Last night while going between floors 9 and 10 to recopy my students' papers for the kajillionth time, I accidentally locked myself in the stairwell. After a search for an exit that lasted approximately as long as the fifth grade, I drew in my breath and triggered the alarm.

When I got down to the loading dock, the cadets were waiting with radios and handcuffs, demanding to know how a homeless girl had gotten up to floor 10 to photocopying paper comments.