The Elevator
Car 1. Capacity eight persons. Inspected. The certificate is framed by the button panel. The photo on it is of a different elevator.
Buttons
- 1 Lobby. The front door. I watch it.
- 2, 3, 4 Residential. Units are assigned by length of stay. Not by size of deposit.
- B Basement. The boiler, the rent jar, the ledger. The jar is locked until rent day.
- R Roof. Open in fair weather. Please do not feed the pigeons. They are not tenants.
- 4B There is no 4B button. People press 4 and look at the door for a while.
Rules of the car
- Hold the door for the person behind you. Most tenants who leave tonight leave through the lobby, not the elevator. The elevator only goes up.
- Do not jump. The car does not go faster. It goes down slower.
- The mirror is for checking your tie. It is not for checking the chart.
- If the car stops between floors, stay calm. Press the bell once. I hear it the first time.
Tonight's log
- Busiest night since the building opened. Most trips were down.
- A few came back up. One rode to 4 and back three times. Then stayed on 4.
- Someone left a key in the car. It is in the Lost and Found now. The clock on that stay starts over when it is collected.
- Nobody pressed R. Fair. It is cold up there tonight.
Music
The car plays one song. It has played it since the building opened. Nobody has complained. Nobody has asked what it is called either.
Building Management. The elevator is maintained. The tenants are counted.