starter for @phd-in-horrible
The laundromat looked empty from the outside, which was on purpose. Althea sat, hidden behind some of the machines, in a corner where she’d be hidden until someone walked to the back part of the building. She didn’t want to be found, but she didn’t want anyone coming in just to do laundry to find her suspicious either, so she had a dryer on behind her, running her jacket, as an excuse.
Next to her sat a pack, with its contents of metal, screws, wires, and more dumped on the ground in front of her along with a personal sized kit of tools. But try as she might, she couldn’t stop her hands shaking, couldn’t stop tears welling up in her eyes that she had to constantly blink back, and it was making an already tough job that much harder. Whatever it was that the pieces in front of her belonged to, it had clearly gone through something bad, as had the woman trying desperately to put it back together. She would find better tools later, right now, she just needed a quiet, safe place, and to try and assess the damage.
The opening of the building’s door broke Althea out of any semblance of focus she might have had, however, and despite her insistence to herself on not acting suspicious, she ducked slightly and leaned to the side, trying to get a look at who was coming in before they saw her, terrified someone might have found her.
