Where pops the popsicle!

  The strawberry popsicle melted on Jeremy Webb’s hand. The cold, sticky liquid seeped through the sleeve of his shirt. “Shit,” he exclaimed out loud, even though shit didn’t cover half of what he had gone through that morning. Not only was he late for his meeting but also had strawberry popsicle dripping all over his hand, not a good first impression. This was a meeting he could not mess up. Heaven knows how badly he needed this job. The job was to judge a middle school art competition. He needed the money badly. It was useless to try to lick up the liquid but he tried anyway. This only resulted in him looking like an idiot in front of all the people waiting at the station. He was about to go to the public restroom to wash his hands and throw the popsicle away when he heard the overhead announcement that his train would be arriving in a minute. He groaned for the second time that day and rushed to platform 2 where his train arrived just in time. The platform was crowded and between all the pushing, he dropped his popsicle stick. The train pulled away with Jeremy, while the popsicle stick was left behind on the platform.

  Aiden Green was a little boy with a big imagination. His mother, Katherine Green, was a serious woman. So, when they got off their train and onto platform 2, Aiden was flying on dragons in his head. He held his mother’s hand as she led them out of the crowd. They were new to the city and probably didn't know that they were supposed to continue on the same train for a few more stops. While his mother was figuring out where to go next, Aiden saw a shiny red popsicle stick on the ground. He picked it up and examined it with a fascination only a nine-year-old was capable of. "Aiden put is down," his mother ordered. Aiden wanted to argue but his mother had to take a call. Thankful that her attention was off him, he pocketed the popsicle stick. The call wasn't an important one as his mother finished talking to whomever it was in five minutes. She took his hand and led him to platform 1, where a train pulled in right then. Aiden and his mom climbed into the crowded train, the popsicle still safely in his pocket. There were sweaty bodies all around Aiden, suffocating him. He stood closer to his mom and waited until they could get off. Thankfully half of the passengers got out at the next stop, giving Aiden space to breathe. Even though it was only ten minutes since they got on the train, Aiden started to get bored. He took out the popsicle from his pocket and started drumming on the glass window of the train. His mother frowned at him but did not tell him to stop. "The next stop is Waterfront," a lady's voice from the loudspeaker said. Maybe this was the moment when his mother realized that they were on the wrong train because she had a surprised and confused look on her face. At the next stop, both of them got down, the popsicle still in Aiden's hand. His mother looked around trying to find a help desk. She pulled him towards a girl who was sitting behind a help desk. The girl and Aiden's mother might have talked something but his attention was on a blue bobblehead on a store window. The conversation was over and Aiden and his mom walked to platform 1, to catch a train back. The popsicle was left on the help desk with the girl.

  Amy Warners hated her job. She was a help desk worker at a train station. The people who came to her sometimes weren't even thankful but, she needed this job. The subway was the only place where they would employ a highschooler without any previous work experience. She sighed. It was one in the afternoon. Her shift was almost over. She stared at the clock in the middle of the platform. A young boy who looked about her younger brother's age, and a lady, who she assumed was his mother, walked towards her. The lady asked, "Excuse me, which line do you take to get to the 27th Avenue?" Amy cursed inwardly, she was five minutes away from ending her shift. "The blue line would take you there. A train would be arriving in two minutes," Amy said. The lady mumbled thanks and hurried off with the kid. Amy felt a little bad as she knew the train wouldn't be arriving for eight more minutes but, in her defense, she wanted to get home quickly. As she waited, she noticed a red popsicle stick left by the little kid. She took it and examined it. She remembered that her brother had a school art project and needed popsicle sticks. He was making a model of the Eiffel Tower with popsicle sticks. She smiled to herself. A deep voice interrupted her thoughts. It was her shift replacement, Alex. "Yeah you can go now, I will take over," he said. She nodded, got her stuff, and left the subway station. She waited at the bus stop with her earphones on, blasting '90s hard rock. Her bus arrived and she got on. It seemed as the city slowed down. The hot sun was having that effect. Everyone on the bus looked half-asleep. Amy got down at her stop and made her way up the stairs to her house. She opened the door and saw her little brother working on his project. "Hey Jakey," she said. He turned around and hugged her. She laughed and bent down to get to his height. She pulled the popsicle out from her back pocket and handed it to him. "Thanks, Amy," he said, giving her a toothy grin. She ruffled his thick black hair. He went back to his project. 

  By evening, Jake was done with his project. He was really proud of it. As the popsicle stick that his sister gave had a slight red colour, he used that on the top. His mom came back from work in the evening and was really impressed with his work. After dinner, he made a few tweaks to his project and went to bed, dreaming about winning. The next day, his mom drove him to school with his project in the back seat. She helped him carry it to his classroom where they were having the art project. As he walked down the hallways, he felt nervous. There were many other projects which looked better than what he made. He entered his classroom and his teacher, Ms. Connors complimented his project. Jake's mom put his project on his desk, wished him good luck and left. Ms. Connors said, "I know all of you are excited about the art competition but, before we start I want you guys to welcome a new kid to our school. His name is Aiden Green," a kid with blonde hair, stood up and awkwardly waved. "Make sure you show him around. And now let me introduce you to Mr. Webb, he will be judging your projects," added Ms. Connors. A man with black hair waved and started examining all the projects and listened to the students as they explained their projects. When he came over to Jake's project, Jake felt nervous. "This is my project. It's a model of the Eifel Tower made with popsicle sticks," explained Jake. Mr. Webb asked what the red popsicle meant. "Well it looks like a flag, so I put it on top," Jake replied. Mr. Webb smiled and moved on to the next project. The next half hour was the longest in Jake's life. He couldn't wait for the results. Finally, Ms. Connors said that it was time to announce the winners. He hardly could contain his excitement. Jake didn't win the first place but he was happy with a ribbon that said second place. When they were giving him the award, Mr. Webb said that it was because he added his own touch and imagination to his project. He grinned at it. When class was done, everyone thanked Mr. Webb for coming there that day. Before Mr. Webb could leave, Jake took the red popsicle stick and gave it to him. Mr. Webb took it and smiled at Jake. Jake smiled back and hurried back to his desk where he talked to the new kid, Aiden about his project.

 Jeremy smiled at the kid who gave him the red popsicle stick. It was very sweet. He made his way out of the school and to the subway station. when he reached home he put the popsicle stick on his desk, where it stayed for a long time.