Trains.mp3

I was sitting on the tube one day, heading across the city. A girl sat down opposite me. She had headphones on, big old black Sony ones. She cradled her iPod in the palm of her hand. I wondered what she was listening to. She seemed lost in it, whatever it was.

The train stopped and some people got on. A guy sat next to the girl. He had headphones in too; the black wires were knotted a little. He nodded his head slightly to the beat.

A few seconds passed. Then something strange happened. He unplugged his headphones from his mp3 player. Then he reached across and unplugged the girl's headphones, too. Before she could react, he swapped them round; the cables crossed over, his headphones plugged into her iPod, hers into his.

The girl turned as if to say something, her mouth open a little. He was smiling. She smiled, too, slowly. Perhaps she liked his music enough not to complain. He seemed to like hers. He tapped his foot on the floor, out of synch with the ragged rhythm of the train as it hurtled through tunnels, swaying from side to side. They said nothing. She closed her eyes again, still smiling.

A few stops later, he unplugged her headphones and took his back again. They nodded at each other as he stood up. When the train doors opened, he left without a word.

I looked back at the girl. She hadn't plugged her headphones back in. But she was still nodding to the beat of the stranger's music, and smiling.