And then she repeated. Layer, air dry, layer, rub, rub, layer, air dry, layer, rub, rub, layer, air dry, layer, rub, rub, layer, air dry, layer, rub, rub... this was honestly such tedious and boring work that Alice was jumbling up all of the steps in her head. She;'d probably applied solution where she wasn't meant to and rubbed in the wrong direction and let her telescope dry for much shorter periods than recommended, but her telescope did look dust-and-debris-free. Did that count for anything?

Suppressing a yawn, she glanced at her instructions again before stumbling over to grab some holding cream. How thin was this layer meant to be, exactly? Paper thin? Slice of cheese thin? Flamsteed needed to be more specific, but in this case, it was his fault if her telescope was cleaned wrong. Totally was. Alice sprayed the cream all over her telescope, not bothering to wonder if the layer was the right thickness.

Which led her to step number six. She.. was done now, yes? Yesss. The sixth year immediately jumped up, nearly knocking over her telescope in the process, eager to get out of the laboratory. Really. Cleaning was not her thing.