Hide in the cabinet

The voice in the hallway started to get slightly louder. She knew with a little luck the man might not cross the doorway- if it was the janitor he could simply grab the trash bin and head the other way. But the fact that they were getting closer still made her nervous.

Worried about how long she might be stuck in the fridge, how cold she might get, she hurried towards the open cabinet. She stayed low, hoping that if either of the employees might turn her direction that she’d stay below the prep tables and out of sight.

Once she reached the cabinet she sat on the ground and stuck her feet into the opening. Using her hands she pushed herself deeper into the cabinet. She got in up to her hips and to twist herself a little to fit them in. The polished steel edges scraped against the skin but not hard enough to actually cause injury.

Now in up to her waist, Jen could only get one hand firmly on the ground. She used the other hand to grip the edge of the cabinet and pulled. She slid in up to her breasts and the sheet of metal underneath her hip shifted and a metallic _thump _sounded.

Jen froze in place for a moment, listening for any indication that the employees had heard her. She could barely hear them on the other side of the restaurant, the occasional light footstep or the swish of the mop, but they still seemed oblivious to her presence.

Inch by inch Jen squirmed into the cabinet. Her feet hit the end and she bent her legs to allow the rest of herself in. Finally, bent in an awkward S-shape, she pulled her arm in and slid the door closed, keeping it open a gap so she could see out.

There, she thought, no room to move but out of sight.

She wasn’t hiding for more than a minute when the younger man came into sight, heading towards the back of the restaurant. Jen heard some movement and then saw him walking back to the front, arms full of packages of napkins.

She waited with as much patience as she could gather. Eve had said she’d wait in the parking lot for a few hours so the only reason Jen had to rush was her desire to get this over with. For now, she kept reminding herself that time was on her side for a while longer still.

Eventually the woman passed by, the mop and rolling bucket in tow. After she reached the back of the room Jen heard splashing water, knowing that the dirty water was being poured out and the bucket rinsed. Before the rushing water stopped, Jen heard footsteps and the young man came back into view. He entered the rear of the store and she heard them start talking.

“Napkins are done,” he said.

“Great. Start getting the trash out, and then we can lock the place up.”

Jen waited for a moment, planning to leave after the restaurant was closed but then it hit her- this might be the perfect time to leave. Both of the employees were in the back, she’d be able to sneak out the front without them noticing her.

The idea of entering the common area of the mall didn’t thrill her. She’d been to the mall enough times to know that hiding spots were a little too spaced out and comprised of trash cans and benches. In the food courts there would be small tables and chairs bolted to the ground, which was helpful but not perfect. There were a few spaces left for decorations, islands of raised tile, filled with gravel and fake plants, but off the top of her head she couldn’t remember where the nearest one was. There were also a few kiosks that sold goods, sunglasses and phone accessories and the like, but Jen knew none were in the food court. Regardless, she needed to get back to the service halls on the other side of the mall at some point, to the exit Eve was expecting to see her at.

Being unable to look into the back of the store Jen could do little more than hope her timing was good. She could still hear water running for the moment and the rustling of garbage being collected so the employees were still occupied.

She slid the cabinet door open and starting wiggling out of the space. She had only gotten her upper body out when the steel thumped again, this time from weight coming off of it rather than being added.

Just keep moving, Jen told herself, they didn’t hear anything, you need to get out of here.

Sliding out of the cabinet was faster than squeezing in had been. Relieved to no longer be stuck in one awkward position, Jen got to her feet and headed towards the front of the restaurant, staying low and stepping softly.

She reached the edge of the kitchen, the small gap between a counter and a wall on her right, which would lead to the front of the shop, where the cash registers sat. Jen crept towards it and once she was past a prep table she glanced towards the rear or the restaurant. The boy was just heading into the hallway as she watched, a bulging trash bag in each hand. Jen could only see the legs of the woman, who was bent over as she sprayed out the mop bucket.

Jen quickly stepped through the gap and out of the kitchen. She moved up to the counter and looked around the common area of the mall. About thirty feet away a janitor was working, casually heading away and towards a hallway that Jen assumed would lead to the service corridor she wanted to get to, a plastic garbage can on wheels being pushed along ahead of him. From behind the counter he wouldn’t notice her if he happened to look this way. Peering towards the far end of the mall, Jen saw a security guard in the distance walking the opposite direction.

Looking at the other restaurants, Jen saw metal grates in front of all of them. She glanced left and right and just forward of the counters she saw that each side had a half of metal grating stowed against the wall. When the employees locked up, they’d come back this direction. Jen didn’t have much time to waste.

Okay, think think think, she mentally said to herself, if the janitor doesn’t have any reason to look backwards is there any reason I couldn’t silently follow him to the corridor? Oh jeez, that’s crazy. I could be following him the whole way down and if someone else came along… Otherwise I’m heading towards the front of the mall through the commons for a distance. That’s a lot of leap-frog from one hiding place to the next…