Ch3-Hurry Up for the World Cup!

THREE Harry Up for the World Cup! "Look, Insurgentes." Jack pointed to a sign on a large building that said MERCADO INSURGENTES. "That's it—the metro we're supposed to catch. Come on!"

Annie and Jack joined the crowd heading into the Insurgentes building. They strolled down a corridor between stalls selling ponchos, beaded bags, wooden animals, baskets woven with palm leaves, and silver jewelry—tons of silver jewelry. The smell of sizzling meat came from food stands. Nothing looked like a train or subway station. Finally Jack stopped near a group of men in sombreros playing guitars, violins, and trumpets. He turned to Annie. "This doesn't feel right!" he yelled above the noise of the music. "We must have made a mistake!" Annie yelled back. "Let's get out of here," said Jack. "We're wasting time!" He and Annie turned and hurried back down the corridor between the stalls. They wove around shoppers until they escaped through the entrance of the giant market. A soft, warm rain had started to fall. "I don't get it," said Jack. He pointed to the sign on the building. "It says MERCADO INSURGENTES." "Look at Benny's notes again," said Annie. Jack pulled out their directions. "Oh, no!" he said. "Benny wrote Metro Insurgentes, not

Mercado Insurgentes!" "I'll ask for help!" said Annie. She took the directions and walked over to an old man reading a newspaper on a bench. "Excuse me, sir, where is Metro Insurgentes, please?" The old man pointed up the street. "Thanks!" said Annie. She ran back to Jack and handed him the sheet of directions. Jack stuffed it into his backpack. "Hurry, or we'll be late!" Jack said. Jack and Annie ran up the street through the warm, drizzling rain. They stopped when they came to an overpass jammed with trucks and cars. In a sunken plaza below was a round concrete building covered with posters and murals. One sign on the building said PLAZA INSURGENTES. Another said METRO STATION. "That's it!" said Jack. He and Annie ran down to the plaza. They hurried by a fountain, vendors, and snack bars until they came to the rounded entrance of the metro. When they stepped into the station, the noise was deafening, even louder than in the market. Hordes of people were rushing up and down the

stairs. Jack and Annie joined the stream of traffic going down. Beyond the stairs was a row of turnstiles. "How do we do this?" said Annie. "Watch what everyone else is doing," said Jack. One at a time, people were dropping a single coin into slots in the turnstiles and then passing through. Jack pulled two pesos out of his backpack and gave one to Annie. Copying everyone else, they passed through the turnstiles onto the metro platform. "That wasn't so hard," said Annie. Another huge crowd was waiting on the sweltering platform for the next train. Jack pulled out their directions again. "Red Line to Pino Suaréz!" he shouted to Annie above the noise. "Then the Blue Line to Taxquena! Then we get off at the last stop and get a tram to Aztec Stadium!" "Easy!" yelled Annie. Really? thought Jack. A train was rolling in. "Red Line?" Annie shouted to a woman. As the woman nodded, the metro train came to a stop. The doors opened. As passengers spilled

off the train, people on the platform surged forward. Jack grabbed Annie's hand and they moved with the crowd. But before they could even get close to the train, a bell rang and the doors slammed shut. The people left on the platform jumped back as the train pulled away. "We'll get the next one!" Jack shouted. Soon another train rolled in. Jack grabbed Annie's hand again, and they surged forward with the crowd. They were pushed and shoved as they tried to get through the doorway. Finally they were inside! "Safe!" said Jack, collapsing onto a seat with Annie. But they were nearly squashed as more passengers piled into the metro. More and more kept cramming in, until people were practically sitting on Jack's and Annie's laps. The bell rang. The doors closed. The train pulled away from the station. As it rumbled through the dark tunnel, the air in the car was suffocating. Jack could feel sweat trickling down his face and the back of his neck. "What's our stop?" Annie yelled to Jack.

Jack reached into his back pocket. The paper with the directions wasn't there. He wrestled his backpack off his back and looked inside. The sheet of paper wasn't there, either. "Do you have our directions?" he shouted at Annie. "No! You had them!" said Annie. "I must have dropped them!" said Jack, panicked. "Don't worry," said Annie. "Excuse me!" she yelled up at a woman standing over them. "How do we get to the Aztec station?"