A Place Called Home: King Louis

King Louis does as he pleases. He doesn’t always listen when you call him and sometimes he decides not to move at all. As much as King Louis annoys me, I can’t help but to like him. Who is this King Louis you may be wondering? King Louis is the Anna Smith Elevator.

I call the elevator King Louis because he runs by his own rules and therefore is a king. My first trip on King Louis was terrifying. For those who have not seen King Louis, he just looks dangerous. When you enter King Louis, there is a heavy door you must close and then a rickety gate. If both are not closed all the way, King Louis will not run. So one day, my roommate convinced me to take the elevator instead of the stairs. I stepped in and closed the gate. I pressed the 2^nd floor button and braced myself. The elevator started to move and I took a sigh of relief. We had almost made it to our floor, when the elevator stopped. It stopped, right between the first and second floor! I was prepared to panic. I was prepared to scream. We were stuck in an elevator and there was no way out. Before I started to have a heart attack, my roommate slowly lifted her hand and pressed the second floor button again. The elevator started to move toward the second floor and soon enough we arrived at our destination. Before we stepped off, my roommate turned to me and laughing said, “You should have seen your face!” I had survived my first Anna Smith elevator ride.

I have now stopped having mini heart attacks when King Louis stops between floors and have gotten used to pressing the button only to realize the elevator is stuck. While going to the basement, the word “Hell” with an arrow pointing down on the wall has mostly lost its effect, though it still a main point in jokes when taking the elevator downstairs. At first I feared King Louis, resorting to take the stairs. Now I get agitated when I can’t take the elevator. King Louis may look dangerous and terrifying, but that is what makes King Louis unique.