Going Up

“Going Up”

I’d pressed the red emergency alarm button twice before I read the label and realized the signal went directly to the elevator company and not the fire department. The only light in the darkened cab was from a small emergency light in the middle of the ceiling. The panel of call lights said we’d gotten stuck on the ninth floor, three floors and fifteen minutes short of my appointment. It was my final interview with Bates Capital for what I considered to be my dream job. It would be my last chance to convince them that I would be a better choice than the other candidate.

“Damn,” I muttered. I pressed the alarm again and started pounding on the doors.

I heard a voice from a fellow passenger, “Don’t bother, nobody’s gonna hear you.”

I turned and asked the man, “Why not?”

The man, short and chubby and holding a large white bag of carry-out food, answered, “We’re stuck on the ninth floor. It’s being totally renovated. No tenants, nobody to hear you.”

The only other passenger, a tall, well dressed woman, was standing in a back corner busily tapping her cellphone. “Can you get a signal in here?” I asked her. She ignored me and kept tapping her screen. She looked very frightened.

Chubby looked at her and said. “I work up on eleven. I’ll tell you, try all you want but you won’t get any kind of signal in here. People drop their calls every day. I gave up even trying.”

The woman threw him an icy glance, said nothing and went back to struggling to get a connection.

We’d only been stopped for a few minutes and it was already getting warm and stuffy. The smells from Chubby’s bag of fast food had wafted over to me and they only reminded me of my own hunger. I took out my phone and scrolled to a local news app to see if I could find any information on what might be going on. If there was a wide scale power blackout it would be a big story. If not, we were just trapped in a dead elevator.

Chubby looked at me and again shared the news. “No Wi-Fi either.” He stepped into the opposite back corner and said, “This is probably gonna take a while.” He slipped his backpack off and laid it on the floor, then sat down beside it and opened his food bag.

The side walls of the elevator were mirrored panels intended to make the cab look bigger and less claustrophobic. They didn’t seem to work for Ice Maiden, whose frightened expression had slowly grown to wide-eyed panic. To me, the mirrors just said, “Hey, man, in case you forgot, you’re stuck in an elevator.” If Chubby was feeling anything at all it didn’t show as he sat on the floor, smiling and gnawing on a French fry. With the ventilation fan not working the elevator smelled like the kitchen at Burger King.

I’d never felt so helpless. I wasn’t afraid, because a lot of people had been trapped in elevators and, as far as I recalled, they’d always been okay in the end. It was the being stuck and not knowing who, if anyone, knew about us that bothered me most. Did the alarm signal go through and did anyone see it? If it was a power outage how much of the city had been affected? How many other people were in other elevators wondering the same thing? And most of all, it was the total inability to use my phone, my little electronic umbilical to the world, that elevated my stress level. Knowing that it might be hours before help arrived I wondered if I should sit down like Chubby had. I looked at him and saw he was still smiling.

I took off my sport coat and as I sat down under the control panel I said to him, “You don’t look like you’re too bothered by all of this.”

It took him a minute to swallow a bite of his cheeseburger and then he answered, “No worries, everything’s cool. It just means a longer lunch hour for me.”

I envied his ability to make the best of a bad situation. “Well, since it looks like we could be here awhile , I’m Owen.”

“Arthur, call me Artie.”

Ice Maiden was still standing and still looking panicked. . “And you are?” I asked.

She let out a deep breath and continued staring at her phone. “I’m Cynthia, not Cindy and I’m freaking out here.”

It was hard to know how to encourage or comfort her when I had no idea what to expect myself, so I just said, “Don’t worry, they’ll get us moving again soon.” I could tell from her face that it wasn’t just fear of being late for something that was on her mind. She was genuinely frightened. She kept looking at the ceiling and at the mirrored walls. She was clutching her phone so tightly her hand was turning white. “You might feel more relaxed if you sat down.”

Artie had finished his cheeseburger. He looked up at her, smiling. “Yeah, try it. The carpet feels okay if you sit just right.”

She hesitated a moment, took a deep breath and half sat, half collapsed to the floor. The overhead light blinked off for a moment then came back on and it startled her. She leaned against the side wall and closed her eyes. I’d guessed that it was her way of escaping the tight space she was confined to. I watched her for a moment until Artie interrupted. “Hey, you guys, I bought extra fries if you want some. I also have onion rings.”

Without opening her eyes Cynthia just shook her head no, and I replied, “No thanks, they’re all yours.” He returned to his lunch and I watched him sucking on the straw of the largest cup of Pepsi I’d ever seen. All I could think was, would I be drinking a whole lot of liquid when there was no way I could find a toilet? I was tempted to warn him but thought it might be embarrassing to Cynthia so I held back. When I looked at my phone I saw that I was already five minutes late for my appointment. If the power outage wasn’t just to the elevator, the Bates office would also be shut down and my absence wouldn’t even be noticed in the chaos. But since I’d been told that the interview date couldn’t be changed missing the appointment wasn’t an option. I reached out and punched the doors. I wanted to swear at the top of my lungs but Cynthia’s presence kept it to a simple “Dammit!”

She was still slumped in the corner, eyes closed and her face frozen in a look of pain. I looked over at Artie while he packed the empty wrappers and cup back into the bag. It seemed that we were all ready to just settle in and wait it out. Even knowing it probably wouldn’t go through I texted the Bates office to tell them what was going on. A few seconds later a COULD NOT SEND MESSAGE popped up on the screen. It looked like it would be a long, quiet afternoon. One of my fellow passengers ended that idea.

“Hey, man, can I ask you a question?” Artie had pulled a small, flat booklet from his backpack and was thumbing through it. He held it up and pointed to the first page. “I’m shopping for a new tattoo for my right arm but I can’t make up my mind. What do you think of this one?” He leaned toward me and I took the book from his hand. “This is the one I like the best. What do you think?”

The overhead light blinked off again and this time it stayed off for about ten seconds before it came back on. In the dim light I looked at the tattoo design; a green snake with fangs out and wrapped around a clenched fist drawn in black. Since I wasn’t a tattoo kind of guy myself I thought the damned thing just looked ridiculous. I looked at Artie then back at the tattoo. “Look, Artie, I really don’t know you so I can’t say which one you should go with. That’s really a personal decision.”

He looked disappointed. He turned to Cynthia who had opened her eyes when she heard the conversation. “How about you, Cynthia, do you like this one?”

Without changing her frightened expression or moving a muscle she answered, “I don’t like tattoos.” It was pretty clear that she wasn’t going to be part of any further elevator conversations that involved body ink and I hoped I wouldn’t be either. Artie didn’t say anything more. He tucked the booklet back into his bag and leaned back against the cab wall, staring at the ceiling light.

The air in the elevator was still stuffy and seemed warmer than before. The aromas of Artie’s greasy lunch had dissipated only slightly. I looked over at Cynthia and she was looking back. “Why did I ever get on this thing?” she moaned. I noticed she was trembling.

It was hard to know if she meant this particular elevator ride or elevators in general. Either way it was clear the longer we waited in the semidarkness the more panicked she was becoming. I felt like I should offer some kind of reply so I simply said, “I’m sure someone knows we’re stuck and they’re going to be here soon.” I had no reason to believe my own words.

“Why do they have to be on the top floor?” she asked no one in particular, her eyes closed again.

I couldn’t tell for sure if she was finally opening up so I proceeded cautiously. “I know what you mean. It’s like no matter who you’re meeting with they’re never on the first floor.” My comment was meant to lighten the mood but it didn’t seem to have any impact on her. She just shook her head and leaned back against the wall.

“Are you going to be okay?” I asked.

There were tears in her eyes. “I don’t know, I guess so. I just feel like everything is closing in on me.” Once again she closed her eyes.

I heard Artie rustling around and turned to see he’d laid his backpack in the corner and was lying down to use it as a pillow. His total lack of concern with our situation was astonishing. He looked at Cynthia then me and said, “Man, this is sweet. It’s like a free afternoon vacation.”

My own attitude was very different. The day was nothing like a vacation or anything close to it. A day of excitement and hope for my personal future had turned into a disaster. When I looked at my phone I saw that I was already an hour late for my interview. If the power had gone out in the entire building I’d probably be given a second chance. If it was just a dead elevator I couldn’t be sure of getting another shot at it. I stood up and stretched. I was tempted to hit the emergency alarm button again but held back, knowing the sound of the bell would only make Cynthia even more panicky.

I’d noticed that Artie seemed to be squirming and when he looked up at me I asked, “Are you okay?”

For the first time since our adventure had begun he wasn’t smiling and I knew that my earlier hunch was right. The extra-large Pepsi had done its work on Artie’s bladder. He gave me a sheepish look and then glanced over at Cynthia. He stood up slowly and fished his empty cup from the white bag. I could read his mind and as gross as the situation was I knew I’d be able to deal with it. Cynthia was another matter. She was still slouched in the corner, eyes closed and seemingly lost in thought.

Artie had yet to say a word about his predicament but his embarrassment was already obvious. “Um…guys, I have a problem here. I’m really sorry but I…I have to…relieve myself.”

His words pulled Cynthia out of her funk. When she saw him standing there, looking nervous and holding the big cup in his hand she blurted, “Oh my God, that’s gross” and turned away.

Her comment wasn’t enough to deter a man carrying thirty-two ounces of liquid inside him. Artie turned his back to the cab and went about the task at hand. I pretended to be interested in the control panel while he finished up. He carefully snapped the plastic cover back on to the cup and set it in the corner on the other side of the doors. Just knowing it was there made my desire to get out even more urgent. He sat back down on the floor and mumbled, “Sorry about that, guys.” He began flipping through the tattoo booklet and didn’t say anything more.

Another hour went by. Artie was back to lying on the floor and seemed to be asleep. Cynthia hadn’t moved or talked since Artie had shared his bathroom problem. The Pepsi cup with Artie’s refill still sat in the corner. I was having my own flirtation with sleep, staying right on the edge but never being able to go completely under. The meaning of the word boredom had reached a new level. I was rummaging through my sport coat pocket for my phone when the overhead lights came back on. There was a thumping sound and the cab shook slightly then I could feel that we were in motion. I stood up and looked at the control panel. We were moving again, back down to the lobby.

I looked at Cynthia. The surprise on her face gave way to a slight smile. She stood up and tried to straighten her hair and smooth the wrinkles in her skirt. Artie was still asleep. I took a few steps toward him and gently nudged him with my foot until his eyes opened. “We’re moving again,” I said. “Better get your stuff together.”

When the elevator finally touched down and the doors opened to the lobby, the wash of fresh air into the cab was like a gift. A man in an EMT uniform appeared in the doorway. “Is everyone okay here?” he asked, glancing a moment at each of us.

“Yeah, I think we’re all fine, just a little scared and pissed off is all.”

“I totally understand,” he answered. I stepped back so he could help Cynthia make her exit. She still looked shaken but relieved.

Artie gathered up his backpack and started to walk to the door. I stopped him, nodded toward his paper cup and said, “You should probably take that with you.” The embarrassment on his face was priceless.

I picked up my sport coat and stepped out into the lobby. A fairly large crowd of people had gathered to gawk at the rescue scene. I overheard two women talking and from their conversation I found out that there had been no power outage in the building, only to the elevator. I was hoping that word of my adventure had made it to the twelfth floor so Bates Capital would guess the reason I’d been a no-show. I saw Artie walking into the men’s room and Cynthia talking on her phone. I stood near her until she finished. It seemed like one of those situations that demanded some type of goodbye. When she put her phone back into her purse I said, “Well, that was an afternoon to remember.”

She smiled, looking totally back to normal. “Yeah, but to be honest, I’d rather forget it.”

“I know what you mean. It was bad enough being trapped like that but I got even more stressed because I had a job interview to get to.”

“Up on twelve?” she asked.

“Yeah, with Bates Capital. I’m in line to be a Senior Broker with them if I can get another appointment. How about you? You said in the elevator you were heading to twelve too.”

She paused, looking a little uncomfortable. “Yes, I was going to Bates too. I’m in line for the Senior Broker position.”