We both froze.
The woman pressed the open-door button.
Nothing happened.
I pressed the alarm button.
More beeping.
For a moment, neither of us spoke. We just stood there, staring at the closed doors like they might apologize and open if we looked desperate enough.
"Okay," she said slowly. "That's not ideal."
"No," I replied. "Not exactly."
She hit the open-door button again, harder this time.
Still nothing.
I looked at the lunchbox in my hand and almost laughed. Of all the things to be trapped with, I had brought chicken.
Neither of us was exactly panicking, but being trapped in a metal box between floors with a stranger was not my idea of a peaceful afternoon. The air felt thinner almost immediately, even though I knew that was probably my brain being dramatic.
The woman pressed a button with a phone symbol, and after a burst of static, a man's voice came through.
