The Laundromat Bandits

Sam nervously looked up from her newspaper at the only other two people apart from the woman behind the desk in the laundromat. Thankfully, it seemed like they were to busy talking about something else to notice her, so she had no worries.

One of the men got up and headed towards the bathroom, carrying what looked like a laptop with him. Sam thought that was odd, but didn't question it. She'd rather that she wasn't seen only wearing a pair of heels. She went back to her paper as she read through the headlines.

"Local Cat Lady Wins 176.9 Billion In Lottery; Leaves All To Cats In Her Will."

"Pirates Beat Vikings 15 to 8."

"The Laundromat Bandits Escape Prison And Rumored To Be At Large."

"New Species of Pygmy Elephant Found In The Jungles Of -"

Hold on a second...

Before she could even go back to that last one, the power went out, plunging the entire laundromat in complete darkness as the washers stopped. Sam looked up in surprise as she saw the other man stand up and walk over to the counter where the attendant was desperately trying to call someone. Placing the newspaper against her body, Sam slowly made her way over to the washer and tried to open it...

"Crap!" She cursed silently as she found that the washer was stuck tight, her face burning as she realized that she now had no way of getting her clothes back.

Any of her clothes.

"Don't even think about trying anything funny!" Sam heard the man say, looking up to see the two men she was sitting next to a moment ago hold up the terrified woman at the desk, one holding a large laundry bag identical to her's while the other a knife. "Put the money in the bag, and no one gets hurt."

Sam silently gulped as the attendant placed the money in the register, clutching the newspaper tightly to herself. In her panicked mind, the woman saw three possible possibilities. First, she noticed her own empty duffle bag at her feet, just large enough for her to squeeze into and wait for the bandits to leave.

Second, she could sneak out the front and hide until these crooks left, then come back in and retrieve her clothes once they did.

And third, she noticed a washer that was empty with the door wide open that looked large enough for her to curl up in and hide in to wait out the robbery.

Whichever she chose, Sam slipped off her shoes and slid them underneath the bench, not wanting to make any noise that would draw attention to her.