The Elevator (by William Sleator)'s Continuing Ending (by me!)

The Elevator (Original)

By William Sleator

It was an old building with an old elevator—a very small elevator, with a maximum capacity of three people. Martin, a thin twelve-year-old, felt nervous in it the since the first day he and his father moved into the apartment. Of course, he was always uncomfortable in elevators, afraid they would fall, but there was something especially unpleasant about this one. Perhaps it was its baleful atmosphere due to the light from the single fluorescent ceiling strip, bleak and dim on the dirty walls. Perhaps the problem was the door, which never stayed open quite long enough, and slammed shut with such ominous, clanging finality. Perhaps it was the way the mechanism shuddered in a kind of exhaustion each time it left a floor, as though it might never reach the next one. Maybe it was simply the dimensions of the contraption that bothered him, so small that it felt uncomfortably crowded, even when there was only one other person in it.

Coming home from school the day after they moved in, Martin tried the stairs. But they were almost as bad, windowless, shadowy, with several dark landings where the light bulbs had burned out. His footsteps echoed behind him like slaps on the cement, as though there was another person climbing, getting closer. By the time he reached the seventeenth floor, which seemed to take forever, he was winded and gasping.

His father, who worked at home, wanted to know why he was so out of breath. “But why didn’t you take the elevator?” he asked, frowning at Martin when he explained the stairs. Not only are you skinny and weak, his expression seemed to say, but you’re also a coward. After that, Martin forced himself to take the elevator. He would have to get used to it, he told himself, just the way he got used to be being bullied at school, and always picked last when they chose teams. The elevator was an undeniable fact of life.

He didn’t get used to it. He remained tense in the trembling little box, his eyes fixed on the numbers over the door that blinked on and off so haltingly, as if any moment they might simply give up. Sometimes, he forced himself to look away from them, to the Emergency Stop button or the red Alarm button. What would happen if he pushed one of them? Would a bell ring? Would the elevator stop between floors? And if it did, how would they get him out?

That was what he hated about being alone in the thing—the fear of being trapped in there for hours by himself. But it wasn’t much better when there were other passengers. He felt too close to any rider, too intimate. And he was always very conscious of the effort people make not to look at one another, staring fixatedly at nothing. Being short, in this situation, was an advantage, since his face was below eye level of adults, and after a brief glance, they ignored him.

Until the morning, the elevator stopped at the fourteenth floor, and the fat lady got on. She wore a threadbare green coat that ballooned around her, her ankles bulged above dirty sneakers. As she waddled in the elevator, Martin was sure he felt it sink under her weight. She was so big that she filled the cubicle; her coat brushed against him, and he had to squeeze into the corner to make room for her—there certainly wouldn’t have been room for another passenger. The door slammed quickly behind her. And then, unlike everyone else, she did not stand facing the door. She stood with her back to the door, wheezing, staring directly at Martin.

For a moment, he met her gaze. Her features seemed very small, squashed together by the loose fleshy mounds of her cheeks. She had no chin, only a great swollen mass of neck, barely contained by the collar of her coat. Her sparse red hair was pinned in the back by a plastic barrette. And her blue eyes, though tiny, were sharp and penetrating, boring into Martin’s face.

Abruptly, he looked away to the numbers over the door. She didn’t turn around. Was she still looking at him? His eyes slipped back to hers, then quickly away. She was still watching him. He wanted to close his eyes; he wanted to turn around and stare into the corner, but how could he? The elevator creaked down to twelve, down to eleven. Martin looked at his watched; he looked at the numbers again. They weren’t even down to nine yet. And then, against his will, his eyes slipped back to her face. She was still watching him. Her nose tilted up; there was a large space between her nostrils and her upper lip, giving her a piggish look. He looked away again, clenching his teeth, fighting the impulse to squeeze his eyes shut against her.

She had to be crazy. Why else would she stare at him this way? What was she going to do next?

She did nothing. She only watched him, breathing audibly, until the elevator reached the first floor at last. Martin would have rushed past to her get out, but there was no room. He could only wait as she turned—reluctantly it seemed to him—and moved slowly out into the lobby. And they he ran. He didn’t care what she thought. He ran past her, outside into the fresh air, and then he ran almost all the way to school. He had never felt such relief in his life.

He thought about her all day. Did she live in the building? He had never seen her before, and the building wasn’t very big—only four apartments on each floor. It seemed likely that she didn’t live there and had only been visiting somebody.

But if she were only visiting somebody, why was she leaving the building at seven thirty in the morning? People didn’t make visits at that time of day. Did that mean she did live in the building? If so, it was likely—it was a certainty—that sometime he would be riding on the elevator with her again.

He apprehensive as he approached the building after school. In the lobby, he considered the stairs. But that was ridiculous. Why should he be afraid of an old lady? If he was afraid of her, if he let it control him, then he was worse than all the names they called him at school. He pressed the button; he stepped into the empty elevator. He stared at the lights, urging the elevator in. It stopped on three.

At least it’s not fourteen, he told himself; the person she was visiting lives on fourteen. He watched the door slide open—revealing a green coat, a piggish face, blue eyes already fixed on him as though she knew he’d be there.

It wasn’t possible. It was like a nightmare. But there she was, massively real. “Going up!” he said, his voice a humiliating squeak.

She nodded, her flesh quivering, and stepped on. The door slammed. He watched her pudgy hand move toward the buttons. She pressed not fourteen, but eighteen, the top floor, one floor above his own. The elevator trembled and began its ascent. The fat lady watched him.

He knew she had gotten on at fourteen this morning. So why was she on three, going up to eighteen now? The only floors he ever went on were seventeen and one. What was she doing? Had she been waiting for him? Was she riding with him on purpose?

But that was crazy. Maybe she had lots of friends in the building. Or else she was a cleaning lady who worked in different apartments. That had to be it. He felt her eyes on him as he stared at the numbers slowly blinking on and off—slower than usual it seemed to him. Maybe the elevator was having trouble because of how heavy she was. It was supposed to carry three adults, but it was old. What if got stuck between floors? What if it fell?

They were on five now. It occurred to him to press seven, get off there, and walk the rest of the way. And he would have done it, if he could reach the buttons. But there was no room to past her without squeezing against her, and he could not bear the thought of any physical contact with her. He concentrated on being in his room. He would be home soon, only another minute or so. He could stand anything for a minute, even this crazy lady watching him.

Unless the elevator got stuck between floors. Then what would he do? He tried to push the thought away, but it kept coming back. He looked at her. She was still staring at him, no expression at all on her squashed little features.

When the elevator stopped on his floor, she barely moved out of the way. He had to inch past her, rubbing against her horrible scratchy coat, terrified the door would close before he made it through. She quickly turned and watched him as the door slammed shut. And he thought, Now she knows I live on seventeen.

“Did you ever notice a strange fat lady on the elevator?” he asked his father that evening.

“Can’t say as I have,” he said, not looking away from the television.

He knew he was probably making a mistake, but he had to tell somebody. “Well, she was on the elevator with me twice today. And the funny thing is, she just kept staring at me, she never stopped looking at me for a minute. You think…you know anybody that has a weird cleaning lady or anything?”

“What are you so worked up about now?” his father said turning impatiently away from the television.

“I’m not worked up, It was just funny the she kept staring at me. You know how people never look at each other in the elevator. Well, she just kept looking at me.”

“What am I going to do with you, Martin?” his father said. He sighed and shook his head. “Now, you’re afraid of some poor old lady.”

“I’m not afraid.”

“You’re afraid,” his father said, with total assurance. “When are you going to grow up and act like a man? Are you going to be timid all your life?”

He managed not cry until he got to his room—but his father probably knew he way crying anyway. He slept very little.

And in the morning, when the elevator door opened, the fat lday was waiting for him.

She was expecting him. She knew he lived on seventeen. He stood there, unable to move, and then backed away. And as he did so, her expression changed. She smiled as the door slammed.

He ran for the stairs. Luckily, the unlit flight on which he fell was between sixteen and fifteen. He only had to drag himself up one and a half flights with the terrible pain in his leg, His father was silent on the way to hospital, disappointed and annoyed at him for being such a coward and a fool.

It was a simple fracture. He didn’t need a wheelchair, only a cast and crutches. But he was condemned to the elevator now. Was that why the fat lady had smiled? Had she known it would happen this way?

At least his father was with him on the elevator on the way back from the hospital. There was no room for the fat lady to get on. And even if she did, his father would see her, he would realize how peculiar she was, and then maybe he would understand. And once they got home, he could stay in the apartment for a few days—the doctor said he should use the leg as little as possible. A week maybe — a whole week without getting in the elevator. Riding up with his father, leaning on his crutches, he looked around the little cubicle and felt a kind of triumph. He had beaten the elevator, and the fat lady, for the time being. And the rest of the week was very far away.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” his father reached out his hand and pressed nine.

“What are you doing? You’re not getting off, are you?” he asked him, trying not to sound panicky.

“I promised Terry Ullman I’d drop in on her,” his father said, looking at his watch as he stepped off.

“Let me go with you. I want to visit her, too,” Martin pleaded, struggling forward on his crutches.

But the door was already closing. “Afraid to be on the elevator alone?” his father said, with a look of total scorn. “Grow up, Martin.” The door slammed shut.

Martin hobbled to the buttons and pressed nine, but it didn’t do any good. The elevator stopped at ten, where the fat lady was waiting for him. She moved in quickly; he was too slow, too unsteady on his crutches to work his way past her in time. The door sealed them in; the elevator started up.

“Hello Martin,” she said, and laughed, and pushed the Stop button.

      My continuing ending...

              The Elevator Ending

 By Tracey Chen

“Hello, Martin,” she said, and laughed, and pushed the Stop button.

The elevator suddenly stopped at the tenth floor. Martin felt a pain. The fat lady walked toward him, that he couldn’t breathe. The lady laughed even harder and talked loudly, “Hey Martin, why are you so afraid?”

Martin was stuck in a corner of an elevator. He wanted to tell her that he wasn’t afraid. However, he didn’t, because he was too scared to answer. He didn’t even have any idea that he was actually going to answer her. He tried to kick her in the stomach, but her threadbare coat was too large that he didn’t even have any room to let his skinny leg come up.

“Tell me, why are you even afraid?” The lady asked him again, and said, “Act like a man, Martin. Are you going to be timid your whole life!? Come on and fight with me!”

That reminded Martin of what his father had said. His anger was in all the places in his vessels. He took a deep breath and yelled loudly, “You know what!? I am not afraid! You are a freak!” He felt like he was going to explode in 5 seconds, even he was counting seconds in his own mind.

The lady didn’t reply, she grinned and she showed her the two sharp teeth in each side of her mouth.

Martin was so shocked. He had only heard of vampires in the fiction books. He was so regretful that he said he wasn’t afraid, because he was afraid.

The lady walked even closer and said, “It won’t hurt much. Don’t worry. You won’t die either. Just relax.” She suddenly leaned toward him.

As she tried to bite him on the neck, he slipped toward the buttons and pressed the Bell button immediately. Suddenly, the ring bell rang so loudly and the old lady screamed. A bright light appeared, and Martin covered his eyes. When the lights went down, the vampire lady was gone. Suddenly, the elevator stop ringing and it worked again. Martin opened his mouth wide and still didn’t realize what had just happened. The elevator stopped on the seventeenth floor and the door opened slowly. It seemed like nothing had happened. He walked out of the elevator as usual. However, as he walked out of the elevator, the sticker on the Bell button fell off and it showed another word: ‘In case of Vampires’……

Jatin Dwideli

Jatin Dwideli

Jatin is a fourteen-year-old boy. He and his family lives in a shelter in India. He is skinny and shy. He has brown skin and is average height. He is thoughtful, determined, respectful and polite. He is very good at swimming; and an experience 2 years ago would have you believe he is brave. He saved his cousin’s life. His 5-year-old cousin was caught into the flood. Jatin saw his cousin under the water and dove into the water to save her. He didn’t listen to his mother who was asking him to stop, and ended up saving his cousin. Jatin’s aunt and mother both cried. His cousin died with cancer 5 months after, just like the death wanted her.

Even though he is a brave boy, he is very scared of wars. He is afraid that wars would start where he lives and he would wake up to gunshots one morning.

His family isn’t rich. He had three brothers, a sister and a mother. His father was killed by a rare disease when Jatin was ten years old. Although it was only four years ago, he couldn’t remember his father’s appearance.

His mother was a busy teacher. Because of her husband’s illness, she spent her time taking care of her dying husband.

After Jatin’s father died, his mother sold Jatin’s twinborn brother, Jargon, to a child labor factory. The two reasons for that were Jargon had a birthmark which looked like a ghost. Their family is Buddhist. In Buddhism, ghost is not a good sign for wealth and luck, and they need money for supporting. Jatin is now scared that his mother will sell him to the child labor factory just like his twinborn brother. His mother hasn’t gone to work for a while after, because she had to take care of her new baby-Jaime. Now, Jatin has two brothers and a sister. So, Jatin now is the eldest boy in his family. Jatin’s younger brother is Jag, and his second younger brother is Jevons.

Jatin is now a high school student. He studies hard every day, in other words, he is a good student. His father told him that he could be a rich man when he grows up if he works hard and studies hard.

He likes sitting still and trying to remember his father’s appearance. He likes to walk in the big mall alone, and looking at the surrounding jewelry, food, shoes, clothes and so on. He always imagines that if he was he could buy himself good things. Also, he always spends much of his time at the library after school. He really treasures his book which his dead father had given on the birthday at the year of his father’s death. He misses his father very much every night. He can feel the love of his father, even though his father is in heaven. Jatin loves his life, because he remembers his father said that there always would be sunshine after the rain; also, he believes his father is watching him, loving him and thinking about him all the time!

The First Day of High School

It was the FIRST day of HIGH school. Jatin was very excited about it. He could not fall asleep at night. He kept looking at the clock on the wall, hoping to fall to sleep.

It was six thirty in the morning. He jumped up and organized his bed in only one minute! New Record!!! He put on his new, oversized uniform shirt. Then he headed to eat breakfast.

Jatin’s mother said softly, “Today is the first of your high school life. Behave for your teachers!”

Jatin thought, I always behave for my teachers, but he still nodded respectfully. “Okay. Bye mother,” Jatin replied.

“Bye sweetie. Have a good day,” his mother said.

Jatin checked the route to his NEW high school yesterday afternoon. So he could go to his new school all by himself. He imagined his high school’s appearance. He also wondered what he could do in a high school.

It only took fifteen minutes to get school. As he arrived, the school bus arrived. Many students rushed out of the bus as the bus door opened. Most of them were using cell phones and MP3s. Jatin was admired for the high techs.

      There were seven buildings in his sight. There were many bushes near the school buildings.

      He compared his old elementary school with his new HIGH school. There were a lot of people chatting loudly at his high school. There were only few in his old school. His high school was clean and has many plants. His old elementary school makes feel dark and sad.

      He tried to find his old best friend, Daniele, but he wasn’t there. What a pity, he thought.

      After the bell rang, he squeezed into a strange building with a lot of people.

     He found his locker on the fourth which is the highest story. He organized his belongings into his locker. As soon as these were done, he went to his classroom and started studying.

The teachers are mild mannered. Some students were napping in class. Some were paying attention. This made Jatin think about university. He also determined that unless to be the good ones who doesn’t sleep in class. He wondered why the teachers would let the students sleep in class. He got an answer after – The teachers couldn’t do anything useful, and they were too disappointed to the students. The teacher didn’t want to teach them anymore. So the teachers just let them sleep, and at the end of the school year, they could kick them out of the private high school.

At recess, he went outside and got some ‘fresh’ air. He breathed deeply, and he could smell freedom! He had never felt so peaceful and happy, because it was the FIRST day of high school. You can never realize, to him, how necessary his new high school is.

He had a very good lunch at the noon. He enjoyed the food that his high school has supplied. He had a bowl of rice with meat and vegetables. Many other students brought their own lunch. It is very fun to look around, at the people’s lunch.

In the afternoon, Jatin still hasn’t got a friend yet. He was a bit worried. As he was thinking about making friends, a boy came and sat beside him.

The boy grinned, and said, “Hey. I am Stan. It’s nice to see you. What’s your name?”

Jatin hesitated, and stared at Stan for a while – He is skinny, has a mouth of white teeth. He looks plain and homely. He has the same height with Jatin’s. He was about thirteen years old…… His size doesn’t seem like a bully.

“I am Jatin. Nice to meet you.” Jatin responded as a very gentleman.

After they chatted for a few minutes, Jatin knew that Stan doesn’t have and doesn’t care about money. Also, Stan is a very directly boy who is in the same grade with Jatin, and Stan is new to this high school too.

Anyhow, they became friends after.

In the afternoon, the two boys found out that there was a horrid person as a bully in this school. He is wealthy. He was fifteen. He always wears his golden thick necklace. His neck is as thick as Jatin’s lap.

Jatin and Stan saw the bully bullying a small boy in the washroom with their own eyes. They were in the washroom. The bully, his friends and a boy came in. Jatin and Stan ran away, because they were too scared. The bully threatened that Jatin and Stan would be the next victims if they told.

Jatin felt sympathized with the boy.

After they finished their school, they went home together. Jatin’s mother was very proud that her son made a very good friend at the first day of high school.

Jatin and Stan chatted for a long time. He realized that he was exhausted after the whole day. He also felt lucky about his new best friend. Anyways, he thought that was a good beginning of his high school life.

Stealing

Jatin is a good boy, but - no one is perfect - he has done something bad. Stolen.

      Jatin’s mother lost her job two weeks ago. She was a teacher. She has been teaching for years. Currently, she was fired, because, the school was about to go bankrupt. So they had to fire people to earn enough money to not go bankrupt. She was very upset. Jatin’s family doesn’t have enough food to eat. Jatin was worried as his mother. Jatin’s mother even Jatin tried to find a job, but there were too many people finding jobs. There were no spaces for people who were looking for jobs. Jatin and his family can’t live without food. They don’t have other ways to survive without a job without money. His mother was so upset to her tiring life.

      However, Jatin never gives up. He could feel faith of hope surrounded. He could feel his father was with him. He could smell his father’s scent that he usually has when he was still alive.

      Jatin tried to think about some ways to help his family. Jatin- a kind, helpful and excellent boy - really wants to do something useful for his family. He wanted to be like someone…… a hero! This is a very good chance to prove his worth.

      Jatin thought about stealing. How about just a little money? He thought. No, it’s not good, he thought, but…… this is the only way to get money without doing anything. “No, no, no, no……I can’t do that.” He said to himself. He promised to himself that he wouldn’t steal.

      The next morning, when he was walking by his wealthy classmate, Katie’s house, he found a key under a rug in front of the gates. Also, Katie was on a trip to Australia with her family. Jatin looked around. While nobody was watching, he picked up that key and ran to school. He thought that was a gift from the god.

      He didn’t feel good all day. He felt everyone was staring at him strangely.

      Jatin decided to steal something from Katie’s house at night, but he didn’t feel comfortable about stealing. “But this is the only chance to get money to survive.” He said to himself, “I can do it, and I will do it.”After he braved up himself, he couldn’t feel neither peace nor justice. Wicked ideas filled up all of his spirit.

      He jumped over the fences, used the key to open the front door. Katie’s house was a three—story house. There were many art pictures hanging on the wall. The stairway was facing the front door. He walked upstairs.

Upstairs, it was much darker than downstairs. The doors were all shut. He didn’t know where bedrooms, kitchen, washroom were. So, he opened and walked into a room randomly. That was Katie’s bedroom. The room was painted purplish. There was a wooden shelf with a bunch of books. There was a pink bed in the corner with a Hello Kitty doll on. Jatin couldn’t find any money in Katie’s drawers. It was probably taken from Katie with her to Australia. Fortunately, he found a golden bracelet.

      The bracelet was so brilliant. It was shining under the moon light.

      Jatin was amazed by the bracelet. He didn’t know how long he stared at that. He put the bracelet into his pocket, got out of Katie’s house quickly, and put the key under the rug where he found it.

      He hopped to home. He kept whispering to himself, “Oh my God! This is awesome!!! I got a free bracelet!!! WOW~ I am rich now!” His heart beat faster and faster, not because he was scared, because he was so excited. Of course, everyone becomes happy when he gets money for free. Jatin got a beautiful golden bracelet for free! How could he not be happy!?

      The next morning, he felt regretful. He thought he did the worst crime in the whole world. He kept comforting himself, “this is all for my family. I saved my family. I am not doing the bad thing. I am just using weird ways to help.” However, he couldn’t feel any better.

      At school, Stan noticed that Jatin was unusual – He didn’t talk much. He didn’t eat much. When Stan waved to him, he just ignored Stan. Stan was anxious about Jatin. So he asked Jatin to tell him the problem, but Jatin refused.

      “Tell me. It will make you feel better.” Stan said tenderly.

      “I can’t.” Jatin still refused.

      “Come on~ tell your best friend the problem. Maybe he can help you.” Stan said and laughed.

      Jatin was still that serious. He tried to tell, but his words were stuck in his throat. Then, he told Stan everything.

      “Oh my God! You stole things from others!?” Stan answered madly, “How dare you! You are not the Jatin I know! How could you steal!? You disappointed me!” Then he walked away quickly.

      Jatin tried to tell him that he had no choices, but Stan disappeared already. Jatin was shocked. Stan has never been so mad before.

Jatin felt even more terrible. He thought, I shouldn’t tell Stan, I shouldn’t steal, I shouldn’t find the key accidentally, and the world shouldn’t have poor families or rich people. Yeah! Everyone should be equal! Life is unfair! How unfair!

Now, he wasn’t just sad. He felt angry about the world. Why would I steal!? That’s because I need money to buy food, to survive. If everyone was equal, there wouldn’t be people dying with hunger, fight with anger, working unpleasantly, the world would be peaceful and the people were free. This is a so unfair community! It’s not my fault to steal. It’s the world’s fault! The world made me to! He thought.

He felt more angers flowing through his blood to every corner of his body, spirit. He felt his face was becoming hotter and hotter. He felt his muscles were growing tighter and tighter.

      Stan hasn’t talk to Jatin for a few days. Jatin hasn’t sold that bracelet yet.

      A few days later, Katie was back from Australia. The second day, Katie was unusual too. Katie is from Australia. She has three sisters. Her father has a company in India. So her family moved to India. She is very open, friendly and thoughtful, but that day, she kept her mouth shut -- She becomes not talkative.

      Jatin overheard that Katie was very sorrowful, because she lost her bracelet. She didn’t want to tell her parents that she has lost it, because her parents are harsh. They would be very mad.

      Also, the bracelet was very special to her family. It is their heir mood. It was from her great great great grandmother. It was found in a very strange cave. The experts told them that it has a history of 150 years.

      Katie said if anyone found it, please return.

      He has never known that bracelet was that important to her. Jatin was guilty. Stan noticed, and stuck a small envelope with a letter inside on Jatin’s locker.

      The letter said,

“Jatin, I know u r guilty and regretful. Return it. Then u will feel secure. Trust me. Just tell her that u found that near her locker. U shouldn’t use a bad way to receive money. U should find a job. U r not that kind of people who has ‘stealing talents’. Return it. I know u r not born to be a thief. No one will know the truth. The bracelet is like a curse to u, right? U can’t live with it. U can’t hide forever. So return it. Also, if u return it, we can be friends again if u like to. J

      Underneath, it was signed,

      From Stan

      Jatin didn’t know what to do. Stan was right. He did think about returning, but his family really needed it. Friends or Family? Which one is more important? He thought. It is a very important question. Family is more important, he thought, but I can’t use stealing things to receive money. Is there any other ways to get money? Oh yeah, there is! I can work for people!

Awesome!

     Jatin went to Katie’s house an afternoon. He returned the bracelet, and lied, “I found it near your locker. Katie was grateful. Katie was going to give Jatin money as rewards, but Jatin refused. He said he couldn’t receive money without working.

However, he told her that his family did need money, and he really needed a job to earn money by working. They talked about a small business – Jatin mows the grass for Katie’s family. Katie asked her parents and they allowed. Jatin was very happy. He could get one thousand three hundred and ninety piece of Indian Rupee (thirty dollars) a month (three times)!!! That was a lot of money to him.

      Also, as Stan promised, Jatin and Stan were friends again. 

      Jatin has given the money to his mother. His mother was very proud. She used the money to buy food and supplies. Jatin felt like…… he is a hero.

      Yeah!!! Happy ending~