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mini scenario generator: Eric and Vanessa get stuck in an elevator together.
Lily used to say to her children: “if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all. At least not to their face.” Eric preferred to live by just the first sentence of that tidbit of motherly wisdom, but that did mean it made for a very awkward, very long elevator ride up to the top floor. Next to him, Vanessa, kept as quiet as he did. Maybe her mother had taught her the same mantra.
He kept racking his brain, trying to think of some way to cut through the icy atmosphere, but he wasn’t sure he could say anything without sounding bitter. He’d heard from Nate that she had come back to the city, that she wasn’t just vacationing, but that was about all he knew.
Just as he decided not to bother with speaking at all, the elevator halted to a stop right as the usual whirring sound faded out, sounding less than promising.
For a second, none of them said or did anything, but then Eric realized what was likely going on and gave in, turning sideways to look at Vanessa after having looked straight ahead for a good 25 floors. “Do you think …” he started, though didn’t finish his sentence, because Vanessa was already fidgeting with the buttons on the elevator wall.
“Maybe we shouldn’t do that,” he said, slightly nervous. He wasn’t uncomfortable in elevators, but he’d seen enough action movies to know that being stuck in one could end… less than swell.
“We?” Vanessa replied simply, which was somehow more bitter than anything he could’ve come up with if he’d tried. An exasperated sigh and an eye roll later, Eric took out his phone and looked to the sheet of paper on the wall, where he could see a few phone numbers listed underneath ‘maintenance’. “Just - stop pushing the buttons. I’ll call for help,” he said as he started tapping on his phone, simply choosing the first number on the list. “I’m sure we’ll be out of here in no time,” he continued, more for his than her benefit.
