Seeing no other choice, Laura now began the trip towards the train station. After everything that had happened the only thing she wanted was to get on the train, get to the Magic Shop, and get her 9ld age back.
The trip, while brisk 10 minutes, was world altering perspective. Laura now only stood 5 feet tall, a loss of 10" in height. The world she now gazed at was a world she hadn't seen in over 30 years. As she entered she quickly approached the ticket counter, immediately regretting it.
The woman spoke to Laura with the kind of patronizing voice one would reserve for a child who was almost grown up. The smile, the compliments, and the excited attitude were usually meant to put a child at ease or make them feel like they were accomplishing a herculean task. For the grown down middle schooler though it only mortified her and made the reality of her situation sink in.
Thankfully at least Laura was escorted to the VIP section of the station so she wouldn't be bothered. Now by herself she could relax a little, knowing she had secured the box with at least a half dozen discarded hair ties she had found in the bottom of her purse. With that secured Laura was also pleasantly surprised when she was served dinner. While only a simple hamburger and fries she had to admit it hit the spot. Considering she had finally begun to develop an appetite after relaxing, she had to admit the timing was good.
Glancing at the clock Laura realized she had perhaps 30 minutes to kill. Making sure the dice were safe she checked her phone, discovering several alarming texts from Kaitlin.
"Shit," she whispered. "How am I going to explain this?" Thinking quickly Laura texted back that a family emergency had arisen and that she would see Kaitlin soon. Finally leaning back in her seat, Laura was surprised to see the conductor now approach her. Apparently they train station had a policy about unaccompanied minors and would personally escort them to their seats.
Laura shrugged as she trudged behind the conductor, taking a seat in a relatively comfortable chair. Positioning her bags on her lap, Laura let out a sigh of relief, finally closing her eyes.
"Hello there deary,"
Laura's eyes flew open, she jolted to attention as she saw an elderly woman now take the seat next to her. "Um hi," Laura said meekly, still alarmed by the womans presense.
"No need to be so jumpy dear," she smiled. "My name is Hannah. Looks like the two of us will be sitting together for this trip."
Laura forced a smile, still unsure what to make of this woman before gasping in fright. Hannah had moved the bag next to her in order to sit down, the bag containing the dice.
"I can take that bag back miss," Laura said quickly.
"Oh nonsense sweetie it's no trouble at all," Hannah said sweetly. "Besides you look like you've had a long day. Trust me, I wont let anything happen to your things."
"You have no idea," Laura thought. Nodding she now turned to talk with the woman. Hopefully they could at least pass the time before they got to their destination.