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“How did Bai Rong get an office in a building like this, anyway?” Qiao Ling complained as she followed Xu Shanshan to the elevator on the ground floor. “It feels like it’s about to fall down around us.”
“I bet the rent’s cheap,” her friend replied, pushing the call button for the elevator. “What floor did the front desk say she’s on again?”
“Eighth. We should probably take the stairs; this thing looks ancient.”
“Up eight flights of stairs? No, thank you,” Xu Shanshan said. “I don’t feel like meeting Bai Rong with sweat rings in my armpits.”
Qiao Ling laughed, nudging Xu Shanshan with her elbow as the elevator finally arrived. “You know she wouldn’t say anything.”
“Yeah, but she’d see them, and that’s bad enough.”
Bai Rong was an old school friend, though she hadn’t been in their inner circle with Dong Yi, Cheng Xiaoshi, and Lu Guang. Bai Rong was freelance journalist now, and had finally made enough money to afford her own office...but she hadn’t mentioned it was on the eighth floor of an almost dilapidated office building when she’d invited Qiao Ling and Xu Shanshan over to catch up.
The elevator was ancient, though it was classy in its own way. All old wooden paneling and faded brass fixtures, including the hand rail that had been worn smooth by thousands of hands over the years. Qiao Ling leaned back against the wall to stare up at the number wheel above the door as the elevator lurched and slowly began to ascend.
The G for the ground floor slowly crept past to be replaced by the number 1. The elevator shuddered as it passed the first floor. Then the second. The number 2 rolled by, followed by the number 3, and then….
It stopped.
Qiao Ling shared a glance with Xu Shanshan, then stared up at the number again. There was still the curve of the 2 at the bottom, meaning they were caught partway between the second and third floors.
“So...do we need to jump or something?” Xu Shanshans suggested.
Qiao Ling grabbed her arm. “Don’t even think about it. Let’s just give it a minute.”
They gave it a minute. Then two. Xu Shanshan managed to pry open the emergency panel. “Well, we could call for help, except for one little problem,” she said, holding up the phone receiver. The wire dangled down only a few short inches, frayed on one end where it had been cut.
“Who cuts the emergency phone in an elevator and just leaves it there?” Qiao Ling wondered.
“Someone with too much time on their hands,” Xu Shanshan replied, shoving the phone back in place and cramming the panel shut. “How about your cell?”
Qiao Ling had already pulled it out to check. “No signal,” she said, holding it up and pacing gingerly around the small space. “If they had WiFi in here, we could get out an email.”
Xu Shanshan moved to the elevator doors. “Give me a hand with this.”
“What are you doing?”
She glanced over her shoulder, wedging the tips of her fingers into the crack between the doors. “Maybe we can pry the doors open and climb out—up to the third floor or down to the second.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“What, you wanna be trapped in here?”
“Of course not.”
“Then help me!” Xu Shanshan braced her feet and pushed with both hands, trying to open the doors. “Come on, Qiao Ling, take one side.”
Qiao Ling shook her head. “We need to just wait for help. Someone will notice the elevator’s stuck.”
“Yeah? Will they notice before we run out of air and suffocate?”
She raised her eyebrows. “That won’t happen.”
Xu Shanshan finally released her hold on the doors and whirled around. “And how do you know? Have you ever been trapped in an elevator before?”
“No, but they don’t make them airtight. There’s plenty of ventilation.”
He friend paced the short distance across the elevator, then turned and paced back. “I don’t see how you can be so calm about this. Nobody’s even noticed it’s stuck yet. We could be here for hours.”
Qiao Ling leaned back against one of the elevator walls. “Are you...claustrophobic?”
“No,” Xu Shanshan protested. “I just don’t like tight places. That’s all. They make me nervous.” She paced back and forth again, arms wrapped tight around herself.
“We’re gonna get out of here.”
“I know!” Xu Shanshan snapped. She paused, cleared her throat, and tried to answer again in a quieter voice. “I know. I just want to know when.”
Qiao Ling tipped her head back to stare at the ceiling, and Xu Shanshan followed her line of sight. “Do you think there’s an emergency hatch up there?”
“We don’t need an emergency hatch.”
“Come on, give me a boost. I just want to see.” Xu Shanshan already had a hand on Qiao Ling’s shoulder, craning her neck back to stare at the ceiling panels. “Which one of these do you think opens?”
“I’m not giving you a boost,” Qiao Ling replied, shoving Xu Shanshan’s hand away. “We’re not looking for an emergency panel, or prying the door open, or anything else. We just need to wait calmly. It’s still the middle of the day; someone will notice that the elevator broke down.”
Xu Shanshan paced away from her, hands wrapped tightly around herself again. “How can you be sure?” she finally asked. “What if we’re stuck here all night? Or all weekend? We could be trapped, and no one even knows where we were going.”
“Bai Rong knew we were coming,” Qiao Ling replied, keeping her voice calm and gentle. “And Cheng Xiaoshi knows—more importantly, Lu Guang knows. He’d figure out what happened if we didn’t come home. Cheng Xiaoshi would just panic, like you. He’d be on the other side of the doors, trying to pry them open.”
“I am not panicking.”
Qiao Ling raised her eyebrows, staring at Xu Shanshan’s agitated pacing. “Come on. Let’s sit down.” She held out a hand, catching Xu Shanshan.
“I don’t want to sit down,” Xu Shanshan protested, but Qiao Ling was already lowering herself down. She tugged on Xu Shanshan’s hand until the other woman was sitting next to her, and put an arm around her shoulders to pull her close.
“We’ll be fine,” Qiao Ling said soothingly. “Just close your eyes. Forget about this stupid elevator. Hey, remember that time you talked me into riding the Ferris wheel with you, and I got so scared at the top I almost threw up?”
Xu Shanshan nodded against her shoulder.
“What did you tell me then?”
“You weren’t gonna fall,” her friend mumbled. “I’d protect you.”
“And we won’t fall now,” Qiao Ling replied. “I won’t let anything happen to you, all right? We won’t fall, or run out of oxygen, or be trapped here for days. Someone is already on the way to help us.”
“How are you so calm about this?”
Qiao Ling giggled. “After growing up with Cheng Xiaoshi? Nothing scares me anymore.”
“The Ferris wheel did.”
She waved one hand dismissively. “Okay. Nothing but extreme heights in a tiny glass box scares me. Hey, why weren’t you scared in the Ferris wheel?”
“Because you were. I had to take care of you.”
A fond smile crept onto Qiao Ling’s face. That was Xu Shanshan. Always brave for everyone else. “Well, I’m not scared now, so it’s my turn to take care of you. Feel any better?”
Xu Shanshan shrugged. “Qiao Ling?”
“We’re not gonna die,” she said, hugging her friend a little closer. Xu Shanshan nodded, the sharp angle of her shoulders slowly relaxing. “We’ll be just fine.”
She wasn’t sure how long they sat there, but Qiao Ling gave a big sigh of relief when the elevator finally jerked into motion again, slowly creaking back down to the ground floor. Qiao Ling stood up, pulling Xu Shanshan to her feet, ready to greet the maintenance worker with a smile when he finally got the doors open.
“So,” she began, once Xu Shanshan had stumbled out of the elevator and taken a few deep breaths of fresh air. “Ready to take the stairs now?”
Xu Shanshan groaned, covering her face with both hands. “Maybe Bai Rong can just meet us in the lobby?”