He immediately turns back and finds himself staring into a remarkable pair of blue eyes moving down the escalator in the opposite direction. These eyes are set in the pretty face of the girl with red hair with whom he had exchanged phone numbers earlier. Max asks himself. Then, suddenly, it is clear. Max attempts to make his way down the escalator, moving against traffic, but the flow of people upward makes it impossible to reach Lauren before she disappeares through a set of doors.
Inspiration strikes and just the right moment.
Running as fast as he can, he takes the shortcut around the building and stops at the other set of double doors from which she would soon be exiting. He leans nonchalantly against the wall, hiding his breathlessness, and waits for Lauren to appear. Only seconds later she walks out of the doors. He shrugs his shoulders, smiling. After a quick conversation, Max invites Lauren to a rehearsal he has that night.