A Stubborn boy by Natalie M

David was a stubborn boy, and a very anti-social one too. Wherever and whenever he went, he would always have his I-pod with him.

That day, the MRT cabin where David was in was filled with commuters. David stood still in the middle of the cabin without holding on to the metal poles, heading to Orchard. It was rush hour on a Saturday afternoon.

"Attention passengers, please hold on to the poles securely. Thank you, " an announcement was aired.

Naturally, David did not hear the announcement. He was all absorbed in his world of music that he had downloaded on his I-pod.

"Creak…creak…," a weird sound was heard.

The commuters were confused and worried about the sound. David was not even aware of it. The light in the cabin flickered. David thought it was nothing to worry about. Suddenly, the train moved at a full speed for two seconds and screeched to a halt. The passengers shrieked and gasped in horror.

David gasped as he reached for the metal pole, but a split second before he touched it, he stepped on his own shoe lace and knocked himself to the ground. His hip hit the floor and he groaned in agony, "Ouch…"

A man beside him keeled over to the seats owing to the sudden halt. The impact threw everyone off. A sleeping male passenger's eyes fluttered open by the rude halt. A lady was thrown off balance and gave out a shortlived shriek. The passengers who were sitting down closed their eyes shut, panicked and anxious.

David was hurt pretty badly on his hip but he tried to bear with it and stood up slowly. Every passenger was able to balance themselves again and the light flickered thrice again and went shut. A snapping sound was heard and David could feel that the temperature in the train rising. The air-conditioner must have gone off too.

Pandemonium and confusion broke out. Irate passengers shouted in frustration and hit the windows to ask for help. But David kept his composure and jostled his way to the nearest pole. The chaos was getting out of hand until a light from a distance was seen. When the light got closer, David realised that the light was coming from inside the train. When everyone saw it, silence descended upon them.

A man, a rescue worker, was holding the torch light made an announcement, "Everyone, please keep yourselves calm. There has been some errors in the engine. The workers are trying to repair the engine and we will be able to move on any moment now. Stay calm!"

David sighed in relief. He felt a great load lifted off his chest. everyone inhaled and exhaled deeply to calm themselves down. What the rescue worker said was true. The light and the air-conditioner roared back to life, after a few minutes.

"We are very sorry for the technical problem that just occurred. The engine is working again. Please alight at the next station, Newton, to move to another train. Sorry for the inconvenience," an announcement was heard.

An older man said to David kindly, "Are you okay? I saw you fall a moment ago. Do you need help?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you so much. Can I borrow your phone? I need to call my mom," David replied thankfully.

The man handed his phone to David and smiled. David dialed his mom's number to ask her to fetch him at Newton Station. David realized that holding on to the metal poles is very necessary, in the event of incidents like that happens again. He was also very thankful to the man who offered him help. He also tried his best to use earphones at the right time. What an unforgettable experience!