The Wonderground

19 - Bouncy Land

"Good afternoon, madam," he tried again. "Six child tickets for Bouncy Land, please," he requested.

The woman dropped her romance novel upon hearing the word 'six' and stopped chewing. Her face froze and her mouth dropped open. A blob of half-eaten bread rolled out and splatted on the floor between her legs. She nervously leaned forwards until her forehead was pressed against the window. As she scrutinised them through the screen, her breath fogged the glass. She wiped it with her free hand leaving a sweaty streak between them. She looked flustered. A fleeting look of recognition crossed her face and then she scrambled below the lip of the ticket shelf, searching frantically. She reappeared moments later with a scrap of crumpled paper which she unwrinkled and looked at repeatedly between glances at each of them. With every stare, her drawn-on eyebrows lifted higher and higher towards her wig line, and she gasped a short squeaking intake of stale air. She squirmed on her stool as if unsure what to do next. She fumbled in a set of small drawers beneath the clock until she found a painted square sign that she hurriedly shoved across the opening to the booth. It said, 'CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE'. She returned to the drawers and pulled out a brass hand bell which she started to shake fervently.

"What's going on?" shouted Jack over the noise of the incessant clanging.

"Erm...," the woman stalled. "We are closed," she finally managed, unconvincingly, trying to avoid their gaze.

"Since when?" yelled Rose with a huff. "You've just let loads of people in."

"Erm...," stuttered the woman again. She reached into the drawers again and produced a second sign that she propped up next to the first. It said, 'Out to lunch'. She grabbed at a cord that was dangling behind her shoulder which she yanked at agitatedly. A series of blinds dropped and covered all four walls of the booth. "We are closed," hollered the woman from behind the curtains. "Due to a...due to a puncture!" She continued to ring the bell while the six of them stood there in stunned silence.

They turned sheepishly towards the queue behind them and followed Jack who was already shouldering his way between the protesting crowd back towards the exit.

A small, officious looking man arrived in a hurry in response to the bellringing. He was dressed in the same striped uniform as the booth operator and sported a watch cap with 'Supervisor' embroidered across the front. He tried unsuccessfully to squeeze himself inside the booth alongside the operator and had to settle for whispering conspiratorially with her through the ticket hatch. She pointed animatedly and shook the bell in the air before breaking down, sobbing and banging her head repeatedly against the glass. Her boss, having failed to console her, scuttled off as fast as his little legs could carry him.

The children trudged back to the platform unhappily, trying to work out the woman's reaction. What had been on the piece of paper? Why had she refused them entry? It was obvious she was lying about a puncture. They could still hear the bell ringing long after they could no longer see the booth. The platform was devoid of people. And trains. They slumped down together on the inflatable floor bobbing quietly as they waited for the next departure. This time they were less surprised to see the Shadow Kiss rolling to a standstill and Eeleye's familiar face grinning back at them from an open window.

"Have we met before?" he joked as they stepped on board. "Was Bouncy Land all that you hoped it would be?" he asked.

"Not great, on the hole," giggled Isla.

"Bit deflating, as a matter of fact," smiled Charlie, joining in the fun.

"How about a trip to Paradise to perk you up?" proposed Eeleye, stabbing at the ceiling map with his index finger. "Only two stops."

"Bliss," grinned Amelia, jumping on board first.

As the train pulled out of the station, the Bouncy Land ticket office supervisor appeared, accompanied by two giant men who were dressed like Gatekeepers. The tiny representative was bouncing eagerly on the platform and flapping his arms like a flightless bird. The two larger men were less experienced at negotiating the Bouncy Land terrain. They staggered and fell repeatedly, bowling over the frantic supervisor and landing in a twisting heap of writhing arms and legs.