The Haunted Elevator

Lisa was tired. She had spent the last three hours in a board meeting that involved a lot of shouting and very little cooperation, she had a mountain of paperwork to do, and she had to get home so she could pack for the business trip she was taking to Seattle for another board meeting.
         She plopped her briefcase onto the floor and jammed the button to call the elevator, then collapsed against the wall with a sigh. She would have been perfectly happy to fall asleep right there, but the dinging of the elevator reminded her that she couldn't just yet. She picked up her briefcase agin and stepped inside.
         “Lobby?” the other occupant asked. Lisa nodded wordlessly as the doors closed an leaned against the wall. “You look tired.”
         Lisa looked up at the woman who seemed determined to have a conversation with her, and forced a smile. “I've had a busy day.”
         The woman nodded, her tight curls bouncing wildly. “Oh, me too. Been running around for hours. You wouldn't believe-” she was cut off by a loud alarm as the elevator slammed to a halt, knocking Lisa of her feet. The lights in the ceiling sparked loudly and turned off, replaced a few moments later by smaller emergency bulbs. Everything got quiet and Lisa and the woman shared a look. The slightly greenish light cast by the old fluorescent bulbs gave everything sharp,ominous looking shadows.
         Lisa was more than a little alarmed. “We can't be stuck,” she said. “We can't.”
         “It appears we are,” the woman said, offering a hand to help her up, which Lisa accepted.
         “But I have to get home! I have to pack for the business trip! Oh god, what if I miss my flight? They'll fire me for sure!” Lisa lurched across the length of the elevator unsteadily on her high heels and punched the button for the emergency phone.
         “The elevator's stopped, we're stuck in here! Hello?” she cried.
         “There's probably no one there,”
         Lisa rounded on the other woman, who was standing there with a calm expression on her face. “Why do you say that?” she asked.
         “Didn't you hear that alarm? Obviously the problem is't only with the elevator.”
         Lisa realized the validity of this argument and released the button. “So what do we do? Just wait?”
         The woman shrugged. “What else can we do?”
         Lisa sighed. “I suppose you're right.”
         “Of course I am,” the woman nodded, then held out a hand for Lisa to shake. “Maria Goldman,”
         “Lisa Davis,” Lisa said, shaking it. “Have I heard that name before?”
         Maria smiled. “Probably. I've published quite a few books over the years.”
         Lisa's eyes widened. “No way! Maria Goldman, the horror novelist?”
         “On the nose!” she said cheerfully. “And honestly this set up seems suspiciously like something from my books, don't you think?”
         “Yeah, it does,” Lisa said, marveling at the small woman standing across from her. This was the woman that wrote the most famous horror novels in the country? She seemed like a completely normal person, except for the rhinestone covered spectacles perched on her nose. Those were a little peculiar, but other than that Lisa never would have guessed at her identity.
         “Well, I guess we should settle in for a wait..” Maria said, sitting down on the floor cross-legged, still smiling happily. Lisa followed suit, taking of her shoes as she did so. When she had dressed that morning she hadn't thought of the possibility of crouching in a dark elevator.
         “So, know any good jokes?” Maria asked.
                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         Three hours, fifty seven knock-knock jokes, and two philosophical debates later, Lisa and Maria were still stuck in the elevator. Lisa was in the middle of a story about the time her cat had tried to eat a bouquet of roses when there was a loud crackling noise from the elevator phone.
         “Hello? Is anyone there?”
         “Yes!” they both yelled at the same time. “We're here, we're stuck!'
         “Okay, sit tight, we're coming to get you.” the person on the other end said.
         “What do you think we've been doing for the past three hours?” Lisa exclaimed. Maria just shook her head and laughed. If Lisa had learned anything in the last few hours it was that Maria Goldman was possibly the most laid-back person she had ever met.
         Twenty minutes later Lisa and Maria were standing safe and sound outside the building. Apparently it had caught fire when an employee had threw away a cigarette without checking to make sure it was out. A trash can in a back room hardly ever used, so no one found the fire until it was too late to put out.
         Miraculously, the elevator had stopped two floors higher than the fire ever got, and was never really in any danger.
         “That was interesting,” Maria said to Lisa as they walked paste the remaining fire trucks.
         “That's one way to put it.” Lisa said. “It was nice to meet you, by the way.”
         “Of course it was.” she said smiling, then added, “It was nice to meet you as well, Lisa. We should talk again sometime.”
         “As long as its not in an elevator.” Lisa said, laughing. “my boss just told me I've been excused from the Seattle board meeting and everyone's been given the week off. So yeah, let's talk sometime.”
          “Good, we can discuss my new book,” Maria said. “I can see it now: 'The Haunted Elevator!'”
         Lisa's laughter could be heard ringing through the parking lot and all around the building.