Late

He woke up a little lost. Where was him? Still in bed, he looked around and noticed countless posters of his favorite band. Yes, he was in his own bedroom. What a hangover! He had a headache, still a little dizzy and his mouth was not only dry, but he also tasted something like shoe soles. He shouldn’t have exaggerated so much. Imagine if he had anything important to do today. Wait, he had something important to do today.

It was the day of the concert of his favorite band. The pop that managed to combine simplicity and sophistication. Musicians who were extremely talented and at the same time, able to charm crowds. An epic, sublime phenomenon. He had bought the tickets almost a year ago, he was looking forward to that day. So anxious that he couldn’t sleep at all and had to go to the bar to drink with friends to forget the subject a little. He has forgotten way too much.

What time was it? His mobile was out of battery. Great, after all, he was going to have to charge his cell phone before lefting. He took his watch and found he was late, very late. The show would take place in a stadium on the other side of the town, and he wanted to get a good seat near the stage. It was no use just arriving at the right time and watching everything on the screen. If he were to see the screen, he would be at home watching the videos of the band.

While carrying his mobile (in airplane mode to speed up the process), he decided to do everything very quickly: showering, changing, brushing his teeth, having lunch … Oops, it was better to have lunch and then brush his teeth. Okay, he brushed his teeth again and left the house. Lucky that the bus stop was on his street.

It seemed that the bus was taking longer than usual that day. When it finally arrived, it was crowded. Not the crowded kind that you need to keep asking permission to pass. Crowded of the kind you have to squeeze yourself among people and apologize at every step. He had never seen that line so crowded. The way was to wait for the next one.

Another little eternity passed before the next bus arrived. This time, perfectly empty with that air of civility that big cities only have during the holidays, when half the population is going to travel elsewhere. He took a step to board the bus and realized he was wearing his orange sneakers. Strange … He was sure he had on his blue sneakers today. Then he looked at the other foot: he had his blue sneakers.

He thought for a while and came to the conclusion that in the show nobody looks at the floor. Or at least, not so carefully. And as for the people on the way, no one even knew him or if they did, what difference would it make? He could say it is a new style, or just tell the truth. No. If he had already thought of all this in a fraction of a second, he would spend the whole day brooding over having one foot of each shoe. He apologized to the bus driver and got off the bus step. He had to go home urgently.

Once again, he was back at the bus stop. Once again the bus arrived. Once again it was empty. He embarked and tried to enjoy the way. Or at least, the traffic. Was everyone going to the same concert? After a long time, the bus started moving faster. He realized that the traffic had been caused by a crash involving a clown car. He managed to count 15 injured clowns. Perhaps, there were even more.

After passing a few more streets and avenues, he was finally where he wanted to be: the underground station. Before entering the station, he had to dodge some NGO volunteers who stood in the entrance looking for new members. He had to say repeatedly that he was late, very late. Really late. Not the “late” to make an excuse that neither other people spoke.

He arrived at the underground turnstile and remembered. He remembered that he forgot the ticket. At least, the ticket office queue was not that long. It only took a few minutes for him to be back at the turnstile, and then take the train. There were only six stops, nothing much. One, two, three passed … And he realized it was in the wrong direction. I should have noticed that he hadn’t seen anyone wearing the band’s T-shirt, no sign of the concert.

He got off at the next station, went up the stairs, crossed the platform and took the underground again. Now in the right direction. There were only 10 stops left. According to his accounts, it took between 2 and 3 minutes to reach each station, so it would probably be there at the most in half an hour. It was not ideal, but it would have to serve either.

After 7 stations, the subway stopped and turned off the light. A voice said it had an object on the line. Who was the idiot who dropped an object on the line on a day like that, when all he needed was agility? While he was thinking about the kind of idiot who could do that, the train went back to work.

Finally, he arrived at the station near the stadium. And unexpectedly there was no crowd there. He saw only one person wearing a bandana. When he met some policemen to ask where the entrance to the concert was, they said the concert would only be the next day.

The feeling of failure was indescribable. He had been through it all just to see his favorite band up close. He was still hungover and the show was only tomorrow. Then he began to pay attention near the gate and saw hundreds of camping tents forming a gigantic line. A crowd was prepared for the next day’s concert. Indeed, he was earlier and later than he imagined.