As I made my way forward, shivering despite my coat, I entered the carriage and stepped forward. The door rolled shut behind me automatically (presumably it was weighted), and I stopped just in front of it to soak up the scene before me.
There were loads of kids both my age and younger in the car, all in very high spirits. They were running about and singing and chanting and dancing. I hadn't seen scenes of mirth like this in a while, given people's habit of keeping themselves to themselves around here. As I stepped forward, one boy at the front with cream skin and awkward green hair and eyes, dressed in a black T shirt, white button up shirt and cream slacks, as well as black shoes, was leading the older ones in a spirited rendition of 'God Rest ye Merry, Gentlemen" on his guitar. Yes, I have no idea why they put the comma there to denote a pause. The entire phrase is 'God rest you merry Gentlemen, Let nothing you dismay.' It would make far more sense to put the comma after 'gentlemen' and not 'merry', as that would be a better place to put a breath.
Anyways, the boy was one of the few people I recognised. He was Terramar, whom I went to school with. He and his twin sister Silverstream lived a few streets away, and I was on pretty good terms with them. Like me, they were used to their parents not being around as much as they would like. Their mom runs the local chains of some nationwide Pizza chain- I think their name is a bear or something- and their dad is often required to fly across the world for business meetings. Sounds like a lonely existence to me.
As a couple of the other students, who had inexplicably gained brass instruments and were playing along in a perfectly tuned brass quartet, played merrily, switching suddenly to 'Silent Night' played far too loud for my taste (that volume would have woken the baby up!), I sat down and shuffled next to the window, looking out as best I could. The steam heating was one in the carriage, as I could feel it through sitting on the seat, and as a result many of the windows had steamed up in the car. I adjusted the sleeve of my coat to try and wipe off some of the condensation so I could at least see what was going on outside.
As I did so, I suddenly heard a voice. "Hey, do you mind if I sit here?"
I glanced over. Standing there was a boy dressed in a green shirt and long green thermal pants, suitable for the weather, combined with a pair of boots. He also wore a red scarf and had light green skin and two tone green hair.
"Sure," I said, indicating to the seat. "I could use the company."
He sat down, that gentle smile of his continuing to radiate off his face. "So, you just joined the train?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied, slowly opening up. I couldn't understand why, but there was something about this boy that made me want to share things with him. "I got on at Altoona."
"That explains the sudden stop!" he said. "I was in the lavatory at the time, and-"
"Hey! Too much information!" I said.
"Sorry. So, what's your name?"
"Ocellus," I replied, continuing to gaze out of the window as the train began the climb to Horseshoe Curve.
"I'm Sandbar," the boy replied, extending his hand. "It's nice to meet you."
I turned and shook his hand back. I wouldn't call it a friendship just yet, but I sensed this was more than just a quick acquaintance.
Before either of us could go on, a head suddenly popped up over the top of the seat in front, followed by a pair of arms and two shoulders (most humans have two). This new person had pink skin and icy blue hair, done up in curls atop her head. She seemed, from what I could see, to be wearing a long sleeved winter shirt. A sensible precaution, given the weather. And there I was in a dress.
"Hello!" she said. "We're going through Horseshoe Curve! I'm amazed this engine is capable of pulling all these cars through this gradient without assistance!"
"So I see," Sandbar replied, clearly very used to hearing her voice. "Her name's Cozy Glow. She's my next door neighbour."
"I heard you're called Ocellus," Cozy Glow went on, her face a constant grin. Something about it seemed somehow... off. "You just joined, right?"
"Yes," I replied. "I'm from Altoona."
Cozy squealed. "OOH! A local! Exciting! Do you know what type of engine this is that's pulling us?"
I sat and pondered for a moment. "I think it's a K4," I replied. "That's odd, though."
"It is! Yay! You know your stuff!" Cozy said, and then began to rattle off loads of numbers. "It was built at Lima in 1914 and has a boiler pressure of 96,000 pounds. It can run at a top speed of 50 miles per hour and was often nicknamed a 'hippo' due to the shape and weight of the ten-"
"You've mixed up the K4 and the I1," I interrupted.
"Oh. Oopsie!"
I turned back to Sandbar. "Is she always like this?" she asked.
"Mostly," Sandbar replied. "Please go easy on her, though. She's not great with social cues. Apparently she has a disability or something."
"I do," I said, without thinking. "I'm on the spectrum."
"No worries," Sandbar smiled. "My sister is too. She's super smart, but a bit socially awkward."
I laughed. That sounded very familiar. I was the definition of socially awkward, and yet here I was having a relaxed conversation with somebody I'd met only a few minutes earlier.
Suddenly, another girl came speeding through the corridor. She had pink and skin and two tone blue hair, and wore blue slacks with a purple shirt. "You guys!" she called. "We need to sit down, as the conductor's coming!"
I knew her very well. That was Silverstream, Terramar's sister, and to describe her as hyper would be something of an understatement. She seemed to have a permanent sugar rush going on. Seriously, I'd never seen her exhausted, to the point she fidgeted constantly when sitting down, something that annoyed the teachers at our school to no end. She bounded in next to Cozy and sat down. "Hi Cozy!" she said.
Just then, the conductor stepped forward, slammed the door shut behind him, and fired up the intercom. "Good night," he said to us. "I presume you know me by now. I am Pharynx, and I will be your conductor on this working of the Polar Express. Can all passengers please have tickets ready for inspection? Thank you."
TICKETS?
What? I didn't have a ticket! I'd stuffed my coat underneath my chair, and seeing the other kids suddenly produce the tickets in their hands was freaking me out, to say the least. I watched as he checked them, and eventually he got to me. "Tickets, please," he said.
I indicated to myself. "My dress has no pockets," I replied.
"Look in your coat, then," Pharynx said.
I pulled my coat out and looked in the pockets. My hand went through the torn one.
"Check your other pocket," he suggested. So I did. I, to my amazement, produced a ticket that shone in the light. It was coloured gold, with an image of an engine behind the text POLAR EXPRESS, which ran across the image from left to right in a tilted manner.
"Where did that come from?" I asked. I handed it to Pharynx, who produced his ticket clipper and began clipping it with a speed and dexterity I'd never seen before. When I'd been to the Strasburg Railroad with my parents, I'd seen the conductor clip the tickets, but they normally only punched it once. This time, however, there were so many things being punched out of the ticket that a mass of golden blobs fell everywhere. Eventually, he handed the ticket back to me and I noticed two letters had been punched into the ticket.
"BE?" I asked. "What on Earth is that supposed to mean?"
"Yea!" Silverstream said, poking her head over the top of the seat in front. "Mine says 'LD'. This is so weird!"
A jolt indicated we were just starting our descent down the other side of Horseshoe Curve. "Attention passengers," said the intercom. "We will shortly be arriving at our next and final stop of Johnstown. Here we shall pick up one passenger and set down mail for the town. Anybody who wishes to watch the procedure, please look out of the left hand window."
Before any of us knew what was going on, the train had arrived in Johnstown. As I looked out of the window, I saw the Conductor descend the steps to talk to a boy stood in the snow.