Through the Hallway Door

I slipped through the gap left beneath the front apartment door after noticing the outer latch wasn't fully closed. Outside, the common residential corridor stretched out in a long, quiet line. The beige floor tiles formed a repeating grid of clean squares under soft fluorescent tubes. Holding my water bottle securely against my side, I crouched down to examine the metallic transition strip dividing my doorway from the hall. It sat perfectly flush against the concrete base, like a tiny boundary line on a real neighborhood plan. I took one deliberate step past it onto the wide communal floor.