Roses have thorns

“Um, are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked nervously. I was not looking forward to this.

“Of course it is! All my ideas are good!” my boss Alan smirked knowingly.

“Well, yeah, but couldn’t this go wrong? I mean, it is kind of scary…” I said, my eyebrows crinkled with worry. 

“Oh, stop thinking about it so much! After, all, what’s the worst thing that can happen?” Alan asked.

Everything…

It was April 1st, and my company had a prank planned, yet it wasn’t clever. Our building was huge, and there are five elevators, and people use them a lot due to their laziness of not wanting to climb the stairs. Alan’s plan was simple, yet risky.

“We hack the elevator,” he said on March 28, four days before April 1st, “every time someone goes inside, and once they are halfway to their floor, the elevator stops. The lights flicker, kind of to give a creepy look. It creaks, but what they don’t know is everything is fine, and the elevator isn’t broken. We will install microphones and cameras to keep an eye on them, and Katrina and Bill here will monitor them,” motioning to me and Bill. “This will be the best prank of the year!” he whooped. He showed off his trademark grin. His enthusiasm was infectious. 

Soon, everyone was excited. Oops, sorry, let me rephrase that. Everyone was excited, everyone except me. 

Alan hired mechanics to work on the elevators, and everyone was given a break so that no one except our small group would see what was happening. The workers did something to the elevator to make it shake and creak, but nothing was wrong. 

By March 31, everything was ready. Alan looked like he was going to explode with excitement, yet my emotions were different. I was sure something would backfire, yet I couldn’t think of anything that could happen. Thinking back, my brain must have been broken that day. If I was smarter, I could have saved my life.

April 1st. Oh, man. Alan came in today with a huge smile on his face, darting glances at everyone. Only a group of ten people knew what was happening. There were more than 600 workers here, plus all the customers that come in and out. 

“Okay, I want you to come with me now,” Alan whispered to me as I walked in. 

I followed him across the entire building. We had to take the stairs, and my legs felt like soggy noodles. I noticed all the elevators had “Out of order” signs. I asked Alan what they were for, and he smirked.

“Oh, those are to prevent anyone from using the elevators before we are ready,” he said mysteriously, something different in his eyes. 

After what felt like an hour, Alan stopped at a corridor I have never seen. We walked in, and he opened a door. Bill was already there, and he glanced up. I looked around, shocked. There were five computers, all showing the vacant elevators. There were two chairs, and Bill was sitting in one. He had a melancholy expression on his face, yet Alan didn’t seem to notice. 

“Okay, you guys know what you have to do. Keep an eye on the screens! Bye!” he said, slamming the door behind him. 

I walked over to one of the chairs and found a pair of headphones on the seat. I picked them up and put them around my neck, assuming they were connected to the mics hidden in the elevators.

“This is so dumb. How can Alan be this stupid... so dangerous, someone might panic… god knows what’s gonna happen...” Bill muttered under his breath. 

Even though I didn’t say anything, I completely agreed with Bill. This is going to go horribly wrong…

Around 30 minutes later, an old woman and a young boy walked into one of the elevators. She was dressed in fancy clothes, while the boy was wearing worn clothes.

“Mommy, can we go to Wendy’s after this?” the boy asked. 

‘No Frankie,” the woman said snapped. 

Frankie looked torn. I felt so bad for him, not because he couldn’t get Wendy’s, but because he was so innocent and sweet, and he is going to get the scare of a lifetime. 

As if on cue, the lights in that elevator switched off. Frankie screamed, and I heard something heavy fall to the floor, a sickening snap that followed. It was the woman’s turn to scream.

“What happened?! Frankie, are you alright?!” she shrieked. 

The lights flickered on, and Frankie was lying on the floor, his eyes closed, his arm bent in a weird way. 

“FRANKIE!! SOMEONE, HELP!!!” the woman screamed, banging on the doors. 

My eyes widened. Before I could get up, Bill had already left the room. I jumped up and left the room. We both bolted to find Alan. He was in his office, and we burst in, gasping. 

“What? What’s wrong?” he asked in shock, jumping out of his seat.

“What’s wrong?! A kid just fainted and broke his arm in an elevator, because of your stupid prank!” Bill screamed. 

Alan’s eyes widened. 

“Which elevator?” he demanded. 

“The 3rd one,” I said weakly. 

Bill and Alan both ran out of the office, and I stayed, dread settling on top of me like snow on a tree. 

*************************

Three days later, Alan walked into the office, his eyes shattered. He didn’t laugh. He didn’t smile like he used to. He looked at us, his eyes watering. 

He told us the whole story. As soon as Frankie and his mom got out of the elevator, an ambulance came. Frankie was taken to a hospital, and they put his arm in a cast. He had a concussion when he fell down, and he needs stitches. As soon as the mom found out that this was a prank by Alan, she flipped. 

“A PRANK? A PRANK?! YOUR DUMB PRANK JUST LANDED MY BABY BOY IN THE HOSPITAL!! WHAT THE #$@& IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” she screamed at Alan. 

She called the police. The police didn’t arrest Alan, but the company did fire him.

“And that’s not it,” Alan said, tears running down his face.

“What can be worse?” I asked quietly. 

He looked at me, then all of us. His voice cracked as he spoke. 

“They… they sued us. All of you… you guys lost your jobs… because of me,” Alan said, sobbing. 

*************************

Ever since then, my life rapidly went downhill. I was fired from the company. I was considered to be a criminal. My friends abandoned me, and I struggled to find a good job. Nobody would hire me because of my background, and I had no job. I couldn’t afford my house anymore and had to move into a small apartment with two rooms. I was completely alone. I had no one, and my family didn’t call or write after I was fired. I couldn’t stay mad at Alan. He didn’t know the consequences of his prank, and he suffered more than me. 

I only survived by having small jobs. I worked at McDonalds, a maid, etc. That was my only source of income. My life was miserable. I was sick and tired of it, and maybe one day, I can get my life back...

ONE YEAR LATER

I was standing in front of a stern-looking building. It reminded me, painfully, of my old job. I took a deep breath and walked in. 

“Hi. Your interviewer will be coming in shortly. Please, take a seat,” one of the receptionists said.

“Thanks,” I said, walking to a red chair.

After ten minutes, a man walked in. He was wearing a crisp blue suit with a red tie. He had a neat haircut and a serious expression. This man looked familiar. When he looked at me, I felt like I was going to faint. It was Alan. 

He walked over to me. I stood up, looking at him with my mouth open.

“Good evening. I am Alan Grey. May I please know your name?” he said in a strict tone, nothing like the Alan I knew a year ago.

I then realized…

I looked him dead in the eye, a cold expression on my face. 

“Hi. My name is Katrina May.”