hour,” she said.“I’m trying to be hyper-responsible,” Veronica said.“You have no idea where the university is,” said Mrs. Knox. “You’re not going alone. You need to cool your jets.”“I do know where Charles University is,” Veronica said. “We went past it on the tour. The building is enormo.”“And I have a map!” I said, lifting up my bag. “Dejvicka to Staromeˇstská. We don’t get off the green line.”Mrs. Knox shook her head.“What’s the worst that could happen?” Veronica asked. “Death and dismemberment,” Mrs. Knox said.This wasn’t going well at all.“Dad let me take the metro in Rome by myself all the time,” Veronica said. “And the bus.”Mrs. Knox smoothed her bed-head with one hand.“We’ll be fine,” Veronica said. “There’s daylight every- where.”Mrs. Knox appeared unconvinced.“Seriously, Mom. I found the Coliseum and the Vatican all by myself.”I was surprised that Veronica had visited the Vatican. It was the first I’d heard of it.“Fine. I’ll see you in an hour,” Mrs. Knox said, then shut the door. “To the metro!” Veronica cheered.We walked outside into the muggy air.“It feels like the world has been wrapped in a hot towel,” Veronica said.“At least the sky is blue,” I said.“Oh no.”“What?” I immediately began surveying the scene for Brenda and pickpockets.“I forgot to bring snacks.” Since going back wasn’t an option, we stopped at a small market along the way. The store had only three aisles, and on the counter next to the cash register was a big stack of pornographic magazines. Veronica saw them and smiled. Then she bought crackers, apples, and two candy bars, and dashed out to the street.“Why are you running?” I asked, jogging behind her.She glanced back over her shoulder and laughed. “We can’t leave anything to chance. We’ve got to scope the room.”I hurried after Veronica, hoping she’d stop running when she reached the stairs that led to the metro escalator, but she didn’t. “You’re getting too far ahead,” I called down to her. I raced down the stairs, made a left, and got on the escalator. Riding down, I could see the machine where you purchase your tickets, in the middle of the platform. I edged past a large man and a woman with shopping bags. When I got off the escalator, I ran to the machine. But I didn’t understand what I was supposed to do. It had about twenty buttons, and everything was a different color. “What do I press?” Nobody answered me. “We’re taking the green line, so do I press the green button? Why does it have a sticker of a dog on it?” I was officially panicked. Did this thing even take debit cards? How had Veronica already managed to purchase a ticket? I felt completely abandoned. The train was coming. At the other end of the platform, Veronica positioned herself next to the yellow line. That’s when I remembered my travel pass. I grabbed my wallet and ran for the approaching train. “I can’t believe that you were going to leave me!”“Nobody left anybody,” Veronica said as she stepped onto the train ahead of me. The car was crowded, and neither Veronica nor I could find an open seat. “Commuters,” Veronica said. “And tragically, no hot-dudes among them.”I scanned the car twice, and she was right. “We can’t be lucky every day of our lives,” I said.She frowned at me. “Sure we can.”We both hung on to a bright orange pole near the door. The orange seats held people reading newspapers and magazines. Even the standing people were reading. And the few women who had purses were clutching them tightly in their laps, fearing pickpockets, I guessed. Following their example, I unslung my backpack and set it at my feet, where I could keep a vigilant eye on it. At every stop the train lurched with dramatic force, sending me sideways into fellow passengers. It didn’t matter how tightly I held on. The same thing happened to Veronica, though I don’t think she
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