[AU PRP] Is It Upside Down?

[HuniPi]

Wendy couldn't believe her overprotective parents were actually letting her stay in a dorm for college. But she was overjoyed that they finally trusted her enough to grant her some semblance of independence. It wasn't a large room, and she would have to share it with someone, but that was still exciting.

And today was the day she and her room mate were going to decorate their shared space. She stared at the boxes that had been delivered and was seized with uncertainty. Could they actually be able to do it?

[anemosagkelos]

Marisol sighed, she'd gotten off to a rocky start with this whole idea of attending college. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to enter a room and flop on an already made bed so that she could sleep. Except dorms weren't furnished and certainly did not have sheets and blankets at the ready. Time to make the best of it, she reminded herself as she found her room and entered.

The boxes had arrived at least, and her roommate was there, too.

"Hi, I'm Marisol," she introduced herself, placing her lone suitcase and backpack down.

[HuniPi]

Hearing another person's voice pulled Wendy out of her self-doubt spiral. She turned to her roommate, debated between a handshake, a wave, or offering a hug. Oh gosh, how do you people around non-family members? She settled with giving an awkward, uncertain smile, "Hi, I'm Wendy. Sorry about the mess, I'd have already started but I'm not sure where exactly."

She glanced at the piles of boxes and the stenciled names on the side of the boxes. Which ones were hers and which were Marisol's? Gosh, she didn't even remember the weird names, she just picked from the pictures.

[anemosagkelos]

"It's all a bit overwhelming, isn't it?" Marisol agreed as she, too, took in the boxes. She really did not want to do this even if she considered herself a very handy person. But if they didn't, well they'd be sleeping on the floor and she hadn't brought a sleeping bag.

"If we want somewhere to sleep," Marisol smiled, "I guess we should start with the beds. Unless you had the foresight to bring a tent, some air mattresses, and sleeping bags," she teased.

[HuniPi]

Wendy looked as if a deer in headlights. She had not once considered the possibility that they would not be able to set up the beds. Oh. Oh no. Somewhere in the recesses of her pop-culture knowledge, she recalled the memes how instructions from this specific furniture store were difficult af. She had to take a deep breath before she spiraled into a panic.

"Yes. Beds. A very good place to start." Which one of these held the beds?

Blindly, she picked one and just committed to it. She took out a boxcutter, and proceeded to slice through the packaging. That the box held the mattresses was a good sign. "At least we'll have the soft bits ready to go if we don't finish building today."

[anemosagkelos]

"Hey, no need to stress, we'll figure it out!" she tried to soothe the worried look on the other girl's face. "What's the worst that can happen, we call in some relatives or friends to help?" she mused, although she had a feeling the friends would be an easier sell. She couldn't really imagine her mom trying to put together furniture and her dad would probably, well, there was no need to introduce that factor yet.

Turning to unzip her backpack, Marisol pulled out some general tools they would need, and then went to help Wendy unload the box. It seemed a never ending task, with all the pieces that came out and a glaringly white piece of paper that seemed to be nothing but text and pictures making her realize just how much more difficult this could be.

"This feels like we're building a whole room," she sighed at length.

[HuniPi]

Wendy appreciated the support and reassurance from Marisol. But her attempts at calming weren't working. Not when the suggestion to call in for help was brought up. She couldn't let her parents know she already couldn't manage her situation this soon. She tamped down the mounting panic, instead channeling all her energy into interpreting the instructions.

Or at least. She tried.

"I guess this is what we get for ordering loft style furniture. Is this Screw A or Screw D?" She held up the aforementioned bits to Marisol for identification.

[anemosagkelos]

She peered at the package, consulted the instructions, and then guessed, "Screw D, I think."

"Why don't we set everything out, make sure it's all here, and then we can start following the instructions?" Marisol suggested.

[HuniPi]

It was going to take longer but better safe than sorry. Tedious as it was, Wendy was still able to give it her undivided attention. She was determined to do this without help. She was going to be a strong independent modern woman who didn't need no man (or her parents).

"I think that's all?" Though "all" was an assortment of screws, nuts, bolts, and wood panels of varying sizes.

[anemosagkelos]

Marisol nodded in agreement, "And, thankfully, it's everything we need. Not a single piece missing," she breathed in relief. Now that would have been much worse.

"Okay," she flipped through the instruction booklet to find the first step. "Oh, this starts with the desk. It feels like we should be able to do that part later," she frowned. "What do you think? Should we skip the desk for now?"

[HuniPi]

"There are instructions for a reason! I think we should start with the desk." Wendy pondered before taking her phone out, fingers quickly typing, "Okay so according to the top reviews, desk starting is absolutely necessary. You get to see what you're doing before putting on the bed's frame."

She held out the phone's screen as if needing justification and evidence.

[anemosagkelos]

Marisol couldn't exactly argue with it and she wasn't sure she wanted to try if the other girl was, well, definitely on the uptight side. She held up her hands in mock surrender, "Ok, it was just a thought. We'll start at the beginning."

But if there wasn't a place to sleep at the end of this . . .