Literary: The Elevators of Central Boulevard
Central Boulevard, the longest boulevard in the city. With its long stretch that is filled with variety, I would wonder what happens inside a lot in Central Boulevard.
1, Central Boulevard corner Rigby Avenue
Trench’s Summit Apartments
8:49 AM –11th floor; ASCENDING
The lift is humid. It is filled with brown moving boxes, waiting to be unpacked. Together with these boxes is a family of four. All they have on their faces are grins and sweat. It takes them almost a week to move all their things. Kids are pretty handful, what more if you add them into the equation of transporting big and fragile things to and fro. They wouldn’t have it any other way though. The relief is evident, outside this lift is their new home. After saving up for years and that long awaited raise, the wife and the husband finally provide well enough for their children. Nothing makes them happier than seeing their kids happy. Life is good.
53, Central Boulevard, 1st intersection
Central Boulevard Shopping Center
10:01 AM –Ground Floor; ASCENDING
It was crunch time. The mall just opened and this batch of ladies managed to catch the first elevator to go to the 5th floor, where this new limited-edition skincare product was being sold. It was said it works like magic, even a hopeless case can be solved. It was terribly quiet inside the elevator. The volume of their whispers was low but the tension went up the same time as the elevator. I wouldn’t even want to compete with them.
192, Central Boulevard, across TECH-UK Industries
KNJ Consolidated
12:30 NN –54th floor; DESCENDING
The heir of this company, the next CEO, is a mystery. He once proposed a deal with his father, the current CEO, that while he was training for the position, he didn’t want anyone to know how or what he looked like.
The heir was about to go down for a lunch meeting with foreign investors. Ever since he handled a part of the company as a trainee, stocks fell and the bad reputation increased. He needed this meeting to go well if he wanted to prove himself worthy he thought. Then an employee and an intern entered the lift. They were talking about him. How timely. They were discussing about how the intern was not satisfied with what he got for working in KNJ. The employee joked about resigning and leaving, finding TECH-UK better than this company. Good thing the heir was there, because once the elevator stopped, so did the intern’s heart.
237, Central Boulevard, beside Mr. Hanson’s Bakery
Central School of the Performing Arts
2:26 PM –rooftop; DESCENDING
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight! Let’s take it from the top. The school’s dance team is about to perform in front of the student body. It is the mid-year break and they are preparing a dance routine before the 2-week break starts. It is a lot complicated than their previous numbers, not to mention having a lot of new and inexperienced recruits, but to the captain’s eyes, it is worth it. Their pride is definitely on the line. Nerves are all over the elevator as they try to master step by step, one last time, the parts in their minds. For some, this might be clockwork—watch, learn, dance, repeat. But its different today. A bunch is frightened and excited, as it signals the rise of the new crew. A few though, is melancholic and already nostalgic, after all, this is their last mid-year dance.
577, Central Boulevard, along Median Road
Pacific Medical Center and Institution
5:34 PM –basement parking; ELEVATOR EMERGENCY
The elevator music is on, but the lights are off. The nurse already called the emergency hotline while the man with her continuously plays on his phone. The nurse seems irritated, wasting time in here instead of serving and helping people, on top of it, an ignorant young adult who has yet to bat an eyelash on her is sitting there with no care. An hour has passed by. Visiting hours is almost already done. The nurse may not like to admit it but this was by far the longest break she got in this shift and that as the time progressed, she is entertained with the man’s antics. He isn’t ignorant, he’s just really finishing a game he can’t afford to lose even after an emergency. All his stories are interesting, somehow appropriate as start-up conversations for first dates. Dates. Would she consider that a date? The unanswered question is broken when the elevator jerks on with the lights. It’s safe to say; after that the elevator isn’t the only thing that is turned-on.
901, Central Boulevard
Midgard Hotel and Resort
8:50 PM –29th floor; DESCENDING
It was too quiet, almost deafening. A couple stood inside the elevator, strangers it may seem to an onlooker. I might have to repeat, they are a couple; both are nervous, but in different contexts. He was about to propose, inside this very elevator, he tried to be witty; it was something about him being in an elevator, a comparison to the box being the elevator and the ring being him. Of course, this is not the only thing he had in mind. He planned a perfect night just for him and his future fiancé.
The woman stood still inside the elevator, quite shaken. She knew what was about to happen, I mean, who would take her on a grand random date, at a random date? Definitely not her boyfriend. He was very sentimental, everything he did had a secret meaning. Accurate and precise, those were the words that could describe him. In other words, he was too much. Too accurate and precise for her. So, when he knelt down on one knee, and asked for her hand, she had to say no. She didn’t mean to be this harsh, this wasn’t the way she imagined them parting, with one knee on the ground and a leg out of the relationship. It was better this way, rather than she said yes and for her to hurt him more in the process, hurting herself too.
The look on his face was devastating. He was confused, what did she say? His ears were deceiving him, he had to laugh, was this a joke? Her eyes were filled with unreleased tears. Oh, apparently not. This was the first time he was inaccurate. His heart was broken, his heart was shattered. His heart was feeling everything, but all that he thought about, was the bill he will pay for later and how he could’ve used the money to buy the watch he saw last month.
Central Boulevard, the longest boulevard in the city. With its long stretch that is filled with variety, I now know what happens inside a lot in Central Boulevard.
