SIGHTS
Glass entryway doors, mats on the glossy floors, security guards spaced out around the area, video cameras, a line of cashier wickets along one wall with a roped area to guide customers to the front of the line, a table with pens on a chain where deposit slips and forms are filled out, tellers (accessing counting machines and computers, drawers of cash and traveler’s checks, filing cabinets, printers and fax machines, stamps and stamp pads, a paper shredder station, locked drawers, a debit machine), a pair of cash machines by the door or outside the entrance, signs on the wall displaying mortgage rates, a rate-of-exchange currency board, posters reminding clients to invest their money safely, a waiting area (with a coffee machine, magazines and plastic chairs), a floor manager behind a desk, offices for loans and investments, a hallway leading to a bank vault and safety deposit box room, tile flooring, large glass windows, trash bins, a long line (customers shifting foot-to-foot, people with wallets out, purses or cash deposit bags)
SOUNDS
The ruffle of paper as bills are counted by hand, the sound of the teller’s voice as she rattles off amounts, the thunk of a stamp on paperwork, a teller calling out to the next customer in line, soft music in the background, coughing, people speaking in low voices, the gurgle and hiss of the coffee machine, feet shuffling in the lineup, doors and drawers opening and closing, the tap of keys on the keyboard, the scratch of a pen, a purse or deposit bag unzipping, a bank card being slapped on the counter, a receipt spitting out of a machine, the whir of the fax machine, heels clicking across the floor, the air conditioning or heat rumbling on
SMELLS
Cleaners (pine, lemon, ammonia), paper, warm electronics (a dusty, ozone-type scent), perfume or cologne mingling in the air, coffee, bad breath, food warmed up in an unseen break room, hair products
TASTES
Cheap candies from the bowl, mints, gum, water, coffee, tea, purchased sandwiches or food from home being eaten on a lunch break
TEXTURES AND SENSATIONS
Pushing open a heavy or sticky door, shifting one’s weight while waiting, absently shuffling one’s checks and deposit slips, the hard edge of a service counter pressing into one’s ribs or forearms, struggling to use a pen that’s secured to the counter with a too-short cord, crisp and stiff bills, bills that stick together and make it difficult to count them, a smooth receipt, angling one’s body at the ATM machine to block the sun or shield the screen from others, the slice of a paper cut
POSSIBLE SOURCES OF CONFLICT
Money going missing due to a bank error
A bank machine eating a customer’s card
Impatient, line-cutting customers
A holdup
A medical emergency (such as a customer who faints or has a seizure)
A security guard on a power trip
A teller’s drawer being short of money at the end of the day
An aggressive bank employee pushing credit cards, loans, or other incentives on a customer
Forgetting one’s PIN code or account number
A power outage that makes it impossible for a customer to withdraw money at a crucial time
Opening a safety deposit box to discover one’s contents are missing
PEOPLE COMMONLY FOUND HERE
Bank robbers, bank workers, customers, delivery people, security personnel, security specialists making bank deposits or refilling bank machines with cash
SETTING NOTES AND TIPS
Banks will appear different based on size and the clientele being serviced. Big banks may have more security measures than a regular bank because they have greater amounts of money on hand. Some banks may also feature a drive-up service, by which customers can deposit checks or withdraw money.
SETTING DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE
My hat pulled low, I grabbed a white envelope from the table and gave my jacket a leisurely pat down as if searching for a pen. I clocked seven, no . . . eight cameras. Four tellers, but six wickets, so two might be on break. The bank manager was in his glassed-in office, and a loan officer sat next door, sorting paperwork that wheezed out of his asthmatic printer. Angled away from the nearest camera, I made a show of bending over the envelope, as if to write. After the hit, the cops would be sure to scroll through old footage, but they wouldn’t give me a second thought if I appeared to be a customer like everyone else. While scribbling nonsense on the paper, I noticed a security guard near the entrance who rubbed at his chest as if it hurt. Interesting. He kept glancing down the left hall that, according to the schematics, led to the restroom. Classic afternoon heartburn. I smiled. My bet was he’d head down there for a drink, unknowingly creating the perfect opportunity for someone like me. Not that I’d act on it; this wasn’t my first rodeo. Patience meant freedom. Today was about two things—making sure the lay of the land matched my blueprints, and getting an accurate headcount.
Techniques and Devices Used: Multisensory descriptions, personification
Resulting Effects: Foreshadowing, hinting at backstory