One of my colleagues, who is actually a good friend, was in the lift as well – she had her youngest boy Ralph with her who went into a case of the sulks because she didn’t have any milk for him to drink. I had a bottle of water and some chocolates, large figs, and crisps he could indulge in, but he wasn’t interested – he longed for a glass of milk. I could’ve sent some texts asking for help or loaded a film for us to watch onto my phone but there was no phone signal or internet. Anyway I hadn’t plugged in my phone for a while so the battery wasn’t charged. What else was there to do but wait? I said to my friend “at least a wasp isn’t stuck in the lift with us” and she laughed. On another positive note, I missed a boring meeting that I’d planned to attend.
The technicians rushed to the site to solve the problem but it took them ages to fix it – I think because the mechanisms are so old. By the time they reached us, six hours had passed. At that moment we felt a bump and heard some odd sounds – and then triumph – it was fixed and we were saved! We breathed a sigh of relief, gave our thanks to the workmen and hugged them. Finally, we could breathe some fresh air into our lungs and get some lunch – or perhaps dinner by this time as it was nearly dusk and pretty dark. My friend went to get some kebabs, and I went towards the nearest pizza place. We hadn’t eaten much since we entered the lift, which wasn’t good for our health. Afterwards we decided to head back to our respective homes in a cab. I wanted to change my clothes and take out my contact lenses. My friend always laughs about it in retrospect – she’s in stitches when she thinks about it. Her son has recently worked out the probability of getting stuck in a lift again in his maths class with his teacher Mrs Sharp. Luckily it’s not very likely! Last week the representatives of the lift company called me and explained the details and reasons why it malfunctioned. At least they apologised. Unfortunately, the experience has become absorbed into my mind and I dreamed about it again last night. I think I’m always going to take the stairs from now on!
