text: [Themes: Slice of life, female protagonist]
  
  > Look around
  This is just a small utility room tucked away in the corner of the house. To the south is the door leading back to the sitting room. A washer and a dryer line the east wall, while across from them are tools hanging on hooks and nails. A shelf runs along the back wall, with various odds and ends stacked on it.
  
  On the laundry room shelf are a tube of spot remover, a box of nails, an empty bottle of bleach, a doomsday remote control, and a Copy of Metro Magazine.
  
  > examine the bleach
  It's empty.
  
  > Examine box
  It's a little box of nails. Nothing special.
  
  > examine the washer
  It's a standard front-loading washer, well suited to a family of five. As you gaze upon the washing machine, strains of The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah fill your ears. The chorus stops abruptly as you realize that the shortest washing cycle takes 45 minutes, which is more time than you have right now. You'd probably be better off washing your dress by hand.
  
  It's closed.
  
  > look at the dryer
  The dryer is looking a little worse for wear. It hasn't been completely functional since "the incident", so your mother sometimes has to take the laundry to the laundromat to use the dryers. Sometimes she asks you or your sister to go. It's annoying, since you almost always have to fend off people who try to steal the spandex.
  
  It's closed.
  
  > go south
  This room is mostly set apart from the living room by a depression in the floor and a wall with a wide opening that's a bit too big to be considered a doorway. Here is where you all come to watch TV. There are some assorted chairs and beanbags scattered about for this purpose. To the north is the laundry room, and the living room is back west.
  
  The television sits in the southeast corner of the room.
  
  On televesion, some talking head is babbling about geophysics, biophysics, and metaphysics to explain how your dad is doing whatever he's doing.
  
  > Go north
  This is actually a small half-bathroom tucked away under the stairs.
  It has a toilet and a sink, but not much else.
  
  > put the dress in the sink
  Done.
  
  > turn on the tap
  You turn the knob, and water starts gushing from the faucet in a steady stream. The water runs over the material of your dress, completely soaking it.
  
  > turn off the tap
  You turn the knob the other way, and the water shuts off. One last drop falls from the tap and plummets down the drain.
  
  > Dry dress
  You zap your dress with a quick burst of heat vision, instantly drying it. Yes! You've gotten the stain out. Now quick, finish getting dressed!
  
  > wear the dress
  (first taking the dress)
  Okay, you're now wearing the dress.
  
  > put the roach in the jar
  (first trying to take the cockroach)
  You can't bring yourself to touch it, though you could probably catch it in something, like a jar.
  
  > catch the roach
  You can't bring yourself to touch it, let alone catch it with your bare hands. Though, you could probably catch it in something, like a jar.
  
  > catch the roach in the jar
  With the stealth and grace of a ninja, you turn the jar upside-down and drop it over the cockroach, trapping the bug inside. After your prisoner scrambles around for a bit, you right the jar again, giving it a light shake so that the bug falls solidly to the bottom of the jar. That should hold the creature long enough for your purposes.
  
  > Go upwards
  This is the beginning of the narrow hallway that runs east-west through the upstairs of the house. The bathroom is immediately north, and at the western end of the hall is your parents' room. Between them is the staircase that goes down to the rest of the house. South, across from the stairs, is your brother David's room. The hall coninues to the east, towards your and your sister's rooms.
  
  > Go west
  This is the master bedroom, where your parents sleep. Their large, double bed is at the far end of the room, your Dad's side close to the window in case he has to leave in the middle of the night to attend an emergency. Against the far wall is a large vanity. You notice a beautiful silver necklace hanging from it.
  
  Your mother, fresh from the shower, is sitting on the bed in her bathrobe, busily typing away at the laptop on the bed next to her. She pauses occaisonally to pat at her hair with the towel around her shoulders.
  
  Your Mom types furiously for a seconds, then curses and holds down the delete key.
  
  > talk to Mom
  Your mother turns and smiles at you, lifting her fingers away from the keyboard. "Hi, Sweetie," she says.
  
  > ask Mom for the necklace
  Your mother leans back, looking thoughtful. "It would look nice on you, Honey. Tell you what-that guy from the Tabloids has been sneaking around again. If you can get rid of him, I'll let you borrow the necklace for tonight. Okay?"
  
  It sounds like a fair deal. As you nod, your Mom turns back her laptop and types a few more sentences.
  
  > examine mom
  Your Mom is about average height with dark hair, and she looks pretty good for her age. Your father sometimes describes her as a hurricane; she's always on the go! She's sitting on the bed, looking at you.
  
  > go east
  Your Mom shrugs and goes back to typing.
  
  This is the beginning of the narrow hallway that runs east-west through the upstairs of the house. The bathroom is immediately north, and at the western end of the hall is your parents' room. Between them is the staircase that goes down to the rest of the house. South, across from the stairs, is your brother David's room. The hall coninues to the east, towards your and your sister's rooms.
  
  > go north
  This is the upstairs bathroom. Clouds of steam from your parents' recent shower fill the room, and there are puddles on the tile floor. The large mirror over the sink and the glass front of the medicine cabinet are fogged up.
  
  > examine the mirror
  It's a large, plain mirror hanging over the bathroom sink. The glass is completely fogged over from all the steam in the room.
  
  > look at the cabinet
  It's a small wall-mounted medicine cabinet with two glass doors over the front. It's good for storing things like toothpaste, makeup, mouthwash, and cologne. It's closed.
  
  > open it
  Opening the medicine cabinet reveals a makeup kit.
  
  > take kit
  With a triumphant cry, you seize the makeup kit and immediately apply some of its conents. Ah, you feel so pretty, now!
  
  > examine the shower
  You try to avoid eye-contact with it for the time being.
  
  > go to the south
  (first unlocking the bathroom door, then opening it)
  
  This is the beginning of the narrow hallway that runs east-west through the upstairs of the house. The bathroom is immediately north, and at the western end of the hall is your parents' room. Between them is the staircase that goes down to the rest of the house. South, across from the stairs, is your brother David's room. The hall coninues to the east, towards your and your sister's rooms.
  
  > Go east
  This is the end of the narrow hallway that runs east-west through the upstairs of the house. Your room is to the north, and your twin sister's room is across the hall, to the south. The hall coninues to the west, and immediately east is a closet.
  
  > Go north
  This is your room. For the most part, it is pretty neat. Your bed lies alongside the wall that has your closet, and a small dresser is next to it. The other walls are covered with carefully organized bookshelves, videoshelves, pictures, and a full-length mirror by the window. The hallway is south of here, right out the door.
  
  > look at the mirror
  It's a tall, narrow mirror with a gold frame, and glass in which you can see your reflection.
  
  You're about average height, with dark, naturally curly hair.
  
  You do a little twirl in front of the mirror. Your dress fans out around you as you turn, and the high heeled shoes on your feet make you look taller. Your features are nicely accentuated without looking trashy.
  
  Some jewelry would really help. By the way, your hair is a frizzy mess. Get Moving, girl!
  
  > look at door
  Which door do you mean, the bathroom door, your brother's door, or your parents' door?
  
  > Go south
  The "Keep Out" sign's magic powers keep you from entering. Actually, it's more likely the huge mess and brother germs on the other side of the door.
  
  > go west
  This is the master bedroom, where your parents sleep. Their large, double bed is at the far end of the room, your Dad's side close to the window in case he has to leave in the middle of the night to attend an emergency. Against the far wall is a large vanity. You notice a beautiful silver necklace hanging from it.
  
  Your mother, fresh from the shower, is sitting on the bed in her bathrobe, busily typing away at the laptop on the bed next to her. She pauses occaisonally to pat at her hair with the towel around her shoulders.
  
  Your Mom grumbles about having to spell the names of the foreign diplomats who were held at gunpoint.
  
  > ask Mom about David
  Your mother turns and smiles at you, lifting her fingers away from the keyboard. "Hi, Sweetie," she says.
  
  Your mother looks out the window and sighs dreamily, not really paying attention to you.
  
  > go east
  Your Mom shrugs and goes back to typing.
  
  This is the beginning of the narrow hallway that runs east-west through the upstairs of the house. The bathroom is immediately north, and at the western end of the hall is your parents' room. Between them is the staircase that goes down to the rest of the house. South, across from the stairs, is your brother David's room. The hall coninues to the east, towards your and your sister's rooms.