Tick...

[dmboogie]

[[Alice Gilman: Enter]]

Tock...

The grandfather clock hung on the wall of Alice's room, stripped of its cover, exposing the clockwork within. There was just something about the steadfast movements that calmed her, the steady ticking that helped lull her to sleep better than a lullaby. The cog was not quite dead.

Tick...

Sadly, not even clockwork could erase the reality of the blank piece of paper on the desk in front of her. Two pages about Anna Karenina, for English, due tomorrow. Sure, she'd read the book, but it'd been a while ago, and she'd been distracted by the Mortal Engines quartet. Steampunk handily evicted school assignments from her memory on most occasions, especially when said steampunk involved giant, mobile, cannibalistic cities.

Tock...

Something hit the bedroom door with a dull thud. Alice sighed, though somewhat grateful for the distraction as she stood up. As soon as she opened the door, a brown blur sped through and crashed into the side of her bed. He'd probably been trying to headbutt the door a second time. "Cat." She stated, somewhat exasperated. "Headbutts do not increase intelligence. Claws exist for a reason, not that I want my door scratched."

Tick...

Still, she picked him up and carried him over to her seat. Tesla, when he was still a kitten, was given to Alice on her 8th birthday. The now-elderly calico cat'd been a faithful companion for most of her life, though he had a distressing tendency to use his head as a battering ram when he wanted attention. He was now curled up in her lap, purring, as Alice returned her attention to the assignment, one hand idly stroking his head.

Tock...

Well, she was drawing a blank. It certainly wasn't getting any earlier, a fact made obvious by the ever-present ticking. It was time to use her last resort: Wikipedia. She turned on her laptop, the wallpaper proudly displaying a suit of Magitek Armor when she logged in. Alice examined the book's article, relieved to find the inspiration she was searching for. As she reached for a pen, she caught a glimpse of a promising looking link. "Wouldn't hurt to read just one..." She muttered to herself.

Several hours of fascinated clicking later...

Tick...

Alice was fast asleep, her head resting on her arms, her browser page showing a list of inventors killed by their own inventions. Tesla, seizing the opportunity as soon as he saw it, also snoozed, lying on top of her pillow. The English paper, long forgotten, contained only one pathetic paragraph. Tomorrow, there may be panic, but until then, Alice slept soundly to a clockwork melody.

Tock...

[[Alice Gilman:  continued in Recruitment Drive]]