Under the sinks

Jen turned and darted to the sinks, ducking low and squeezing herself underneath. It wasn’t an easy fit- she had to sit on the floor with her torso bent awkwardly forward, but she managed to wedge herself in without too much discomfort. She wasn’t worried about being stuck in this position for very long. If the janitor entered this room they’d have to start cleaning somewhere, either at the stalls or closer to the sinks. If they went towards the stalls Jen might have a chance of slipping out of here unnoticed. If they started cleaning anywhere else, she was likely to get caught and have to run for it.

She was starting to doubt choosing to hide under the sink when the door swung open next to her. A middle-aged woman with a bored expression on her face stepped inside, dragging the cleaning cart behind her. As she pulled it the cart bumped lightly against the door and a small splash of water escaped the attached mop bucket, hitting the floor.

Jen watched as the lady took a few steps inside the restroom and then stopped walking.

Please don’t look over here, please don’t look over here, Jen thought worriedly.

The woman turned her back to Jen and pulled the cart in front of her. She began sorting out items on the cart, then barely looking over her shoulder she tossed two large packs of paper towels onto the sink, near the dispenser. Another moment later the lady took a step backwards towards the sinks, and half-turned towards Jen, reaching out and setting two spray bottles on the counter.

Oh god, she’s going to clean the sinks first.

Returning to the cart, Jen watched as the woman un-clipped the broom and mop from the side of her cart. She dunked the mop into the bucket, put it into the wringer and finally stepped towards the stalls.

Jen didn’t need any further invitation. Creeping out from under the sink she took two short steps towards the door and gently pulled it open. She kept an eye on the cleaning woman, who set the mop against one of the stalls, keeping the broom in hand as she walked towards the end of the restroom.

Once the door was open enough Jen slipped out of the restroom, not bothering to make sure no one else was in sight. Luckily the hall was empty. She eased the door closed behind her, hearing the broom going to work just before the heavy wooden door blocked out the soft swishing noise.

That was too close, Jen thought as she rushed to the end of the passage.

As she peered into the mall commons Jen mentally chastised herself for picking such a poor hiding spot. It had worked out exactly how she had hoped it would, but she couldn’t help but feel her idea of moving from one stall to another wouldn’t have been better.

That’s ridiculous, she told herself as she stepped into the commons and started heading to her left, that plan would have been just as luck-based as going under the sink. You’re out of there now, focus on getting out of this place.

She moved quickly, her head swiveling left and right, occasionally peering over her shoulder to look behind her. The commons remained empty, occasionally a light sound would reach her, reminding herself that she wasn’t alone here. She didn’t see anyone around, and rarely got a sense of direction from the noises she heard, but she told herself they would at least stop her from getting complacent.

As she neared the main exit, Jen saw another service corridor branching off to the left, directly where Jen wanted to head. She upped her pace slightly, still looking around nervously as she did so. Getting closer to the hallway she saw a door a few feet inside it. The door was wide open and as she approached she could hear noise from inside. Picking caution over her desire to get out of here quickly, she retreated a few steps and got behind a trash can where she could watch the door.

As she was looking she heard a noise from the service hallway and a security guard strolled into view. He entered the open doorway, uttered some measure of a greeting to whoever was inside and closed the door behind him.

That must be the security office, Jen thought to herself as she got to her feet.

Unsure of how long the door might remain closed, Jen hurried past it and down the corridor. The service hallway she started in was now in sight.

Stepping into the hall she glanced around and saw no one. A few trash bags and collapsed inventory boxes remained in sight but no full boxes waiting to be taken into the stores. Jen felt it was likely that the only employees left would be security and the janitors. She turned right and saw the exit door ahead. Rushing to it she paused to listen for any sounds behind her, before she started to push the door open.

She briefly stuck her head out the doorway, just long enough to make sure no one was around. After confirming it was clear, only a few cars here and there in the parking lot, she exited the mall and slipped behind the bushes next to the door.

She had only just gotten into a crouching position when she heard a car’s engine turning over. The noise came from straight ahead and she watched as headlights flicked on and a sedan pulled out of a parking space.

Be nice if you drove a little faster, Eve, Jen thought.

Soon the car was pulling up next to the curb and Jen was maneuvering around the bushes. After three fast steps and she was yanking the car door open and practically throwing herself inside.

Eve was already laughing before the door was closed, saying “that took you longer than I expected!”.

Jen reached into the back of the car and started grabbing at her clothes, frantically wanting to get dressed again.

“I had to go a little off course,” she said as she turned towards the front of the car, her clothing in hand. She began sorting through them, grabbing her t-shirt and starting to pull it on. She didn’t want to bother with her bra just now, wanting to quickly cover as much of herself as possible.

“So you didn’t get caught,” Eve said, grinning wickedly, “I guess it wasn’t too bad then.”

Jen shook her head but said nothing, leaning forward to start putting her jeans on while Eve drove the car off the mall grounds and into the streets.