After reaching into his pocket, the words "Oh
crap" slipped into his mind as soon as he heard the clank on the floor.
Almost as a reflex, he scanned the floor, attempting to pinpoint the source
of the sound. He spotted a few buttons, an empty gum wrapper, and a small pile
of dust, but he was looking for none of these. "Perhaps it fell behind the box," he thought. He looked behind, around, and even beneath, but it was not there.
As he searched, he half-wished it would call to him, "Hey, over here!" Instead, it sat silently in some unknown area of the floor. Finally, he took his keys from his pocket (which was his original intention), and unlocked the door.
He looked to the floor once more as he walked out. "Damn," he thought. "Lost another quarter."