Finding Humanity

The air in the office building was thick with the stale scent of lukewarm coffee and the quiet hum of fluorescent lights. Emily, hunched over her desk, nursed a half-empty mug, counting the seconds until her internship workday would finally end. Being at J&J Enterprises was a monotonous existence, yet it paid the bills, a stark contrast to her previous retail jobs.

“Hey Emily, can you make sixty copies of this for me? Thanks,” Richard, a fellow intern with an inflated sense of self, drawled as he tossed a document onto her already cluttered desk. Emily mumbled a curse under her breath, reaching for the paper, but in a clumsy moment, she misjudged her coffee mug's placement.

It tumbled, splashing a wave of lukewarm liquid across her lap, soaking her dress pants instantly. “Shit,” she hissed, watching the mug clatter to the carpet, adding insult to injury by splattering coffee on her heels. The day, it seemed, was determined to be a disaster.

Minutes later, clutching Richard's document, Emily stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the third floor. Three other busy-bee workers joined her. The doors slid shut, and the elevator began its descent. Then, with a sudden, violent jolt, it stopped.

A woman with pristine hair shrieked, her panic echoing in the confined space. “What happened?” a man named Paul asked, his voice strained. Another man, Nick, with a noticeable beer gut, glowered at the unresponsive buttons. “We’re stuck,” he grunted, confirming Emily’s sinking feeling. This was not going to be a quick fix. And it was going to get far, far worse.