7-Day MCSM One Shot Challenges - 2020 Edition

Mechanism

Generated word of the day - Mechanism

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It was a cold winters day in Redstonia. Most of the small engineering town's residents were hiding away from the horrid weather inside their houses, working away on indoor projects. Only a few who dared brave the cold were visible out on the road, all bundled up warmly under many layers. They all cast curious looks at one person who was making their way through town dressed way too lightly, slipping and sliding on patches of ice with yelps and squeals.

It wasn't the first really cold winter that had hit Redstonia, so all of the citizens were fairly used to the unexpected cold fronts. It was never too much of a hassle, considering Redstonia had some of the most advanced Redstone technology in the world. The buildings were all warm and cosy on the inside.

Olivia was excitedly working about inside her cosy little house, doing some last minute cleaning and sprucing up of the place. The smell of freshly baked cookies wafted from a tray that was sitting in the kitchen, the warmth from the furnace adding to the over all coziness of the place. An old cat was sleepily watching from one of the couches as the engineer fussed about, packing up some of the unfinished inventions that cluttered most of the table tops and other surfaces.

Normally, the the little house appeared slightly hazardous. Bits of machinery and tools were always scattered about the place. Olivia liked to refer to it as an organised mess, in her head. It looked untidy to somebody from the outside, but she knew exactly where everything was and everything was there for a reason. However the engineer didn't exactly like the idea of others thinking she was messy, so she always made sure to clean everything up as best she could when she was expecting guests.

Olivia absent-mindedly scratched her head with the back end of a screwdriver as she looked around the room, deciding she was satisfied with her work.

The sudden ring of a doorbell made her jump slightly. She broke into a smile, simply shoving the small tool into her pocket as she quickly made her way to the door. Swiftly unlocking it, Olivia pulled open the door.

Standing on her doorstep was a shivering Jesse, her long dark hair haphazardly shoved in beneath a woolly hat and the tip of her nose a bright red colour. She gave Olivia an awkward wave, not before glancing down at her practically soaked clothing.

"Jesse!" Olivia greeted, resting her hands on her hips as she took in her friend's dishevelled appearance.

"Don't give me that look, you did not tell me Redstonia was this cold!" Jesse accused, despite the grin already forming on her face.

"Get in here." Olivia said with a chuckle, holding the door open for Jesse.

The shorter girl did not need an invitation, quickly scampering inside and leaving a trail of wet bootprints behind her much to the engineer's disgust. She quickly shoved a few dry jackets into her friend's arms, insisting she got rid of her wet top layer before she caught a cold.

"I love how tiny and cosy this place is!" Jesse said excitedly, turning around on the spot as she looked around, much to the annoyance of Olivia who was trying to get her to stand still so she could wrap another jacket around her. "I'm so used to the large empty order hall back home!"

"That's why I chose this place." Olivia said, finally succeeding in her task and taking a step back from Jesse. "I loved all the space, don't get me wrong, but this is just so much more manageable, especially when you're living alone."

Jesse seemed to have already forgotten about the conversation she'd started, completely distracted as she gazed at all the photos on one wall. Olivia couldn't help but chuckle slightly, having forgotten just how full of life her old friend was. It was going to be nice having her around for a few days.