In 5 years from now when I am talking about my very first college fair at my first real job, I wont be talking about the wonderful tablescape I made or the people I met. No, I will be talking about the time I crawled on the floor. Here's the story:
Being a very prompt person by nature, I was one of the first people at the fair. I got my table all set up, had a snack. Things were great. Five minutes before students were supposed to start coming and I decided I should use the bathroom. (This is going somewhere, I promise.) So I head over to the womens' bathroom in the lobby. I go in the door, which leads to an empty room with two doors - one with a solo bathroom and the other with a bunch of stalls. I opted for the single one, went in, and shut the door. (Sidenote, single bathrooms freak me out. I am always terrified someone will walk in so I always shut the door, lock it, open it, an
d lock it again. Yes, it's rather OCD like...I'm aware. But to make my phobia worse, two weeks ago some male military sergent walked in to the solo bathroom I was using. Fortunately, I was fully clothed and washing my hands. Guess I locked the door wrong!) Back to the story. I went to do my second lock of the bathroom and I realized the bathroom door had no handle to get out. The handle was broken off, the broken piece long gone. I was trapped in the bathroom. All that was left was a stub of greasy metal. I jiggled the remaining piece, stuck my finger in the hole, getting really greasy. Nothing moved. I knocked on the door, casually called out "Hello?" No response. Surely, someone else would come use the bathroom soon, right? After about 5 minutes I started to get worried. Finally, I started screaming at the top my lungs, "Help! Can anyone hear me! I'm suck! HELP!!!!" and pounding as hard as I could. My very best Resident Assistant door pound wasn't nearly
enough. By this point, the fair was starting and hoards of families we pouring into the lobby outside the bathroom. No one would hear me scream. Now, I'm sure it was in my head, but it was sure getting hot in there. I could feel the oxygen disappearing. My table was left unattended, the fair had begun, and I was trapped in a stupid bathroom. Ironically, an hour earlier I had noticed that the person running the fair had left us with her office phone number and cell number, in case of an emergency. Who ever would have such an emergency at a college fair? Me. And ridiculous me left the emergency contact info back at my table, far outside of the bathroom. I tried googling the phone number to the school, but to my great disappointment, this bathroom was not 3G capable. I had no signal at all, just enough to make 2 quick phone calls and send a text to my mom and close friends, in case I died in the bathroom, of course. The signal dropped each time and all the poor person on the other end got was "Im stuck in a bathroom!" Click.The bathroom door had a little bit of space under it, similar to a stall. I'd been eying this crawl space for some time, but didn't particularly want to crawl on the bathroom floor in my suit right before a fair. Finally at my last resort, I dropped to the ground in an attempt to shimmy out. I'm not a teeny tiny person, but even my head wouldn't fit through the gap. There was no way I was getting out that way. Apparently, I can't judge distances and height too well either.
After 15 minutes of pounding and screaming and pounding and screaming, someone finally came into the bathroom lobby. HELP I'M STUCK! I shouted and this woman (a Navy rep, actually) opened the door from the outside, saving the day. She wasn't even remotely phased that I was stuck. No "sorry for that No "Are you okay?" Not enough a laugh. She just walked away, unphased. Thanks.
And so I dusted myself off, plastered a smile on my face, and went back into the fair.
Always check the locks, folks.
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