[ WP ] Short story that takes place in a single elevator ride .

The cage rattled on slowly. She hated the elevator in her building. Its antique design was ruined by the rust that had formed on the sliding door, and the dirt, the origins of which she was glad were unbeknownst to her, that had accumulated in the corner. The fact that the original architect had disregarded the, at the time of construction widely accepted standards for shaft height, swiftly assisted by the lack of local building codes, did n't lighten her mood either. A scrawny looking man entered at ground level ( she had come from the basement where she had parked her bike ), and she took a step back, a decision brought on by her self-defense instinct, rather than common courtesy or politeness. Those were, after all, not common things in this neighborhood. 
 
 With a shock the cage came to a halt on the first floor, where the scrawny looking man exited, only to be replaced by a young man who appeared to be asleep more than awake. He gazed at her for a while, before being distracted by the walls passing by. Somewhere between the second and the third floor, she saw a rat emerge from a hole in the wall, and disappear into another one. A shiver ran down her spine, and she turned her head away, in an attempt to banish the rat from the bubble of the relevant parts of reality around her. 
 
 At last the elevator arrived at the sixth floor. She took a step forward, hoping that the young man would notice and step aside. The stranger glanced down at her leg, but did n't move. Forgetting, for a moment, the customs, or rather, lack thereof, here, she was annoyed by his arrogance and strode forward, pulling her suitcase behind her, its wheels coming into contact with the strangers' leg rather roughly. She heard the stranger cry out in pain, and a small smile formed on her face, briefly satisfied at the small victory. 
 
 _Writers' comment: my sentences are way too long... _
