Imagine the door frame more solid than this, floor to ceiling.Russian cafes fall roughly into two categories - the old and the new. The old have natural airconditioning, as I call it and are not noted for either the service or the food quality. The new use the latest materials but things can be built in an interesting manner.
They like to use this plastic covered metal which we have for window frames, only they use it for anything, including bathroom doors. Another thing they often do is not think of consequences because a Russian simply can't plan. He's friendly, brave and handsome but he can't plan.
Therefore, when our anti-hero lost his girlfriend and went to the cafe to drown his sorrows, a number of things happened. One was that, near closing time, he went to the loo and what with one thing and another, he fell asleep. Now, the door to the loo closed in a snug fit with the metal lip of the frame [draughts in a Russian winter can be unpleasant] and though there was an extractor fan inside, it did not connect with the outside world but into another room at the back and through a tiny opening.
About this time, the waitress went off-duty and the manager and the floor manager came in, cupboards, doors and anything lockable was locked, including the loo, the lights were switched off and the building vacated until the next morning. As this cafe was in town, there were no houses and thus no one about in the wee hours.
When he came to, our anti-hero realized the situation, hollered and tried to kick down the door, except that it opened inwards and now, as he wrenched at it, the handle came off. There was water in the bowl, water in the taps at the wash basin but the air was becoming musty because of course, all the power had been turned off and he was in pitch black.
When his eyes adjusted, he saw that he was not in complete pitch black, as the tiny connecting hole of the fan admitted some air flow but not enough and it was becoming clear that his air supply was ever so slowly diminishing.
Now he had some decisions to make. If he shouted, he used the air. If he tried to break down the door, that had consequences too.
What should his steps have been?
