Setting up lunch with Tim was a huge mistake thought Alice as she impatiently held up her phone trying to call her friend.
“Hello?”
“Where are you? We were supposed to meet for lunch half an hour ago!” Alice exclaimed.
“I’m almost at 42nd. I’ll be there in 5 minutes, just wait by the clock. We can have lunch downstairs.” Tim replied, trying to calm Alice down.
“Fine, whatever.” Alice hung up the phone with a tinge of anger as she prepared herself for the chaos of Grand Central Station. Walking through the wooden doors of the wooden doors of the enormous building, Alice was transported to a different land. Gone were were the gray concrete towers outside, now replaced with marble walls, warm yellow lights and strange chandeliers. Still the vastly different world inside Grand Central mimicked the outside city in many ways.
The station was jammed with people. Regulars rushed to and fro from the counters to the tracks, avoiding the tourists who wondered through the space with their pesky cameras. The station was squirming in chaos as Alice quickly made her way into the main concourse, heading straight for the familiar counter in the middle.
It was immediately recognizable from far away for its 4 shining bright clocks faced in all directions. Frustrated by Tim’s constant lateness, Alice put al her energy into not looking at the alluring clocks, that were mocking her with the exact time of the day. Luckily there were many other things in the station to focus her attention on. Alice gazed through the room looking at the lights, walls, and staircases finding acorns and oak leaves in every corner.
Finally her eyes caught on the expansive green ceiling that was so different from the marble floors and walls with golden lights. Even though Alice knew that the twinkling lights of the indoor sky had no correspondence with the actual constellations, she still tried to make sense of the image above her every time she saw it. Alice continued to observe the sky as she waited for friend, but she was not alone. A handful of others were staring up as well, taking in the magnificent grandeur of the old station.
I like how you incorporated so many different places in the station into the story. I loved the green ceiling as well, it gave me a sense of greenery within a “marble jungle.” The lack of trees was partially fulfilled by this enormous art piece. For the record, if my friend was late I would be doing the same thing as Alice.
I really appreciated the description you so smoothly included in your story. It gave the story a certain type of life and realness. This is important as writers of any kind need to make a connection to their readers in order to effectively convey their ideas and feelings.
I love how authentic your story feels with the great amount of description about Grand Central Terminal you put in it. This insider knowledge pulls readers closer, especially readers who are from New York or who just know the area.