Doorknob

I looked again at the brace. It looked too sturdy to break, especially since nobody strong looked willing to help. I could see that it was a little lower than the door handle, which was out of reach of everything I had that would be hard enough to push it.

Hmm. Too short to push from underneath, but...

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my pocket tool, making Alyssa shriek and several girls come running until they saw what I was doing. Using one of the tools, I started unscrewing the screws that held the handle in place.

"The lock isn't the problem, remember," said some girl, probably one of the four from a minute ago. I ignored her and kept working, eventually getting the handle off. I could hear it fall to the floor on the other side. I looked through the new hole and saw the brace maybe six inches below, angled slightly downward, maybe from the handle hitting it. From there, it was no problem at all to reach through, hit the brace with the knife tool until it fell down, hit the floor and move it out of the way with the saw (the only one long and thin enough). Then I opened the door triumphantly, the sudden rush of what felt like frigid air smacking me like an abusive boyfriend and taking the wind clean out of my sails. The girls pushed by me and left to report an intruder. Two didn't however: Alyssa and Jessica. They stayed there, looking cautiously at me. Jessica spoke first.

"Since we know you didn't lock us in, when they catch you, we'll tell them you're just a peeper, not an attempted whatever that was. And since you got us out, we won't report you. Right?" Alyssa nodded.

"Thanks. But since your pals don't seem to share your grateful spirit, I should run away real fast. Oh, and thanks for the mirror."