“Please tell me you have a signal.”
He looks at his phone. “Nope. Sorry.” He examines the control panel, then hits a button. There’s a short dial tone, and then I recognize the voice of the security guard who sits in the lobby. At least they fixed the ‘help’ button since the last time I was trapped here.
“Hey Joel,” he says. “We’re trapped in the elevator.”
“Is that Naomi in there with you?” Joel’s voice sounds gravelly through the speaker. “Seems like she has bad luck with that elevator.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“I’ll call for help,” Joel says. “Hang tight.”
The line disconnects, leaving just the two of us. The elevator seems even quieter now. I wish there was some music to break the silence.
I look up at the ceiling, wondering if I can reach the second floor if I move a ceiling tile and climb up on top of the elevator. I didn’t have this option last time because I wasn’t trapped in here with someone so tall. I’m sure I could climb up onto his shoulders and…
“It’s not going to work,” he says, interrupting my thoughts.
I frown at him. “What’s not going to work?”
He gestures with his coffee cup toward the ceiling. “You wouldn’t be able to get the doors open even if you could reach them.”
My mouth drops open. “Did I say that out loud?”
He laughs. “No. But I could practically see your plan forming just by looking at your face.”
“I’m sure I could get the doors open. I’m strong.”
“Maybe you could, but it’s still not safe. What happens if the elevator starts moving while you’re up there?”
I sigh. “I hadn’t really thought about that.”
“Let’s just hang tight and wait for help.”
I nod. I know that he’s right, but I still feel anxious. I don’t know why. It’s not like I need to be anywhere.
“At least we both have coffee,” he says.
“And each other,” I add. “Last time I was in here all by myself. I thought I was going to go crazy.”
“Are you going to be okay? You’re not going to start hyperventilating and screaming, are you?”
I pace the length of the small box we’re in. “I’ll be fine as long as they get us out of here soon.”
“I’m sure it’s a simple fix. All I did was hit a button.”
I can feel the panic creeping in. I take another deep breath to steady myself.
“What did you do last time you were trapped in here?”
I think about it for a moment. “I spent the first ten minutes trying to get a signal on my phone. Then I banged my fists against the door screaming for help until my throat hurt. After a while I gave up on ever getting out of here, and I was trying to decide which of my limbs I would need to eat to survive when the fire department finally pried the doors open.”
His brow is wrinkled with worry, but a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, like he’s not sure if it’s okay to laugh at my misery.
“It was a dark time,” I add. “I barely made it out alive.”
“That sounds rough,” he says, still fighting a smile. “I think you’ll be happy to know that I don’t think either of us will need to resort to cannibalism today.”
“It’s great that you think that, but I’m not ready to rule it out just yet.”
