I took a right after B-8 fully expecting to find myself standing before B-9. I laughed out loud because at the end of the corridor I had managed to find myself at A-10 instead. I looked around feeling embarrassed and as if some kind of joke was being played on me. Was I really so poor at navigating the third floor or was it intentionally designed to be like a maze?

I was about to head back and take the other way when I saw something I hadn't even known I had been looking for.

I hurried forward, carefully making sure I didn't bump into any of the teenagers or Pied Piper officers passing by on my left or right. I made it across the main corridor and came to one that led to a dead end. Ahead there was a closed steel door, just to the right of it was a keycard reader which I was sure my keycard wouldn't work for. Above my head I could see yet another surveillance camera; there had been at least one on every corridor.

But what I had sought out was a little out-of-the-way nook, like a design flaw in the construction of the corridor, that I could move into. I stepped into it; it was darker, all in shadow, the fluorescent light in the corridor not reaching round the tight corner. I lowered down until I was in a crouch position, remained squat for a few moments, then finally let myself sit down with my back against the wall. A few seconds of this made me feel too aware that I couldn't see if anyone might be coming this way so I turned myself around, giving me a slight view of the corridor I had just come down.

If ever there was a time to feel bad for myself and have a little cry this was the spot. I was probably about as alone as I was going to get in this place (besides maybe a toilet stall). I wanted to go and find the others, particularly Tiffany, but a mental block in my head just said 'no', as if keeping back all the motivation to do so from me. I stared at the wall for a few seconds, then down the corridor seeing glimpses of the teenagers and Pied Piper officers coming and going; there were about thirty teenagers to an officer.

I couldn't bring myself to cry and I didn't have my laptop with me to pull up some sad film clip to help get the tears out. Oh come on, a part of me thought, you're living out a movie scenario right now and you're just moping in a corner. Get it together and be the hero you've always thought you could be. Only losers mope in a corner wishing to see their Mummy again. Don't be so pathetic.

I agreed with this voice. But that didn't mean I could muster up the will to listen to it. I rested my head against the wall and closed my eyes. The sound of distant voices and footsteps was so nice without me being in the middle of it. There was no chance of me going to sleep but it felt so soothing to close my eyes and do nothing for a little bit. Maybe Mike and the others had realised I was missing and had started to look for me. Or maybe they realised but figured I would find my own way eventually. The latter seemed the most likely option.

Minutes passed until I was sure I had been sitting alone for nearly twenty. It was just too nice to get up and face the reality of my situation again. Not yet. I would muster up the usual mental brick wall I always did to handle stressful situations; I just needed a bit of time to collect myself. The anger, the frustration, the emotional burnout, it wasn't going anywhere. Twenty minutes of sitting alone wasn't going to cut it. But it was a start, at least.

I noticed a bit too late a pair moving into the corridor. Had I noticed them earlier maybe I would have sprang up and made my way out. To come this way either meant they were going to continue on, using keycard access that I didn't have, or they wanted some privacy. I assumed the latter after a moment because I saw a girl, blonde with a ponytail, very petite, with a broad figure, leading the way down the corridor in my direction. I moved my head aside to avoid detection.

Maybe I might have revealed myself after one mississippi but it came and went.

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"There's a camera right there," said the girl.

"Don't worry about it," said a guy's voice.

There was something about the way they were talking that made me think they were standing close together, speaking intimately.

"So what did you want to ask me in private?" said the guy.

"I don't know," said the girl, playfully, "I just wanted to talk. Just us."

"Just to talk?" said the guy, also playfully, "Mission accomplished."

"Have you been working here long?" said the girl.

"I'm not allowed to talk about that," said the guy, "It's a policy; we're not allowed to talk about our personal lives."

"No?" said the girl, "That's a shame."

The guy sighed. "I've been here-a few weeks. Happy?"

"Very happy," she said, "Now I'm here with you."

"Is that so?" said the guy.

"Actually no," said the girl, playfully, "I'd rather be anywhere else. This is awful."

The pair quietly laughed.

"You know," she said, "You're kind of cute…"

Although I couldn't see the guy the pause made me think he didn't quite know what to say in response.

"I'm sorry," said the girl, "This is stupid. I don't want to get you into trouble."

"Yeah," said the guy, "I'm not supposed to be talking with you mice like this. It's against–"

"--policy?" said the girl, in a bit of a bratty tone.

"Yeah, sorry, look," said the guy, "Maybe this was a bad idea. I thought you had a serious issue you needed to bring to my attention-"

"-I do have a serious issue," said the girl, cutting him off, "Here I am far from home I don't know what is going on, and then I see this cute guy looking really good in a uniform and I just feel so…what's the right word…um…"

"Attracted?" said the guy.

"Safe," said the girl.

"Oh, right," said the guy, "Well that's what I'm here for."

"Okay," said the girl, "I'm sorry, I guess I better go."

I could see the girl turn to leave and a Pied Piper officer's hand reached out to grab her wrist, at first firmly, then gently.

"Wait," said the officer, "Maybe we can see each other again sometime?"

"Maybe not," said the girl, "I don't want to get you into trouble."

"Don't worry about me," said the guy, "I can pull some strings if I need to."

"Okay," said the girl, "But maybe you should go, just for now?"

"Alright…" said the guy, "What's your name again?"

"Sophie," said the girl, "You?"

"I–eh–I'm sorry, I can't tell you my name. It's–"

"-policy," said the girl, cutting him off again. She giggled, "You're such a stickler for the rules."

"Yeah," said the guy, "I better go. Catch you later."

I caught a glimpse of the back of the Pied Piper officer. He looked younger than most, maybe around thirty, but a young thirty.

The girl, Sophie, stayed behind in the corridor. Then, after a few seconds, she hurried out of the corridor too, turning a corner out of sight.

I stayed where I was for a few more minutes thinking about the interaction I had just witnessed. The girl had to be a bit crazy to try flirting with a Pied Piper officer. Or maybe he was the crazy one for putting his job at risk over a girl taking an interest in him. Everything about the girl's tone however told me what seemed pretty obvious; she was manipulating him. If there was one thing I had a knack for, most of the time, it was knowing when people were being real or being fake. I had caught a glimpse of the real Sophie in her demeanor after the Pied Piper officer had walked off. She wasn't staring dreamily after him. She had watched with a cold, if a little apprehensive, stare. She was up to something. But what?

Up ahead I caught a glimpse of Tiffany moving at a jogging pace from right to left with a look of concern on her face. I shot up from where I was sitting and raced down the corridor to catch up with her.