Another grey British morning

"So, how do we time this?"

"Perfectly."

A freezing, bitter wind blew down the tube station, echoing down the tracks on another grey British morning; the only sound, like whispering voices from another world. Three friends, students of a wealthy school in North London, sat on a cold, metal bench. Despite the particularly chilling morning, each sat in nothing but their school uniform; a grey blazer, white shirt and black trousers, with the exception of the girl, sat between her two male friends, who wore a black skirt, just above her knees. All three sat at the platform with bare feet, their shoes and socks placed neatly to the left of the bench they sat on.

They sat in silence, along with the rest of the people at the station. Business men and women stood individually along the platform; expensive coats and jackets covering up their business suits, immaculately smart for another business day. None had noticed the three friends sat barefoot, with no baggage and no eye contact.

The announcement for the next arrival on the platform told the friends the next train was just 2minutes away. Placing their bare feet on the frozen hard ground, all three stood up and walked towards the edge of the platform. Side by side, they didn't stop until their toes hung over the edge of the platform. They were well past the yellow safety line on the platform, but no one said a word to them. The business men and business women said nothing to the three students with their toes hanging over the edge of the platform.

Whispers of the wind became louder, more violent as the train began to approach. The three friends looked over their shoulders in a final attempt to make eye contact with the strangers all around them. Their eyes fell on dumb expressions as those who were able to look the students in the eyes remained silent. Those whose eyes didn't dart away to their watches and suitcases or pretended not to notice, were eyes of confusion. Not a single, individual mouth spoke.

The three friends turned back to the wall facing them and with their right hands, made the sign of the cross against their bodies before tightly joining hands.

The train's headlights searched the tunnel and the tracks ahead, but did not see the bodies of three students leap out in front of it, hands still clenched tightly together. The train came to a halt, as did the silence on the platform. Business women fell to their knees screaming, while business men ran towards the limp, lifeless, broken bodies of three students, three friends, from a wealthy school in North London.

As the train screeched to a halt, the whispering wind blew innocently down the tunnel where the friends had been thrown. The air was still.