The photography darkroom.

(chapter originally by Phantom Pen on writing.com)

The first thing Chihiro noticed was that she could barely see. The room she had ducked into was bathed in a low red light, and the smell of chemicals lingered in the air. Even though she wasn't a photographer, Chihiro knew enough to guess that she had walked into the photography club's darkroom. This posed a bit of a blessing and a curse.

The good news was that the room was currently empty. Chihiro was... somewhat confident that the photography club didn't meet today, so she should be okay in here for the time being. Less good, however, was the lack of visibility. Even with her glasses, the low light level in the room was particularly bad for Chihiro's vision, making the poor girl just a step or two above being completely blind. Finding anything, let alone something to wear, would require close investigation of pretty much everything in the room.

Not wanting to waste any more time, and eager to get herself covered up once more, Chihiro started to slowly search the darkroom. Holding a hand to the wall to keep her bearings, Chihiro half blindly pawed across the nearest surface, her hands finding nothing but trays full of developing fluid. Still, Chihiro wasn't about to give up hope so easily. There had to be something to use; maybe a sheet used for solid background colors, or even some loose paper if she got particularly ****.

Blind as she was, Chihiro failed to notice the camera tripod left on the floor. Likely forgotten by a lazy club member, the sturdy metal apparatus would have been a tripping hazard even to somebody used to navigating a darkroom. For Chihiro, it was all but impossible to avoid. Suddenly, Chihiro felt herself falling to the ground as her foot caught on the tripod mid-step.

Chihiro landed on the darkroom floor in a frantic heap. Aside from being a tad sore where she hit the ground, things got even worse for Chihiro as-