“Sorry, Miss.”
The man paused as he looked me over from head to toe. “I don’t think I’ve seen
you around before.”
I smiled again.
“I’m new.” I tugged at the end of my braid, curling the end around my index
finger. “I forgot a file I need to work from home.”
“Just started
and already putting in overtime.” The guard chuckled as he leaned in close to
me, reaching around me to press the elevator button. His face was inches from
mine.
I laughed. “You
know how it is, start a new job and you have to work twice as hard as everyone
else until you’re no longer on the bottom rung.” I carefully stepped around the
man, giving him a little curtsy that I hoped looked cute, then strode toward
the double doors of Homian’s offices. “Have a good night.”
“You too,” the
guard said as the elevator doors swung open. “What was your name again?”
I pivoted,
almost loosing balance on my high heels. My cheeks flared hot, but hopefully
the man couldn’t see from his place across the room. “Serena Banks.” I flashed
my biggest smile yet as I delivered the name of my first year dorm roommate.
“Bailey
Cousins.” Mr. Cousins delivered a crisp salute in my direction then stepped
onto the elevator.
I released a
huge gush of air once the elevator readout showed its occupant was travelling
downward. One obstacle down, now I had to actually get into the offices. Was
the card of a girl who’d disappeared weeks ago really going to let me in? They
must have deactivated it, or put a flag on it to alert someone if it was used.
Turning to the doors once more I reached for the card reader fixed to the right
side of the entrance. I swiped the card. The light on the side of the readers
flashed yellow then beeped red. I peeked over my shoulder to see if the
elevator was still on its way down—it was. I swiped the card a second time,
slower, making sure the whole card passed through the reader. The flight
flickered yellow, and this time it glowed green.
Relief flooded
me as I grabbed the handle of the door, then accidentally flung it open so hard
it crashed into the wall behind it. My heart beat slowly slightly, at least so
it no longer felt like it was going to leap from my chest. I might be able to
do this after all.
I pulled the
slip of paper that held my instructions and passcodes out of my pocket. I was
to search the main administrative computer. When I looked up from the paper I
realized the enormous glass-topped desk in front of me bore a brass plate that
read “reception.” This must be it. I rounded the corner, plopped myself into
the ergonomically shaped chair, then giggled the mouse to wake up the computer.
The password screen popped up and I carefully typed in the twelve digit code I’d
been given. After another whirr from the hard drive, the user settings loaded—I
was in.
To be continued,...look for the next installment on Thursday, May 8th, 2014.
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