Joaquin had been quite enjoying his night off, free from the anxiety and stress that came with teaching. It wasn't exactly his dream job to have to talk so much to earn a living, but until he was making enough from just painting, it would have to do. He reasoned that even if it wasn't the most enjoyable thing for him, it could help him become more social, and maybe he'd come to enjoy it. Besides, it was better than his other options: waiter, customer service, asking his parents for more rent money. The night off was still quite welcome, and he'd set himself up for a lovely, relaxing evening. Fresh out of the shower he'd put on a record, Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends, and had been looking through his photo albums on his laptop to try and find something he wanted to paint. He often painted from photos he'd taken over the years, whenever he got tired of painting ocean and beaches and palm trees. He'd finally settled on something to take inspiration from, an old ghost town he'd found while exploring New Mexico one summer.
He was about to get up from his desk when he found that the only light in the room was that coming from his laptop. With a sigh, he rolled his eyes. Really? He waited a beat before sliding out of his chair, heading to the door and peeking out into the hall. No light in the hall, none peeking out from under anyone's door. If he'd had candles, he might have just said fuck it and painted by candlelight, but being that he'd just moved in there were a lot of things in the "I'll get these later when I don't have to buy a couch" category, including candles. And a flashlight, for that matter. So, picking up his MacBook from his desk he slipped into a pair of sandals and grabbed his keys, using the computer screen as a makeshift flashlight as he headed into the hall.
Not that Joaquin was afraid of the dark, but the place was pretty damn creepy with all the lights out, especially in the stairway. He felt a little silly holding out his computer in front of him to guide his way, but he'd rather have that than the pitch-black. His room? Sure, he could navigate that in the dark, but the entire building? Probably not. The power couldn't be out for that long, anyway.
As he arrived in the dark lobby, cradling his computer in his arms so the light from it shone on his face, he glanced around at the others who had arrived already, then quickly looked away. Since moving in he'd hardly said a word to anyone, maybe a short greeting if he ran into someone in the elevator or the hall, but he wasn't sure he could name anyone he saw there.