It was Wednesday, just before lunch. A little over 2 hours ago, Jake had gone through the same turn style at the Powell Muni station on his way to work. Now here he was again. His luck had run out, his boss’s patience had run out and even his transfer had run out.
He dropped his $1.50 in quarters into the slot on the gate. The 2 extra quarters left from the $1 bills he had changed were in his hand. As he slipped them into his pocket one of the quarters missed. It clattered to the ground as he walked away from the ticket booth. He turned and bent to pick it up. As he straightened up, he saw the sign in the ticket booth window.
It struck him as odd that there would be a Help Wanted poster on the ticket booth. Muni was run by the city. Government jobs weren’t advertised with Help Wanted signs.
Jake walked back to the booth. There was a phone number at the bottom. He pulled the sign down and headed for the platform where he knew there were pay phones.
He dialed the number and heard a phone ring beside him.