My sudden fear of revolving doors is actually laughable compared to my fear of elevators. It's a legitimate fear though. I really hate small places. Especially small places that are basically just large metal boxes hanging from tiny cables.

Everytime I step into an elevator and the doors close behind me, I feel as if the walls are slowly moving closer together. The room begins to get smaller and smaller. (Or maybe I'm just getting bigger and bigger like Alice during her visit to Wonderland. I'm not really sure.) It's not something I like to think about. I seem to think about it a lot though. As a matter of fact, I've examined the 'death by elevator' scenerio from just about every angle. I've even come up with some rules for survival. Number 1 - Never get into a crowded elevator. There's always the possibility of suffocation while stuck between floors. Number 2 - Never get into an empty elevator. There's nothing more scary than being all alone when the cable snaps and you plummet to your death. Granted, a person's options are cut short by these rules, but they'd kept me alive so far.

I heaved a great sigh of relieve when I saw there were only three other people waiting for a ride to another floor. When the first elevator reached the ground level, two men stepped off and another man and woman stepped on. The doors to the other elevator opened quickly thereafter. Following a woman just a couple of inches shorter than me, I stepped inside and pushed the button marked "9".

There's another scary element that must be taken into account when boarding an elevator - the music. This particular elevator was emitting the sounds of Neil Diamond. My companion voiced some sort of derogatory comment about that selection. I whole-heartedly agreed with her views on the singer, but I dared not voice this agreement aloud. I was afraid I might use up too much oxygen.

Thankfully we made it to my floor first. I nodded politely in her general direction before quickly scurrying onto solid ground. I glanced about and noticed a sign on the opposite wall. Quickly scanning the list of departments and their subsequent room numbers, I found the one I needed. My heels clicked loudly on the tiled floor as I turned to the right and proceded down the hallway.

Both sides of the wall were lined with large, black-and-white photos. I recognized some of the faces and realized these must be firm's more famous clientele. I stepped closer to get a better look at one of them. A pair of dark, wide-set eyes stared back at me. A small plaque just below the photo read simply "Midnight Raine McScott". I raised my eyes to the woman's face again. Her name's 'Midnight Raine'? I wondered. After thinking about it for a few moments, I decided I liked it. It had a certain charm and it definitely wasn't any worse than True Love. I smiled at her frozen features and whispered, "Wish me luck, Miss McScott."

Fortifying myself for the inevitable, I moved a few more feet down the hall to a door with one word painted on the outside. That word was 'RESEARCH'. I glanced back the way I had come. I could leave now, I thought, I could leave now and no one would know. But that wasn't true. I would know. The people of the other side of that door would know because they were already expecting me. And my mother would know simply because she knows everything.

Knowing there was no turning back, I opened the door and stepped inside. I had walked into a small lobby. The central piece of that lobby was a large desk and behind that desk was a large woman. She must've heard the door open because she already looked ready for action. Patiently, she waited for me to take off my coat and hang it on the stand near the door. Then she spoke quickly, "Yes, Miss?"

"Um, hello," I said hesitantly, "I believe I'm expected. I have an interview today."

"And your name?"

I decided to take the easy way out. "MacAlister."

"Alright, Miss MacAlister. You're a little early so why don't you just take a seat and wait."

True Love MacAlister

The Muse Introduction