The elevator nearly caught Alex by surprise. She was driven to distraction by the amount of work she was trying to catch up on. She'd decided not to take a leave of absence, which meant that she had more hours than she cared to consider of catch up to play in addition to the two classes she'd be teaching. It had left her more than a little distracted, and so as she hefted her messenger bag, packed tight with laptop, what seemed like reams of paper, and several books, she was also reading a journal article relevant to her research. When the elevator doors opened, she'd all but forgotten she'd pressed the button.
Even so, she stepped on with a slight, small smile to the girl who was already inside, shifting to the back corner opposite the other girl.