‘Out the barriers,’ I say cagily.
‘Got it.’ He gives an understanding nod. ‘Come on, then.’
He ushers me forward, but I stay confused in my place. He looks back at me and smiles a deep and devious smile. ‘If you’re quick enough, you should be able to squeeze through the barriers with me.’
‘Seems... illegal,’ I say, feet still glued to the floor.
I’m not the biggest rule follower, but I know that you probably shouldn’t break the law on your first day in a foreign country. He, however, rolls his eyes.
‘Youdidbuy a ticket. The right one, so you say. And you tried to look for help, but they gave you no option. You deserve to go through.’
He’s right. After all, I did try to do the right thing. And if there’s no staff here to help, then there’s no staff to catch me. I dip my eyes as I run through the pros and cons in my head. I need to think them through without his face distracting me.
When I look up, he’s still staring unabashedly and it makes my stomach flip over on itself.
‘You coming?’ he asks, waving his travel card in the air.
‘What happens if we get caught?’ I ask cautiously.
He laughs again. ‘I’ll bail you out.’
‘You’ll be behind bars with me.’
‘Then we’ll have the best time. You’d be incredibly lucky.’
His lip curls at the sentiment, luring me in.
‘It’s now or never,’ he says, gesturing me closer once more.
I have no other choice. I nod briskly and follow him to the barriers.
He works methodically, shuffling carefully and stealing quick glances over his shoulder. Then he waits until I’m practically pressed into his back before tapping his bright-blue card on the reader. It flashes green. The doors swing open and he marches through as I scurry on behind him, dragging my suitcase with haste.
We’ve made it. I let out a strained yet relieved sigh.
‘Thank you . . . ?’ I trail off, waiting for a name.
‘Noah.’
‘Right, thanks, Noah.’ I smile softly. ‘I’m Amorie.’
I stretch out a hand before immediately regretting it when I see the far-too-amused look on his face. He takes it anyway, delighting in the over-formality as we engage in an incredibly out-of-place handshake.
‘Pleasure doing business with you.’ He leans into the farce. ‘You should get one of these travel cards. Those paper tickets are crap. I learnt that pretty quickly when I got here.’
‘How long have you been here?’ I ask.
I clocked his English accent straight away, but I didn’t want to assume.
‘Six days so far, but I’ve been making the most of travelling round the city. What about you – when d’you get here?’
I hesitate for a moment and consider lying, but I don’t.
‘Today.’
It sounds so naive in comparison, but I shake it off and straighten my posture. If I’m going tosoundlike a newbie, I need to at leastactlike I’m not.
‘I’m interrailing. For the next six months, actually,’ I add.
