The Time that I hid...

It's Writer's Workshop again with Mama Kat. I LOVE to write new posts, but this prompt screamed recycle. Here's the time that I hid, re-visited.


Now it's funny.

Then it wasn't.

It was like a scene out of movie......could have been a comedy, could have been a drama, but I didn't want any part of it.

I was about 16 and I was with my best friend at work. We had this really unique work situation. We pulled files for a dental office and these wonderful dentists trusted us with a key to the practice. (What were they thinking?) We alternated weekends and when it was our weekend we were supposed to go into the empty office and pull the charts for the week. We were supposed (here's the operative word) to be alone, but many times we went together. It was understood that we should go during normal hours, that we be honest with our time cards, that we do not bring friends with us and that we do our job in a timely manner and then leave.

On this particular Saturday I went with Julie to help her pull the charts so she could finish faster. Julie turned the music up quite loud and we were having a great time hanging out. Julie was pulling the charts for the week, and I was putting away ones from the previous week.

Then, we heard a key in the lock. Ahhhhhh, that could only mean one thing. One of the dentists had dropped in. Julie ran down the hall to turn the music down and I hid in one of the partners' bathroom. I picked this bathroom with care because I reasoned that that doctor NEVER came into the office during the weekend. If he did, he certainly wouldn't come in just to use the bathroom. So, I slid behind the open door and waited in the dark for whoever had entered the office to leave. Soon I hear a "hello Dr. Dentist". What? Dr. Dentist? The Dr. Dentist that never comes in? Deep breath. Everything is going to be fine. Surely he will grab something from his office and leave.

Here comes the footsteps.

Closer, closer, closer.

Crap.

Too close.

Way too close.

He's coming straight for me.

Panic. Panic. Panic.

I'm thinking: What am I going to do? How am I going to get out of this one? We are dead!

And then the scene resumes. Uh oh. There's the light. There's the door closing. It appears he had one reason for coming into the office and one reason only. I'm exposed and nooooooo......but yes it's true. His belt is unbuckled and his zipper is down (don't worry, I didn't see anything). Then he sees me and jumps about a foot. I don't know what to do. He's so startled that he doesn't realize I was standing behind his door in the dark. He says excuse me. He didn't hear me in here. I say it's OK and bolt.

I wonder if it ever occured to him that things didn't quite add up. I do know I kept my job. And, I avoided him like the plague after that. But, that panicy, dishonest feeling has stayed with me, and I learned a lesson. I no longer loiter in places I'm not authorized, and if I'm going to hide, I don't do it behind bathroom doors.