"The Late Shift" - Part 3
By Ruby

Three days later, closing time at the Café. The last customer had left an hour ago and Maria, Michael, and Liz were cleaning up. Barely a word passed between anyone as they mopped and washed. Brian had already given up and gone home, saying something about employee negligence.

'Spotless,' Maria though as she wiped the counter for the fourth time. There really was nothing left to do since all the dishes were washed, tables cleaned, and everything accounted for. Well, nothing other than taking a peek at Michael then quickly looking away when he'd glanced up. God, she wished she could see him smiling just one time they were around each other, it was if they were in the middle of a nuclear winter with all the cold shoulders happening.

'I can't work like this,' she told herself. For the last three days working the late shift with Michael the most they that exchanged were two-syllable answers that involved if there were extra napkins in the holders.

"Hey, guys," Liz called from the hallway. "I'm going to lock up the back. You two finish up and leave whenever you want."

"Sure," Maria answered before her friend was out of hearing range. She heard a small crash from the kitchen. Worried, she rushed over to find Michael having a problem hauling a large bag of raw stuff-she-did-not-want-to-know over to the walk-in fridge. "Need a hand?"

She wondered if he would even respond at all. Michael glanced from her to the bag, then back to her. "I can do it, but if you want to help that badly…" he admitted lightly.

"Gee, how generous of you." She shot him a look, but at least they were talking. "Okay, one, two, three!" Maria took the other end of the sack and the both of them quickly carried it over to the newly installed freezer. "This thing's heavy!"

"Really? I didn't notice," he wheezed as he used one hand to hold it and the other to open the heavy metal door. They rushed in, letting the door swing shut behind them. Clicking on the single light bulb to see they finally rested the bag on the far-left corner of the chilly room.

***

"Maria? Michael?" Liz asked as she stepped back into the Crashdown. When no one answered she took a quick look around and assumed that they both had left. Walking to the front door she exited and locked it behind her.

***

"Uh-oh," Michael said as he tried to open the door of the freezer.

A brief feeling of dread washed over Maria, like the kind that told your body to brace itself for bad news. "What's the 'uh-oh' for? Nothing good ever happens when someone says 'uh-oh.'"

"It won't open." He tried for a moment to make the thin, cold handle bar to move but to no avail. The entrance stayed neatly jammed into its metal frame.

"Here, let me try. Where's the doorknob on this thing?" Maria asked as she tried to shove the fridge open. When it wouldn't give she started to panic. "There's no doorknob! Why didn't they put in doorknobs?"

"Calm down," he ordered, trying to sound reasonable. "We need to think."

"What's there to think about? We're locked in."

There was a moment of silence as they both digested their fate. And after that moment they began frantically pounding on the door, calling for help.

***

Isabel rubbed her eyes tiredly and found her brother flipping through late night movies.

"Hey," she said softly with the voice of one who just woke up. "Why are you up?"

"Didn't feel like sleeping." The small circles under Max's eyes gave away his lie, but she accepted it anyway. He'd been unable to sleep well ever since they discovered what their destiny foretold.

"Did you give Michael a ride home?"

"He never called. Maria probably drove him."

Isabel nodded then wearily shuffled into the kitchen for a drink.

***

"Help! Someone please get me out of here!" Maria slapped the metal door until her hands were red. This situation could not get any worse in her opinion. Of all the people she would want to be stuck in a four-by-six feet room with, it had to be the person she most definitely not.

"You've been shouting for an hour," Michael snapped. The noise was giving him a headache, and the constant chill didn't help. "Save your breath, Liz is gone. No one will find us until morning."

"At least I'm trying to do something while you sit there like a rhubarb and vegetate."

"You know I can't open locks like the others."

"Figures." She sighed in disgust and leaned her back against the door.

"Hey, it's not my fault we're stuck together!"

"Oh yeah? This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't followed me to my shift."

"Me? Follow you? Why would I want to do that? You're the one who stalked me to the meat locker."

"I was trying to help you, you big goober!"

"Ooh, goober! Big words for a little girl."

"Oh, shut up," Maria spat angrily. She had never known a person that could rile her so much in her life.

"Uh, that would be a 'no,'" he answered, equally ticked.

"Why do you have to be so difficult?!"

"Haven't you heard? I'm complex."

"Yeah, a superiority complex."

"And what if I am?"

"Jerk."

"Brat."

"Toad."

"Shrew."

"Ok, fine, since we seemed to have de-aged in maturity I say we just sit our own corners, don't talk, and wait for someone to find us." She sat down at the wall directly across from him--probably the furthest spot she could get in the tiny space.

Michael leaned back with eyes closed; it was the very near picture of relaxation. "Sounds good to me."


To be Continued