too close for comfort

i forgot to write this the other day but we were almost pickpocketed on the metro the other day! we got on the train and three girls in their mid-20's, normally dressed, like cornered us. it wasn't that busy on the train so their lack of personal space was a little fishy. one girl went in between me and my friend ariel. another girl pulled out this huge map and started asking us for directions, but she was just saying random places not close to each other so we were kind of confused. the girl next to me was holding a coat over her arm and i pulled my bag closer to me. i got nervous so i walked away and realized that my bag was open. i checked and thank god, nothing was missing. i yelled for ariel to get away from them and she did. her bag was open too and luckily we just escaped them and nothing was missing. the three girls then walked down the train looking at other women's purses and asking them for directions. too scary. i was really on edge for a while after that. they looked so normal, and you usually don't see women pick pocketing. thank goodness i survived that one and i'm a lot more conscious now when i'm out in public!