Maybe a week ago I was at my desk and realized I was really hungry and it was fast approaching closing time at the work cafeteria. I had totally lost track of time somehow and I knew if I didn't bust a move right now, I was going to have to starve. I grabbed my wallet and off I went. At my work, it's a decent walk to the cafeteria. Even walking briskly can take a good 7 plus minutes to get there, so knowing the cafeteria was closing soon I was going as fast as my little legs could take me. As I approached the elevator, I remembered that yesterday it had an "Out of Order" sign on it. Since elevators scare me so, I opted to skip that one and move on to the next. I couldn't take the chance of it not being totally fixed. I shiver at the mere thought, so I press on.
I approach the second elevator and my timing was impeccable. It just happened to be open and waiting for me. There was no one else waiting or in there. Just the way I like it. No breathing other peoples' air. As my tummy rumbles, I press the button to bring me down 2 floors. The door closes and off I go.
Now before I am chastised for taking the elevator down 2 measly floors, I will admit that in spite of my believing I've been blessed with perpetual youth (shut up), I do have a bad knee. It's often painful, especially going down the steps so I try to avoid that. The pain is secondary though to the creaking and grinding sounds it makes as I descend. It's truly nauseating. Until it gets better, I use the elevator to go down but I do use the steps to go up.
Back to the elevator....I've felt the drop feeling of the car going down the two floors. I've felt the slowing as it approached my floor. I didn't quite feel the "stop" feeling at the bottom so I wait. Two hours later (8 seconds later) the door is still not open. I suddenly feel hot all over. "Don't freak out, it will open any second now" I repeat to myself over and over. Deep cleansing breaths are doing little more than adding to my dizziness. I think I'm stuck. Those doors aren't opening.
Inside I'm completely flipping the eff out, but since there are cameras inside these elevators I appear completely calm and collected. Heaven forbid the security guys catch a glimpse of me with a worried expression on my face while I'm trapped, yet I have no issue adjusting "the girls" on a daily basis in there. I finally accept the fact that I am definitely stuck now. No two ways about it. I opened the compartment and picked up the courtesy phone (also know as the "get me the f#*k out of here!" phone). Immediately, I heard a voice on the other end asking if I was OK. I said yes and he said they would have someone there momentarily. He remained on the line with me as they arrived. They were literally there within seconds. The nice man on the phone said calmly, OK they have a key they're going to open the doors for you now. I did actually feel comforted for the moment while I heard the men outside the elevator and the reassuring voice on the phone. He again asked if I was OK and lying through my teeth I said yes. He let me go when I told him the guys were there.
As I hung up I could hear the keys jingling. I figured I would be out of here in a moments time. I then heard a voice yelling "hello?" from above me. This was followed by the voices of the men outside the door saying "who was that?? who is up there?". Their confusion was a major setback in my portrayal of the calm trapped passenger. I was starting to really get scared now. How do they not know who that was and why was someone above me?? Surely by this point 3 or 4 seconds have passed and I've noticed that in spite of hearing the keys supposedly unlocking the doors, the doors remain closed. I hear and see the doors banging around as they fight to get them open. OBVIOUSLY these keys are not working!!! I'm starting to hyperventilate. The room is closing in on me! Oh God here come the chest pains, now I'm having a heart attack! They struggled with that door for what felt like DAYS. I was almost about to get back on the courtesy phone and tell them I was about to die. At the time, it seemed logical to me that if I had an emergency, they would somehow be able to open the doors faster. All kinds of scenarios were playing out in my mind; I wondered if I would be in here for hours? I wondered if anyone was trapped so long that they eventually just died waiting. I wondered why I couldn't have gotten stuck after I got my food so I would have some form of sustenance in the event the rescue takes an extended amount of time to free me!
Just as I was about to accept that I would be living out my final moments in this box, the doors were finally pried open. My rescuer poked his head in as he pressed the doors apart with all his might. He had to have been seven feet tall. He asked if I was OK and I smiled politely and said "yes". He then thanked me for some reason as I walked away in a daze. I replied with "no, thank YOU" but I didn't turn to look his way as I said it. I was thoroughly freaked out and I didn't want them to see it. In retrospect, I wish I had been a little more thankful, but in my defense, aside from being terrified I was also embarrassed. It was quite the scene. I did make it to the cafeteria on time somehow. I managed to get my food and pay all while shaking uncontrollably. It took hours to get over it. HOURS.
All I wanted was a tiny morsel of chicken from the salad bar and my life was almost compromised!! Is it really too much to ask that I just get a day where something absurd doesn't happen? All in all, it could have been worse and I am certainly thankful I was rescued so quickly. It could have happened to anyone, but of course it happened to me. I can't help but think this is payback for my little list of elevator rules I posted.
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