Getting Stuck in a School Bathroom

Annika Fisher-Eddy (she/they)

Editorial Team Member

Getting stuck in a bathroom was not on my high school bingo card. It’s an experience that most people can’t say they’ve had. And I didn’t ever have that experience either until this week.

I was heading back to class from the wellness counselor, and I thought I might as well use the bathroom on the way. I didn’t feel like walking all the way to the women’s restroom, so I just used the one-stall gender-neutral restroom in the middle of the hallway. I walked into the bathroom and locked the door, like I always do.

When I was done, I flicked the lock to unlock the door. 

But the door didn’t unlock.

I kept fiddling with the lock, hoping it would eventually unlock. But it didn’t. 

I started panicking. I was hyperventilating, and my heart was racing. I had the constant thought that I was going to die in there, because I wouldn’t be able to get out. I had left my cell phone in the class I was in during that period, so I couldn’t even call anyone. 

So I started doing the only thing I could think of. I started yanking on the doorknob as loud as I could, hoping someone would hear me. It took doing that for about five minutes before I heard someone shout through the door, “Are you stuck?” I told them I was, and they went to get an adult.

There were about five adults that came rushing over: an assistant principal, a counselor, a security guard, someone who works in the front office, and most importantly, the campus police officer.

I could hear them chattering through the door. People kept fidgeting with the lock from the outside, trying to get it to unlock. But it didn’t.

I was stuck in the bathroom for about 20 minutes before the campus cop eventually decided he would have to break the lock in order to get me out. I missed all of my second period class that day because of it.

To this day, I’m thankful for the group of girls who heard me yanking on the door and reported it. I don’t know what would’ve happened if they hadn’t heard me. 

My biggest concern is that after they replace the lock on the bathroom door, a student is going to get stuck in there for much longer than I was. That would get my school in trouble with the law.

Apparently I wasn’t the first person to get stuck in one of the one-stall bathrooms, but I was the first student. One teacher got stuck in a faculty restroom for two-and-a-half hours one time!

Even though I know it’s not my fault, I can’t help but feel bad that they have to get the bathroom door replaced. After all, if I hadn’t gone in there in the first place, this wouldn’t have ever happened. But I also know that if I hadn’t gone in there, it would’ve happened to the next student who used that bathroom, and I’m thankful that I saved them from having to deal with that.

But the best part of this situation is that now I have a story I can tell! This might be one of the craziest things that’s happened to me in high school, and it’s something I can tell my children and grandchildren about in the future.