“Please stand behind the yellow line,” a gentle voice at the speaker said. It was the sixth time I had heard this at Orchard MRT station. I cursed under my breath as I trembled under my heavy school bag, glancing at my watch form time to time.
I was slowly falling into slumber, and then the gentle voice from the public address system awakened me. “There has been an emergency and a suspected bomb threat. All commuters evacuate the vicinity now! Avoid using the lift if there is a fire!” Suddenly, a loud siren shattered my slumber into pieces. Paranoid commuters trampled up stairs like a herd of wild beasts. Some was trying to squeeze themselves into the sardine-pack elevators. Upon seeing this, I began to panic. I scrambled up the stairs, envisioning the scenario of the bomb explosion.
I jostled through the mass of people running for their lives. Nobody wanted to be trapped in the MRT station, and neither did I. What wrong had I done to be stuck in a crowd with bad breath, a body odor smelling like rancid milk and droplets of perspiration flying in my direction. At the end, I got out to safety with the guide of the guards on duty.
There was no way to get onto another MRT home, I headed to the nearest bus stop to take a bus home. I walked by an electrical shop where television sets were turned on to attract customers. I caught a glimpse of the news saying that the bomb scare was just a hoax to prepare the nation for emergencies.
At this moment, there was only one word to describe how I felt. Anger! “Sigh! Just my luck!” I thought as I boarded the bus home.
Rushing into my flat, I had a quick shower and sat on my chair. I finally understood that be prepared for emergencies is very important to our nation although it was not a pleasant experience.

(329 word) Liu Shuen Qi