The modern young woman's guide to emergencies. Part 4: bus tickets

Overheard in the changing rooms at the salsa school:

- So, you've got your ticket [to Lviv] then?
Pino: - Yep! Right here!
rummages in rucksack
- definitely, somewhere in here...
starts to remove objects from bag
- right at the bottom, here...
takes out black-bound WHSmith diary, groaning at the seams: diary exhales cloud of old ATM receipts and email addresses on fast-food napkins, but no bus ticket
- just a second, maybe it's at the back somewhere

not Pino: - You do have it, right? I mean, I gave it to you... we're all adults, so I mean I thought it would be ok.

Pino: No, absolutely, I have it Right Here...
- maybe it's in my other bag
tries hard to disguise Serious Doubts
- I'm normally very responsible, I don't normally lose things (liar)

not Pino: I thought you had a different bag with you last night?

Pino: Yes, that's right, absolutely, it must be in that one...
not convincing anyone

- ... only... I don't want to worry you but... this morning I definitely cleared out some old papers from my bag. And then... I put them in the bin (train of thoughts spirals out of control) and then... I Took The Bin Out!
- Excuse-me-I-have-to-go!

On tram:

Pino's mind: Did I take the bin out? Wasn't the communal bin outside almost empty this morning? That means they'd only just collected the rubbish! That means they won't have come for today's yet! So there's a chance I might find it! Interrupted by visions of self diving head-first into communal bin to retrieve lost ticket.

Fifteen minutes later:

Stumbles up stairs, drops keys, opens door, crashes headlong into bedroom, spots handbag under pile of back issues of Polityka...



Ticket is in bag!!


Phew...


[Oh Crap I haven't packed yet!!!!]