Ch4-Follow Me!

FOUR Follow Me! "Wait till we stop again!" Annie yelled at Jack. "But what if we just missed our stop?" said Jack. "What if that was Pino Suaréz?" "We're stopping again! We have to check that map!" said Annie.

As the train slowed for the next stop, Jack and Annie both got ready to jump out of their seats. But when the metro doors jerked open, hardly anyone got off. Instead, new travelers pushed their way into the crowded car. Jack and Annie hardly had room to breathe, much less stand up and check the map. "No way!" Jack shouted to Annie. "Can someone help us?" Annie called. "We need to get to the World Cup game! Where is the stop for Pino Suaréz?" Nobody seemed to hear her. "This is hopeless!" said Jack. Then he heard a small voice, shouting above the noise of the train. "Excuse me! Pardon me, please!" A Mexican boy squeezed through the crowd to get to Jack and Annie. "Did you say you are going to the World Cup game?" he shouted. "Yes!" said Annie. "Me too!" said the boy. "Can I help you?" "Yes!" said Jack, relieved. "We don't know where to get off!"

"The next stop! Pino Suaréz!" said the boy. "You can follow me!" As soon as the train stopped, Jack and Annie followed the boy, squeezing past people to get to the door. "Excuse me! Excuse me!" they said. Then all three of them popped off the hot, airless train. Half the people on the train got off with them. "Man, that was crazy," said Jack. He was covered in sweat. "Thank you!" Annie said to the boy. "It's not over yet," the boy said, smiling. He had a cheerful, open face. "We have to catch the Blue Line to Taxquefia." "Can we come with you?" asked Annie. "We lost our directions." "Of course!" said the boy. "This way! Pronto!" Jack and Annie followed the boy down a tunnel and around a corner to the Blue Line. Hordes of people were waiting for that metro line, too. "My father told me to go to the end of the platform," said the boy. "The last train cars are never as crowded."

As the train rolled into the station, Jack and Annie quickly followed the boy down the platform. They sped up when the doors opened. Just before the doors closed again, the three of them jumped into the last car of the train. The boy was right. The car wasn't crowded at all. They got good seats together. Jack felt hugely relieved. "Thanks for helping us," he said. "You're welcome," said the boy. "My name is Roberto." He held out his hand. Jack shook Roberto's hand. "I'm Jack," he said. "And I'm Annie," said Annie, shaking his hand, too. "Are you going to the game alone, Roberto?" "Yes. My parents gave me a ticket for my birthday present," said Roberto. "It's the best present I've ever gotten." "Is today your birthday?" asked Jack. Roberto nodded. "I turn ten years old today." "Happy birthday!" Jack and Annie said together. "I'm ten, too," said Annie. "Jack's eleven." "Why didn't your mom and dad come with you?" Jack said.

"They could only afford one ticket," said Roberto. "I have eight brothers and sisters. It will be my job to tell them everything I see. They will all be waiting at home for my stories about the great game." He smiled his big smile again. The train began to slow down. "We get off here," said Roberto, standing up. Jack and Annie followed Roberto off the metro, down an underground passageway, then out of the stifling station into the breezy, wet air. Jack felt a thousand times better. "Now we take tramline 53," said Roberto. "That's like a subway above ground, right?" said Jack.

"Yes. Come with me." Roberto led Jack and Annie across a walkway to the trolley tracks. Hundreds of people stood in lines, waiting to board the packed trams. As they joined one of the lines, Jack pulled out some pesos. "Everyone's going to the World Cup championship game," said Roberto. "People have come to Mexico from all over South America and Europe to see this game." "Did you hear that it would be the game of a lifetime?" asked Jack. "Absolutely," said Roberto. "Did you know Pelé was playing?" Annie asked. "Of course! Pelé the Great!" said Roberto. "He has made over a thousand goals. And his whole team is fantastic. They are called the Beautiful Team!" "That's cool," said Jack. "Three pesos," said the driver at the door of the tram. Roberto reached into his pocket, but Jack stopped him. "I got it," he said. Jack handed over three pesos.