F.I.R.E

It was just another ordinary day at the office. Everyone was plonking away on the keyboard. Suddenly the bell rang. For a moment it felt like the school bell had just rang. Ah....the most anticipated moments during school (Lunch break and dismiss). Haven't heard that in a while. Made me miss school. Then the ringing brought back my senses. It didn't stop after a few minutes. It kept ringing. Everyone got really excited and started behaving like kids. Is it time to leave? What's happening? Is it false alarm? Has the alarm gone bonkers again? The noise from everyone's chatter drown the ringing. But the ringing didn't stop. All the managers were perplexed. They didn't know what to do. They should have been well equipped but they seem to be as clueless as a new hire. Then everyone got up from their workstations, locked the drawers and headed for the stairs. And wonder which genius decided to lock the entrance to the stairs. Very bright indeed. there were 400+ people moving aimlessly around the floor looking for the nearest exit stairway. This is when you truly see manners. Regardless of age, they just jump queue and behaving like baboons.

We then began walking down the stairs. Like slow loris making its way down the endless steps. Pausing every few seconds because the donkeys in front decided to halt. Holding the line up. During every pause, you'll see different antics. Some started taking photos with their phones. Some shooting videos. Some opened up their TP and started typing .I wonder if they are that dedicated when seated at their workstation. Probably just updating FB status. "Look I'm walking down the stairs". It was the longest march down the never ending uneven steps. Try walking down 16 flights of stairs in high heels and you'll know what I mean. It was really stuffy and hot. Did I mention I was in long sleeves? I could feel sweat rolling down my back. Then my face started to feel wet. By the time we were halfway down the stairs, I was already sweating profusely. The anal thing is I didn't bring anything with me. No handbag, no cash, no IC. No tissue.Nothing except my wonky phone. Very bright. It it were a real fire, I would be stateless because I don't have ID to prove my nationality. It took almost an hour to reach concourse. If it were a real fire we would have been ash (similar to the Twin Tower victims of 911).

When we finally reach, and walked through the door, it was instant relief. I could feel slight breeze. Probably being confined in the stuffy and hot stairway for too long makes anything bearable. While exiting the building, it felt strange. The reception that is usually on my right is now on my left. Oh wait, we are exiting through another side of the building (another company's entrance). When I was approaching the glass door, I had a feeling we were like heroes that managed to circled the earth and re-entered. There was this girl, standing by the wall capturing the epic moment of our march out with her phone. The world is full of strange people. I wonder why the security guards didn't user her out to a "safer" place?

When I stepped out of the building, there were firemen standing at the entrance. But there was no fire in sight. Not even a tiny baby snake or runaway crocodile. When I look up, there were a sea of people standing on the opposite side of the road. Some were holding up placards with the company name and floor on it. It was sizzling when I stepped into the sun. Making my way through the crowd aimlessly ( I didn't know where to go) I feel every pore of my skin open. I was drenched in sweat. I have not had this feeling since my band days. I hate to sweat. Especially when you don't have tissue or towels to dry up and dry clothes to change in to. In short I just hate sweating. Makes me feel icky and uneasy. And I tend to be temperamental when I sweat. Like a sheep, I just wandered with the flock to the end of the road. Really tiring. From walking down 16 storeys and towards the end of the road, it's like running 1500km during school days.  There I have to look for the person holding the name list. I walked up to a person I see holding a list and having people swarm around that person. Then a person said "You do not belong to this team. Go find your team". SWEAT. Just write my name down on that freaking piece of paper. Anal. Then I saw another guy with a list. I walked up to him. He recognised me and started searching for my name. Then he said it's not in his list and told me to go to another person. When I walked up to the other girl, I just flashed my ID at her. She looked through her list but was unable to locate my name. But she just wrote it down. That's bright. Better than the other 2. After she wrote my name I quickly walked towards shelter. Stood there for about 5-10 minutes. Then everyone started walking back.

Speechless. Seriously. Too exhausted. It was a long wait to re-enter the building. And even longer wait to board the elevator. I had blisters on both feet and when I reached the office I could hardly walk anymore. My legs were going weak and were trembling. Not to mention the pain from the blisters. I kicked off my shoes the minute I sat down and rummage through my bag for plaster to cover the blister. But it is no longer of any use. The blisters were already flatten and my feet were already aching. If I had known that there was a fire drill today, I would have opted to work from home. But then again, the witch would forbade me from doing so.