AIO for crying on a train?
I had a really upsetting experience on the train today, and I just need to get it off my chest.
I was travelling back from Edinburgh after a job interview. I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately with job hunting, interviews and personal stuff, so I was already mentally and physically exhausted.
When I first boarded the train, someone was already sitting in my reserved seat. The electronic display above the seat showed that it wasn’t reserved, even though my ticket clearly had that seat number on it.
I politely asked him if I could take my seat and showed him my ticket. He seemed a bit confused, which I completely understood given what the display said, but he kindly moved without any fuss.
Not long after I’d finally settled into my seat, another woman approached me and told me I needed to find somewhere else to sit because she and her companion had booked their seats together.
I explained that I was sitting in the exact seat shown on my ticket and suggested that there might have been a mistake, so they should double-check their tickets.
But she kept insisting that they had paid for their tickets and couldn’t be separated.
They also knew I was getting off at Newcastle while they were travelling to London, so apparently that meant I should be the one to move because I wasn’t travelling as far as they were.
I told her, “No, I paid for my ticket too.”
The man accompanying her was more polite, but he was essentially asking me to do the same thing.
I refused to move. I had a valid ticket, I was sitting in my assigned seat, and I couldn’t understand why I was expected to give it up just because they wanted to sit together.
Eventually, they walked away.
And then I started crying.
I felt so embarrassed because I was crying in public, surrounded by strangers. I tried to hold it together, but I just couldn’t stop the tears. I kept thinking how ridiculous it must have looked to everyone around me, crying over something as simple as a train seat.
I know it might sound dramatic to cry over a seat dispute, but honestly, I’ve been under so much pressure lately. I had travelled three hours for a job interview today, and all I wanted was to sit quietly and get home.
A little while later, the man came back and apologised. It turned out their tickets were actually for the NEXT train, not the one we were on.
So they had been insisting that I leave my reserved seat based on a reservation for a completely different service.
What frustrates me most is that I suggested they check their tickets right from the beginning, but instead they kept insisting that I should move.
I appreciated the man’s apology, but by that point I was already really upset.
I don’t understand why some people think their needs automatically take priority over someone else’s, especially when that person has paid for their ticket too.
I didn’t move from my seat at any point, and I’m glad I stood my ground.
Normally, something like this wouldn’t make me cry, but I think today was just the final straw after everything that’s been going on recently.
Still, I feel embarrassed about crying in public, especially over something that might seem so minor to other people.
Am I overreacting for getting this upset and crying on a train?