shorthand

Susan couldn't wait to return to Maine. At night, she dreamed of running over beds of fallen pine needs in the forest, swimming in lakes pebbled with rain, and eating fresh lobster rolls by the river. She spent her days painting watercolors of Maine's sunsets and sunrises, continuing even after she blanketed her walls with scenes of pine barrens at dawn and kayaks against the sunset. She began to paper her ceiling, allowing not an inch to be spared.

One evening, Susan awoke to the ringing of the fire alarm. She left without harm and returned three hours later, cold, tired, and ready to dream of Maine. Unfortunately for Susan, the fire alarm had not been the only system to go off in the night. The ever-concerned firemen had made certain that the sprinklers go off too.