach the group, to listen, to intervene if this gets any nastier, I'm reassured by the valid, over-priced ticket in my pocket. 'he, he's not home' he stutters over his English, obviously putting all his effort into the grammar and lexicon of this foreign language. 'anybody else, there must be somebody else' 'no, all Asian, in asia mostly, don't speak English,' 'show me, there, that guy, Tom - he must speak English, call him' 'no, he speaks Mandarin, nick-name, not Australian'"
...to be continued