Room 43// An Inanimate Insanity College AU

4- Lights... On?

Paintbrush takes a short step back from their easel, their canvas sitting comfortably on it. Their art project, which is due in a couple of days (five days and twenty-one hours; they haven't been counting or anything, but it's five days and twenty-one hours) is about halfway done. All Paintbrush really needs to do now is finish the shading and otherwise miscellaneous details.

That takes a lot more time than one would think, however, and they've only got five days to do it. Maybe they need to take more time for their assignment; it's what they're here for, after all, and these student loans don't need to pile up for nothing.

With a new vigour, they grab their paintbrush and start lightly dabbing at the mountain with stark black paint, tying to create more contrast. It's honestly a really nice piece, if they do say so themselves; it's not exactly the realism that Professor Easel had not-so-gently nudged everyone towards doing, but the contrast was good and it fit the criteria of the task.

It was a nice and snowy mountain that reached almost the top of the canvas and were a soft white with beams of slight and very diluted yellow washing over the snow, along with valleys that got so dark they were almost black. The mountain itself was a nice middle ground, an even grey in the centre before it got darker or lighter in its respective direction.

Feeling satisfied with their work, Paintbrush left it on the easel to dry and walked into the main room with more ideas still blossoming in their mind, shaking around like papers in a hat at the fair, or perhaps a game of Secret Santa.

When Paintbrush walks in, the first thing they notice is that the sun has gone down a lot; how long were they sitting in their room working on that? It was so easy to lose track of time whilst painting, getting yourself lost in the finer details and 'perfecting' the piece.

The next thing they notice is that Test Tube is standing on the couch with a pile of fairy lights at her heels, tying to string up a cord of them. Paintbrush stands in the doorway, face painted with confusion.

"What are you doing?" They inquire suddenly, not really registering the words coming out of their mouth. It's quite second-nature to do it; constantly asking what Fan or Lightbulb are up to because it's not unusual for them to dig themselves into schemes. How they've lived this long is honestly a mystery; neither of them has any self-preservation skills.

Normally Paintbrush was asking Fan or Lightbulb that question because they baffled them extremely often. Paintbrush wasn't very used to asking Test Tube that question, though.

"I'm stringing up these lights," Test tube says while slightly waving the cord of lights she has in one hand, keeping herself on both feet by holding onto the wall with her other.

"...Why?" Paintbrush asks, taking the low-hanging fruit.

"Well, since we had a blackout a couple of nights ago, it's highly likely that will happen again in the coming months of winter. Therefore, i have decided to string up a light source that will not go out in the case of a blackout," Test Tube explained. Paintbrush just blinked at her; they weren't used to Test Tube's large vocabulary just yet.

"I'm hanging the lights so we have light if another blackout comes about," Test Tube simplified once she realised Paintbrush hadn't really understood what was being said.

"Ah! Well, do you need a hand? You look like you're struggling a bit," Paintbrush offered while taking hold of the long and coiling cord that was previously at Test Tube's feet, resting on the couch.

Test Tube just nodded, focusing very strongly on getting this string up. It wasn't the most efficient thing in the world; actually, it could've been deemed the opposite. A roll of masking tape was hanging from the wall from just one piece of tape, and Test Tube took a pair of scissors to it whenever she needed another piece to hang up a cord. The roll fell to the floor, hitting the side of the couch and falling down.