Orange

three

It is so quiet.

Deadly quiet.

The only sound in this small space is my ragged breathing mingling with the that of the boy trapped here with me. There is no whir of machinery, no wail of sirens, no 'city noise' that I had become accustomed to. The silence presses in on me like mud, seeping into my pores and making me feel as cold as stone. I suppress a shudder.

It is so dark that I can't tell whether I have my eyes open or closed. Terrifyingly dark, like I am in the darkest depths of the ocean, swimming in the shadow of the earth itself.

I cannot breathe. I feel as though I am drowning...

I jump when a loud groan fills the air, shattering the silence. I forgot rotten orange was in here with me and although I don't know him I am so happy I am not in here alone.

I take in a deep breath and try to relax my rigid muscles, my legs have begun to seize up. Rotten orange mutters something unintelligible under his breath, and sighs exaggeratedly.

A blinding light fills the small space. It is as bright as the sun, blaring into my eyes and blinding me. With a high pitched squeal, I squeeze my eyes shut. Rotten orange mutters something under his breath, annoyance lacing his tone. I peek out through the gaps in my fingers.

He is leaning against the wall across from me, jacket at his feet, looking down at his phone. The light shines through his orange hair, making it almost florescent and blindingly bright. It creates sharp shadows under his jaw and hollows in his cheeks. I am struck, once again, with his beauty.

He turns off his phone with an annoyed sigh, cutting off the light source and I am submerged in darkness once again. When I close my eyes I can still see the brightness of the light against my eyelids, and that is significantly more comforting than my eternal night.

I can hear Rotten oranges' mutterings and the scraping of his boots against the steel floor as he tries to get comfortable. A hard task while sitting on this unforgivingly cord steel floor. I find myself shifting a little, folding my jacket beneath myself to create a barrier between my legs and the cold floor.

Now, I know that there are emergency phones in elevators. I have seen people use them in disaster movies. I just have to find it. I feel my way across the floor, hands skimming across the cool steel.

My hands cover something slightly squishy, and I let out a surprised squeak. An answering high-pitched shriek startles me, making me scream.

"I'm sorry!" I cry, falling backwards onto my backside, the steel causing shock waves to travel up my spine. I must have grabbed his foot by mistake. Oh geez.

A mutter comes from right in front of me, so close I can feel the air fanning against my cheeks. My cheeks heat when I realise how close I am, and I scoot backwards.

With reddened cheeks I resume my search. I fondle the wall awkwardly, hoping that I don't encounter his face and sigh with relief when I find buttons.

Thankfully, after a lot of searching, I find the outline of a 'phone' on one of the buttons so I press it. I wait with bated breath, wishing for the call to connect with all my heart.

The dial tone is like music to my ears, the sweetest symphony that I have ever heard. If I could listen to one thing for the rest of my life, it would be a dial tone... well. I may have over exaggerated a little there.

I let out a little whoop of laughter and punch the air enthusiastically. I can feel the judgement radiating from him, bouncing from his rotten orange face to my very soul but I don't care.

"Hello?" The voice is crackly and distant, but so much better than nothing.

"Hello? We are stuck in the elevator. Help!" I cry, scrambling up the wall towards where the voice is coming from.

"Please stay calm. Which elevator are you in, I will check to see if it is possible to pry open the doors." The voice sounds very calm and masculine, his gentle tone eases my anxious heart.

"Umm," I wrack my brains trying to remember which elevator I got in, "the one directly behind the front desk in the lobby."

There is the soft clicking of a keyboard for a few moments on the other side and I let myself hope that we can be saved.

"I'm afraid you have stopped between levels, we cannot do anything to help at this moment."

My heart plummets to my hi-top sneakers and my back slides down the elevator wall, I end up in a heap on the floor.

"Is anyone injured?" He is still as calm as ever, but now it only makes me want to punch him.

"No," I answer reflexively, before realising that I have no idea if the guy is okay or not.

"Okay, please wait patiently until the power comes back on. Please don't hesitate to call if your situation worsens. I am sorry for the inconvenience." Then there is the dial tone, they have gone.

I hate dial tone. It is the worst sound in the world.

"Hello? Hello?" I cry, but I know that this is pointless, I am alone again.

I hold my head in my hands, and submit to my tidal wave of emotions. My legs give out and I slide down the wall, my butt hitting the hard floor so abruptly that it sends shock waves up my spine.

I only wanted to see the Archibald prize. I had been saving for it all year, and when I am finally here to see it everything goes wrong. How could something that made me so happy cause karma had to have a field day at my expense?

What did I do wrong?

I feel tears leak from my eyes as helplessness seeps in. I let go of all inhibitions and let out a fearful sob.

Why me?

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Hiya,

I am currently watching 'Hwarang' and I LOVE it! Thoughts?

Pls vote and comment

- B x