Oh, Freedom!

This morning Kemi and I set out for a nice faraway suburb with the most pleasant (and cheapest) internet cafe we have found - The Milky Way Cafe. We sat down and plugged in, I bought a Coke Light, then decided to go to the bathroom. The girl handed me a key and gave me directions to a passage across the courtyard. The women's room, like most here, had an iron gated door you can lock from the inside, so no one can follow you in. The key was stuck so I went back and got the girl from the cafe to come help me. She showed me the trick for the sticky lock and made sure I locked it from the inside, and then left.

When I came out I tried the lock, but the key would not budge. I was stuck. Resisting panic, since no one was around, I leaned through the bars straining to spot anyone. After about 20 minutes, I heard someone in an elevator across from me. I yelled for help but the doors closed. The woman must have heard me though, because I saw her get off on the next floor and walk down the steps towards me. Luckily she was a cleaning woman with all the bathroom keys. I sheepishly explained my situation and she tried her key, without luck. She called over some of her coworkers and before long, I had a group of cleaning people trying all their keys and shouting out ideas. They were having a raucous time, either because they were bored or were getting a break from work. They said I was lucky to have been discovered because on the weekends there are usually very few people around.

Finally, they announced they would call a security guard, a suggestion to which I heartily acceded. He arrived half an hour later, armed with a butter knife. Everyone set about jimmying the lock, to repeated shouts of, "Don't break the knife!" I suppressed the urge to shout I would buy them a new set of knives if it would get me out. Eventually the security guy concluded the knife was not working and he needed a crowbar. The nearest crowbar, however, turned out to be at his house. Don't worry, everyone said, he lives close by. Once he returned with the crowbar, he quickly pried the door open, almost disconcertingly easily. After over an hour, I was free! Back in the cafe, Kemi was in a near state of panic, though the cashier had come by to tell her where I was a while ago. But she was left with all our stuff and couldn't leave. We devised a new rule: no separating without taking the cell phone. Not that I would have known who to call or how to find the Milky Way's number. Still seems like a good rule.